The ups and downs of a 2.7L Turbo

[cleanasse30]

Welp. The oil has been changed to 15W-50 Synthetic. The valves seem much quieter but I couldn't drive it around because I noticed this as I was doing a visual inspection of the underbody:



The fucking nut that holds the shock insert into the strut body came undone so the shock insert hasn't been secured for at least a 1000miles... :hitler: Fuck buying used car parts!!! Although I realize I should've checked that nut when I installed them in my own car.

So now me and the mad scientist gotta tear apart the coilover and figure out if the strut tube is ok, my guess is that its blown. So I guess that is my next project now, not wiring.

[cleanasse30]

Great build ! I bet driving her down the coast was a blast !

Thanks! It was a blast indeed, and likely the biggest bimmerhausen circle jerk i've been apart of yet hahaha

I have always had pretty great luck with conventional 15w-40 diesel oil. It has higher detergent content which is good for our old motors (when m20's were designed, all oils had higher detergent content I'm told).

Keep at it bro, looks great!

Thanks! If this 15W-50 doesn't do the trick I'll give the 15W-40 a shot.

My next project will be coming up with a way to solid mount the coil packs to the chassis (yes. I have them zip tied in epic ghetto rig fashion right now lol) and redo the wiring with some weatherpack connectors from DIYAutotune

[Ether-D]

I have always had pretty great luck with conventional 15w-40 diesel oil. It has higher detergent content which is good for our old motors (when m20's were designed, all oils had higher detergent content I'm told).

Keep at it bro, looks great!

[BECKSTER]

Great build ! I bet driving her down the coast was a blast !

[cleanasse30]

I feel like a 50 weight oil would do you well (at least during the summer), although I get that 40 weight synthetics are much easier to come across.

So I guess I've never read the owners manual of the e30 since I bought it...

:stupidsign:

I didn't realize it calls for a 20W-50 basically year round where I live and I've been putting 5W-30 in it since I owned it I just ordered some Mobil 1 15W-50 synthetic which should get here today so I'll change the oil and see if that fixes the problem.

[cleanasse30]

Scored some minty sport seats this weekend!



If I have time this week I'm going to switch to a 10W-40 oil and see how that goes. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Northern]

I feel like a 50 weight oil would do you well (at least during the summer), although I get that 40 weight synthetics are much easier to come across.

[varg]

Nice build. Burning oil on decel like that sounds like valve stem seals to me.

[cleanasse30]

Yeah I'm running 5W-30 right now. Idk I guess I just defaulted to that as that's what I ran NA. It's due for an oil change so I'll try some synthetic 10W-40 next

[Northern]

I think I'll try some 10W-40 in it when I change the oil soon. I'm just slightly worried about high oil pressures with a 40 weight oil though.

Are you implying that you're running 30 weight now? why so thin?

[cleanasse30]

Bummed that your options didn't work out completely for you.

This seems to be a popular problem on m20's and I'd also like to find a solution.

Yeah same... I did some reading around and I believe the valve stems or seals were either not replaced by the head builder or he did a terrible job installing them. Burning oil during engine braking is a sign of pulling oil past the valve seals because of the vacuum that the engine creates when the throttle is closed. I believe the check valve system I made would work really well on a healthy head though since it acts like the stock system under vacuum, yet also incorporates a system to pull vacuum under boost. Might be worth giving it a try if you are having similar issues.

awesome project, sorry to hear about that issue, totally sucks especially on a trip

experiment with a few different oils.

awesome project. Just slapped a head on my b25 block so I was curious how you prepped yours. I ended up using a flat plane sander 16 inchs long with 320grit wet sandpaper.

Thanks! Yeah it was a bummer. I was sorta afraid of getting on it too much because of the oil burn issue, but it was still a great trip! We drove on some amazing roads and saw some absolutely beautiful scenery.

I think I'll try some 10W-40 in it when I change the oil soon. I'm just slightly worried about high oil pressures with a 40 weight oil though.

To prep my block I used a nylon abrasive wheel in a die grinder to clean off the old head gasket material and the carbon buildup on the piston tops. I was slightly worried about the the wheel messing with the sealing surfaces of the block but the engine has solid compression and the oil and coolant haven't mixed. Ultimately iron and aluminum are harder than nylon so it makes since that it worked.

[5Toes]

awesome project, sorry to hear about that issue, totally sucks especially on a trip

experiment with a few different oils.

awesome project. Just slapped a head on my b25 block so I was curious how you prepped yours. I ended up using a flat plane sander 16 inchs long with 320grit wet sandpaper.

[ak-]

Bummed that your options didn't work out completely for you.

This seems to be a popular problem on m20's and I'd also like to find a solution.

[cleanasse30]

Great build. Love that the first thing you do is take it on a road trip. Inspiring for my build. Planning a turbo this winter, then want to take a road trip next summer. Glad to see in not the only crazy person who plans something like this.

Haha thanks! It sure was a test of my wrenching abilities, but other than the oil burning everything worked well and held up. The trip was amazing, I would def recommend doing a road trip! Just stay off the interstates as much as possible. The best driving roads are highways and back roads.

Biggest piece of advice I can give is keep your eye on the prize. Otherwise its too easy to get frustrated and lose motivation.

[dugly52]

Great build. Love that the first thing you do is take it on a road trip. Inspiring for my build. Planning a turbo this winter, then want to take a road trip next summer. Glad to see in not the only crazy person who plans something like this.