Cirrusly Blue - The Daily Driver E30... now SUPER powered

[2mAn]

We'll see what happens. Came home from work car fired up drove around a little bit no issues. Figured I would try the stomp test to see if there's any codes and I couldn't get it to work so we'll try it the old-school way

[2mAn]

Looking great so far Simon!

Thank you! I should probably wash it, but Im afraid what the results will look like haha

So, Im still having the cold start issue and its very tempermental. Was a b!tch on tuesday, no problem yesterday then this morning it was being a b!tch again...

I just ordered a bunch of filters from Bluntech just to get some more maintenance out of the way, and I have a meeting on sunday with a friend and we'll probably aim to get the following done:
- Change the fuel filter & the lines to and from it
- Change the air filter
- Clean the ICV
- Modify some 9012 bulbs since they are supposed to be a big upgrade over the 9006
- Do a compression test.

Im hoping the motor itself is healthy because I want to keep up with the maintenance and slowly improve the cars performance.

I will do an oil change soon too, but I want to run Lubrimoly Engine Flush, Marvel Mystery Oil and some Redline fuel system cleaner too. Probably will run the fuel system cleaner before I change the fuel filter so the old filter catches all the crap.

[2mAn]

And the weight reduction begins!











Just kidding, but I did rip out an old alarm. Got it out as cleanly as possible

[2mAn]

I got my care package from Blunt on Friday that contained an assortment of filters (Air, Fuel & Oil), and some fuel line to replace any old fuel lines there were.

On Friday afternoon, I went to clean the ICV and replace the air filter. Air filter looked new, so I left the old one in and though the ICV also looked clean, I cleaned it out. AFM internally (and externally) also looked brand new. Just more good news as far as previous maintenance goes.

Saturday I was busy, but I did get a chance to meet with Andrew (skifree) and got to sit in a restored E9. Damn, it was nice and Im glad my wife was with me because she liked them too!

Sunday was back to work on the E30, and the game plan was to do a compression test, to swap the fuel filter and lines and also have my friend trim the 9012 bulbs I had bought. According to the r3v lighting forum, these are a cheap upgrade from the 9006. We'll know tonight when Im driving home in the dark since I didnt get a chance to use them yesterday. Initial impressions were good, and the old bulbs didnt match so this is a good step forward, and I have two random spares now

Fuel filter and lines looked new, but I decided I would change the filter anyways, so that I would know for sure when it was changed (167k miles on ODO), but I left the lines also because they looked and felt new. When it came to the compression test, the numbers started by looking good, but then 4&5 dropped quite a bit. These numbers were given with 5 cranks.

Hot:
1-175psi
2-165psi
3-168psi
4-112psi
5-92psi
6-160psi

Cold:
1-177psi
2-172psi
3-180psi
4-135psi
5-130psi
6-165psi

My friend suspects the headgasket, Im inclined to believe him. We did it hot & cold and the numbers went up a bit on the good cylinders but significantly on the bad two, so I think it confirms it.

Car runs good, so Im not going to change the major gameplan on the car for now, but the information is there

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Yea I'd be getting ready to do the head on that thing 92 psi is way low especially when hot. Have you checked the fuel pump?

[2mAn]

Yea I'd be getting ready to do the head on that thing 92 psi is way low especially when hot. Have you checked the fuel pump?

Im going to adjust the valves soon and see how they are. If they are way out of spec, I will probably do another compression test to see if there are any changes.

You think the head is cracked? Why are you mentioning the fuel pump. Im not following you

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Im going to adjust the valves soon and see how they are. If they are way out of spec, I will probably do another compression test to see if there are any changes.

You think the head is cracked? Why are you mentioning the fuel pump. Im not following you

Its possible the head is cracked but unlikely. If they crack its going to be at the valves as thats the thinest part of the head. Only reason i mention the fuel pump is with your cold start issue. Sometimes they can have enough flow to get the car started but not enough to keep it going and a cold engine generally uses more fuel then a warm one.

[2mAn]

Its possible the head is cracked but unlikely. If they crack its going to be at the valves as thats the thinest part of the head. Only reason i mention the fuel pump is with your cold start issue. Sometimes they can have enough flow to get the car started but not enough to keep it going and a cold engine generally uses more fuel then a warm one.

oh!! haha I thought you were related the pump to the compression numbers haha derpp

I am hoping its just a head gasket (worst case) as that is a manageable fix, and I also dont think its urgent at this point.

Today the idle issue was non-existent. I parked in the garage and though its not totally enclosed, it does make a difference in the temp drop overnight. I will see what it does this week, but I have this weird feeling the removal of the alarm may have solved the problem. I dont know how they are connected, but its just a feeling I have from the car. Shes getting happier, the stereo even kicked on long enough yesterday to listen to a few songs lol

[2mAn]

Washed it today even though she was being a brat in the morning

[DIIRTY-30]

Haven't chimed in but CONGRATS & welcome to the cirrus family hahaha. I'm seeing a ton of potential man! If you want to swap fuel pumps, I have a spare at my house if you want to drop by.

When you did the compression test, did you wet the cylinders with oil after the first test?

[parkerbink]

What fuel lines did you get? I'm getting ready to replace the gas tank and want to do the rubber lines too.

[2mAn]

Haven't chimed in but CONGRATS & welcome to the cirrus family hahaha. I'm seeing a ton of potential man! If you want to swap fuel pumps, I have a spare at my house if you want to drop by.

When you did the compression test, did you wet the cylinders with oil after the first test?

Thanks! Do you want to paint another one??? :p

Second test was just a cold test. No oil was added.

What fuel lines did you get? I'm getting ready to replace the gas tank and want to do the rubber lines too.

When I ordered the fuel filter from Blunt I told them I wanted to change the fuel lines so they sent me a decent section, but the rubber lines to & from the filter looked good so I left them.

The weird thing was that Im 99% sure when I did the fuel filter on the Aluminum Monster the filter was in the engine bay, but this car had it in the back by the rear beam. Maybe a weird quirk, or maybe something weird that a PO changed. Something didnt look right about it...

[parkerbink]

Thanks I ordered 6 feet of 7mm. My filter is on the driver side towards the front of the gas tank. I'm going to pick up the gas tank not looking forward this, doing the guibo, csb, differential and shifter linksge/dssr

[2mAn]

Yea My tank had some dents in it and now that I know it, I have to consider getting the tank changed... Not at all looking forward to that

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Iirc after like 85 they moved the fuel filter to the rear of the car. My 89 and 91 both have it in the back but my 84 is in the bay under the booster