'84 eta dies when the throttle opens....

[euroshark]

I just got my $250 325e running, whoo! I can't really complain, the guy who sold it to me told me the engine was shot...

I fixed some vaccum leaks, but I do have a pretty messed up hose that goes from the valve cover to the throttle body... It's patched with some duct tape for now, but it's not pretty... Also, I have no coolant... It seems that there should be a hose on the bottom of the radiator that flows... somewhere... But that hose is non existant, so the coolant flows onto the street. Im sure this could be messing with the motronic. Just to clarify, I have a big hose on the bottom of the radiator, but there is another small nipple under that, and that's the one that does not have a hose on it.

So... she starts ok, not perfect, but on the 2nd or 3rd try. Idles around 400rpm, is this normal for an eta? When I open the throttle just enough to hear the tps click, she dies... If I open it a lot then close it most of the way she will sustain about 600rpm, but no higher than that. Seriously, that's as high as it goes. I went through the test procedures in the Bosch fuel injection book and my afm and tps seem to check out fine.

Any input? I will pull the valve cover tomorrow and see if the cam has possibly shifted a tooth or two... If all else fails I have an M30 in the garage that I have been thinking about doing something with. :twisted:

[RobertK]

Step 1: Part it out

Step 2: Sell the rest for scrap

Step 3: Use said earnings and any other savings to buy an 89 325i/is

Step 4: Profit

[euroshark]

Why didn't I think of that?? I do have a buddy who might be interested in taking it for 6x what I paid, but it would have to run correctly first!

[chuckybob]

try an ecu swap. im leaning more towards what ritalin kid said though...

[euroshark]

Maybe I shouldn't refer to it as my $250 dollar car... That might be misleading. It's not bad, it needs shocks and some better wheels, but otherwise it's actually fairly decent. That said, I'm not parting it out!!

I swapped the ECU and Idle Control Module and nothing changed, so I'm going with a big vacuum leak or a bad AFM... Could it be a really clogged fuel filter or a bad pump?

[RobertK]

From you first description it sounds like the previous owner thoroughly abused it.

9 time out of 10 you will spend more on the car than what it's worth trying to track down this problem and still have alot of other things to repair.

If you had a 87is or an 88+i/is I would say you could try restoring it but not an 84 eta.

[AdamF 88iS]

An AFM will probably fix the running problem.

As for the coolant leak, are you sure the drain plug isn't missing? There are no hoses on the bottom of the rad other than the main lower hose.

[ddavidv]

Does the AFM 'door' move freely? Sometimes they will get bent and stick if the engine has backfired. Also, make sure the electrical connection going to it is good.

[euroshark]

AFM door moves freely and the connection is beautiful, but it could be bad I suppose... And the rad drain plug is definitely missing! I have never used the drain plug in my other Bimmers... I think I might sell this motor piece by piece and find a 2.5 "i" setup complete...

[AndrewBird]

I think I might sell this motor piece by piece and find a 2.5 "i" setup complete...

Or like you said, M30.

[euroshark]

I have done quite a bit of looking over the past year or so and I think an M30 powered E30 would be the coolest! I have a euro high compression M30 sitting in my waiting-to-be-restored '81 635CSi also... Hmmmmm :twisted: The 6er would be cooler with an M60 anyways :D

[RobertK]

If the E30 body is in good shape then I would go for the M30 swap. Lookup rs4pro3 (Ely) - he's swapped a M30 into an eta chasis before so he could give you all kinds of tips.

[euroshark]

The body is in great shape, especially for a $250 car. No rust except at the bottom of the driver side fender and just a few little dings... Looks like a perfect candidate. In other news, I rechecked the voltage on the afm, and it is toast. Im getting another one tonight, maybe that will fix it!