I have an E 30.

[Nader393]

Hi Evan, thanks for checking in and enlightening me about the build. Sorry you got swindled. Despite my gripes, all things considered, if this were your first attempt at a car build, it still came out really good. And now, after some additional TLC and tying up of loose ends, it's great.

You put A LOT of really well-thought upgrades into the car, especially the chassis, to make it every bit as fun to drive as my P-car and F-car. The steering and suspension are razor sharp! The body is clean, and the interior is beautiful. The fact that I can drive it (hard) every day without much worry makes it that much better.

The car, despite the stock-ish faker engine (eff that guy!), still felt fast because of that short (4.10) differential. Which, BTW, is perfect for my short commute of surface streets. I'm really looking forward to seeing what a real 2.7 stroker with a hot cam does to the experience. When it's all buttoned up and I'm satisfied with the performance, I'll take it back to the same dyno (Carburetor Connection) to document the improvement, which there better be!

Now, back to the pictures. Here I go installing the fresh timing belt and tensioner. The belt is American, the tensioner is German. I now have a little collection of functioning tensioners.

[Nader393]

Locals will know that today is the last dry day of this remarkably dry spell of weather we've had in the Seattle area (excluding last night's brief rain). Since I'm doing all this outside, this is my last day to button up the project before the fall/winter/spring perma-rain arrives, so I need to hustle.

Here's where I am today. Just need to bolt up the remaining pulleys, fan, radiator, attach the spark plug leads and rotor, coolant/heater hoses, ancillaries like PS, AC, alternator, their attendant belts, and the replacement (intact) harness. Oh, and the exhaust. I swapped in the other bundle-o-snakes, because they fit better than the prior IE long tube headers in the engine bay. Switching headers means I'll need to attach the rest of the exhaust system that goes with it, which I'm glad I got with the extra engine.

[Nader393]

Now that it's raining, work is going to slow down. Took refuge under the car, and changed the new-to-me transmission's oil as part of my effort to baseline it. Don't know what was gear oil was in it, but it probably wasn't any better than Swepco 201. German cars love this pretty blue/green stuff. Gonna put it in the diff, too.

[Nader393]

Speaking of fancy fluids, I dabbed some of this DeOxit D100 on the electrical contacts of everything in the engine bay, including all the connectors on the new harness and the ECU. This stuff is used mainly by audiophiles and finicky musicians. How OCD are you?

[2mAn]

IM not that OCD, but Im glad you are. Excited to see what happens when you go back to carb-connection.

[Nader393]

Exhausted

Buttoned up the engine's anus. It now farts through ANOTHER Magnaflow system. The one on the right. Growing weary of collecting E30 parts. I may need to do a garage sale soon.

[Nader393]

At this point, all that's left is connecting the replacement wire harness. I have one that came with the replacement engine, and it isn't hacked up at the fuel injector leads like the one that came with the car. Then I'll fire up this boiler and see what it can do.

[FredK]

You, sir, are an artist. But you do not flatter me!

[Secniv]

I have an E 30.

[/QUOTE]


And I thought my tail pipe was big!



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[Nader393]

Yeah, it's a throwback to the big fart-can exhaust days of the mid-nineties. I was there. I had a '91 Sentra SE-R that was begging for one, but never got it. This is my chance to relive those days, PROPERLY.

[e30austin]

In for garage sale details...

[Nader393]

At this point, all that's left is connecting the replacement wire harness... Then I'll fire up this boiler and see what it can do.

Famous last words...

So, I connected everything from the harness, and with mild trepidation, I turned the key. It cranked and cranked without firing. Seems to stumble, but never fires. Dispiriting. So I spent the last couple days going over everything.

All relays, connectors, CPS, etc. are intact and good.
There is fuel; pump and injectors work.
There is spark at all plugs.

Buuut, compression is suspiciously weak; 110 across all cylinders. The last engine with stock 2.5 pistons was 180, and these are now SETA pistons. Should be higher than 110.

Without spark plugs, it cranks smoothly, no contact between valves and pistons. But I wonder if I somehow mis-installed the belt and it skipped a tooth, effing up the cam timing and compression. I hope that's all it is. I was careful lining up the pulley marks to TDC for the cam and crank during the belt install, but didn't hand-crank the engine over a few revs after installing the belt to confirm excellence. So now I'm going to go back in and check the timing marks. Really hoping they're off, that would be relatively easy to fix. If they're correct, then I don't know, might have to punt and tow it to a shop.

You know, I do have better things to do. But right now, getting this effing E30 and its replacement engine running, is all I can think about.

Achingly close... come on, baby, give it to me...

[Nader393]

Pulled a couple covers out of the way to get a look at the cam timing belt. It's painful to backtrack. Anyway, the marks lined up at TDC for both cam and crank, just as I had installed it. Nuts. That would have been a good explanation.



Thinking about it some more, it occurs to me that the low dynamic compression numbers (compared to baseline in the prior/stockish engine) may be a result of the more aggressive cam causing intake/exhaust valve lift overlap. Theoretically has benefit at higher RPMs when exhaust scavenging comes into play, but also causes a lopey idle and less response/power at lower RPMs.

So now I need to revisit fueling and spark. I have adequate fuel pressure at the rail shown my almost 1L filled after 30 seconds out the return line. Need to document that the injectors are actually spraying. I have spark, and have to assume it's happening at the right moment. Have already tried two CPSs and two DMEs (both with Miller PSIK chips).

With my luck, it's probably something stupid like swapping the TPS connector with the ICV connector...
... hang on while I go check something

[Nader393]

Nope, everything is connected properly. Injectors buzz appropriately. With spark plugs in place but CPS detached, it cranks over smoothly. Attaching the CPS gets me spark, and stumbling when cranking, but won't light off.

I'm stumped. Is this 284 cam too much to even idle? Seems unlikely. But I'm willing to try an adjustable cam pulley to fiddle with it. If I can't get it running with one, then maybe punt and go back to stockish head. I'm open to ideas.

[e30austin]

Have you confirmed that your front balancer is orientated properly? If you have fuel and spark, it sounds like a classic case of ignition timing out of sync.