Did I just blow my engine?

[Jordan]

That is the dirtiest, caked on crapiest, most rusty throttle body I think I have ever seen.

I would stick open too.

[BS87]

Yeah, not to be a dick, but even my 84 Eta Rustmobile is cleaner than that..

[SlammedE30]

Jordan = especially ruthless when it comes to Chapel :P

I thought rocker as well.
-Ted

[Chapel]

rocker arms are all in one piece
I dont see any cracks and they all feel solid.

and on a side note... it took me 15 minutes to pull the valve cover :)

[Jordan]

Alright, I suggest you go drive the car a bit, take it through the paces, see how it does.

If it is a spun bearing there is no more damage left to be done then what already has been, so give it hell it will need a rebuild anyways.

[Chapel]

plugged Peake Research tool in
got one Fault Code. OA
Emissions control (Oxygen sensor)
I cleared it, now I just need to prep my valve cover to reinstall it and test to see if that fixed it
the knock Im hearing is similar to the car stalling out and the car is revving itself to keep from stalling.

lucky for me, my friend Pete just totalled his M50 powered E30...
so, if worst comes to worst, I buy his plug and play M50 swap (which was making 230whp)

[Chapel]

Lemme ask you... if I spun a bearing, is this something that could leave me stranded with a seized engine at some point?

[Chapel]

hmm... eurodepot sells the M20 short block (in both 2.5 and 2.7) for $100
includes block, pistons, rods, crank
hmm...
summer project?

[Jordan]

summer project?

afternoon project

[Chapel]

My friend who works for Strictly BMW thinks I just coked up one of my injectors and thats why the car isnt running well
Im gonna run some Fuel injector cleaner through the engine and take it out on the road for the day.

[rs4pro3]

I was about to say the same thing

afternoon project

Put some Chevron gas in it and some fuel injector cleaner adn go out on the interstate and just hit WOT for a while.

[nando]

sounds like you broke a rocker arm to me, but you say it's not. :(

[SlammedE30]

Jared, you definately need Peter's motor :twisted: I saw the pic of his car, and I about cried. Best of luck with the fix of yours.
-Ted

[Chapel]

Final diagnosis:

the 'knock' was coming from the throwout bearing. it went away with the clutch in. The rough idle was causing it to sound a bit different.

the CE light was the O2 sensor. Revving the engine out while it was cold probably knocked some gunk loose and clogged the fuel injector. I did an italian tune up, reset the CE light, filled it with Redline fuel system cleaner, and did another italian tune up. car pulls to redline just as strong as it ever did
no weird noises coming from anywhere, does idle a BIT rough right now, but not unbearable.
I'll finish off this tank of gas, and get all the cleaner through
if there is still a problem, I might swap or clean the injectors by hand.

[Avus_325is]

Never heard of this "italian tune up" can you explain?