New to the family, but NEED HELP!

[E30 Wagen]

Just took it to bimmertech down here in orlando, FL. They adjusted the valves and did a smoke test. Smoke test came out fine, but they said I needed to take out the head and get it machined because despite the adjusted valves it still isnt functioning properly. Considering it would be 1200 of labor, Im desperate to figure out how I should go about this the best way. Also, im trying to figure out how badly ill hurt the engine to keep running it the way it is. At idle, the engine seems to be bouncing around a bit which makes me nervous.

Are they talking about having the valves cut/replaced or do they suspect the head is warped? Didn't they try any other diagnostic tests besides a smoke test? Do you know if the engine ever overheated?

It's safe to drive with a bouncing idle - maybe see if somebody will let you try a good idle control valve or afm or O2 sensor. If the shop thinks the head needs to come off then I'd just keep an eye on the oil and coolant. Maybe try running some injector cleaner through the fuel system?

[Jdub]

Just took it to bimmertech down here in orlando, FL. They adjusted the valves and did a smoke test. Smoke test came out fine, but they said I needed to take out the head and get it machined because despite the adjusted valves it still isnt functioning properly. Considering it would be 1200 of labor, Im desperate to figure out how I should go about this the best way. Also, im trying to figure out how badly ill hurt the engine to keep running it the way it is. At idle, the engine seems to be bouncing around a bit which makes me nervous.

[Das Delfin]

.010 cold to avoid burning valves but measure at the cam because the valve tappets develop valleys over time and can cause an incorrect reading

[Jdub]

That's what it ended up being, I let it run for a while and the coolant burned off pretty quickly. It was ticking a bit so I tried to go back in and adjust the valves while it was "hot" and made it worse lol. (I couldn't do it fast enough and it idled like absolute crap so I turned it right back off)

Despite having researched it a lot, I would LOVE some wisdom on what I should set my valves to. I know the manual says .010 cold. Ive read around a bit and have heard .008, and the I've also heard that some people have it set to .006 on intake and .008 on exhaust, but I don't fully understand the reasoning behind the differences. Also, I'm only just using the feeler gauge, not the spring tool some people have mentioned, therefore Im trying to figure out how much "drag" is the proper drag to leave when I tighten the bolts on the valves.

ALSO: Am I going to hurt anything by "experimenting" with different valve adjustments?

Finally, the RPMs still bog down a bit when I quickly hit the throttle, I'm going to the shop to get a smoke test tomorrow. I'm thinking it has to do with the vacuum system?

[rcsoundn1]

Smoke may have been from the coolant, oil lubricant burning off. I did the head and WP T belt on my civic recently, it smoked for a good 2=30min plus before it all cleared up

[Jdub]

So today I finally finished the timing belt, all the v belts, new cap and rotor, and plugged the new wires in. I didn't put the radiator back in yet, I wanted to briefly start it to make sure I hadn't screwed everything up.

It started up fine, but when it did there was still some ticking in the engine and there was some smoking coming out of the area below where the arrow is pointing. Im guessing I didn't do a great job when I did the valve adjustment but the smoking I don't know about. Im hoping its just because the radiator was out, hopefully one of you guys know. The smoke kind of smelled similar to what a clutch or brakes would smell like. The only other thing I should mention are the there were two plugs under the thing where the arrow is an I plugged on the those plugs into a wire coming from the spark plug wires, and the other one Im not entirely sure where it comes from or what is does but I plugged that one in too.



I might take it to a reputable shop around here to get a professional to do the valve adjustment, a smoke test, and maybe help me diagnose. Hopefully I wont need to though!

[Jdub]

Wow, yes I did mean 8, Im going crazy. I actually tried to do that but I couldn't find anything then I started getting nervous because even when they did have the right size they weren't plated like the original ones so I decided to just reorder the other ones online. They were only 65 cents so it wasn't bad. The worst part is waiting, I ordered two O-rings just in case one broke again. Looking back at it the seal looked pretty good but I wanted to be safe since I was already in there, I kinda wish I hadn't messed with it now.

[Das Delfin]

you mean 8 bolts..

1. look up the thread pitch and bolt size using realoem
2. home depot
3. done

[Jdub]

I guess I said the wrong thing, I meant so say the hex bolts that hold on the valve cover lol. Im still learning all the terminology, I still might be wrong in saying that, but its the metal plate that you have to remov to change the valve cover gasket. Those are the 6 bolts I lost

[15Michaeljoseph]

Why did you remove the head bolts? Also, order ARP bolts as a set and replace them all. ONE AT A TIME!


Sent from the woods of Maine.

I think it is far too late. :/

Sent from my XT1064 using Tapatalk

[itsonlygeorge]

Why did you remove the head bolts? Also, order ARP bolts as a set and replace them all. ONE AT A TIME!


Sent from the woods of Maine.

[Jdub]

I figured it out, I wasn't rotating the camshaft for each adjustment I was making so the spring was compressed when I released it.

So today I did a valve adjustment, new valve cover gasket, new water pump, new cam seal, and new tensioner.

In the process I got the 6 hex bolts that crank down the head gasket thrown away by one of these hotel workers (they were in a ziplock bag and someone thought it was trash sitting by my car), and the O-ring for the cam seal broke so I had to order a new one of those. Im trying turner motorsports for the first time so I'm hoping they are quick with their shipping.

Also hoping its not going to be bad that I can't tighten down my head gasket for a couple days.

PS. I learned today that autozone is useless to get parts for our cars.

[Jdub]

That's helpful and I did pick up that tool today, but I ran into a problem!! As I was adjusting one of the valves as soon as I loosened the nut the little hole that you use to adjust it quickly rotated and now I can't access that little hole anymore!! Why did this happen and what can I do to fix it?? I can't get it to rotate back towards me, it's wedged in pretty tight for some reason.

Also, I don't know if this matters but as I was rotating the engine to get it to TDC I can hear what sounds like air escaping from somewhere.

[itsonlygeorge]

I HIGHLY recommend buying the SIR tool for valve adjustment.

http://www.bavauto.com/fland.asp?part=113070

I did it without the first time and made it worse. I actually tightened everything and made the tick louder. Make sure you remove the spark plugs to make it easier to move the crank. It helps to have a friend to turn the crank from under the cat while you look at the cam shaft lobes. You will have to adjust all 12 valves: 6 for exhaust and 6 for intake. I found that my exhaust valves were tighter than the intake valves. I would also take some initial measurements of the current state of the valve distance for later reference.

I found a trick using the starter to rotate the crank as well that makes things faster. You can jump pins 11 + 14 on the diagnostics port to fire the starter. I went and got a big pushbutton switch and wired it up so I could trigger the starter at will and not have to move the crank. Made checking everything a breeze.

It was also easier to have an extra pair of hands to help tighten the nut on the rocker arm/valve eccentric while I was holding the SIR tool and getting a feel for the correct gap. Some of my valve eccentrics were very worn out so the tool would not work and a bent nail was used. It was tough to get a feel for the correct gap and tighten everything without over tightening by myself. So find a friend to help!



1. Remove Spark plugs
2. Disconnect Coil + remove wires to avoid blowing out the coil
3. Remove Fuel pump relay + fuses (you don't want to flood the engine with gas)
4. Jump pin 11 + 14 to trigger starter
5. Align Cam Lobe for which ever valve you are checking
6. Record current measurement for all valves
7. Adjust each valve to 0.010 (check Bentley for value)
8. Recheck incessantly until you are damn sure you got it right.
9. put it all back together


Sent from the woods of Maine.

[Jdub]

Got it, thanks. Im hoping to do a valve adjustment tomorrow as well, I couldn't believe how easy it was once I spent some time researching. So many people have said that the timing belt, water pump, and valve adjustment jobs should be left to professionals only, but its surprisingly simple. (Although I shouldn't speak too soon)

Im HOPING that between the new spark plugs, cap and rotor, timing belt and tensioner, valve adjustment, and spark plug wires that it will have her running healthy again and not missing at all. I really hope I don't have a vacuum issue..