Just another 325IX repair thread (Now with more TURBO!)

[driftxsequence]

The parts acquisition begins. This isnt going to be some big fancy or pretty build. As a young father my time to do work is fairly limited.

I found this about 10 minutes from my house and snatched it right up. The plan is for a very basic 2.5 build with refreshed internals. I dont think I have the patience to track down the 2.7 stuff unless it were all presented as a kit to drop in. The plan is a very small turbo for a strong midrange that fades away at high rpm. I dont need a high HP car. Just something punchy for DDing.

The plan:
Refreshed engine
Obx header adapter
460cc rx7 injectors
Megasquirt pnp
Clutch?

I plan on retaining a/c and p/s so piping should be interesting.

Let me know what ya think!

[driftxsequence]

It's never easy is it?

Finally peeked up under the dash and saw that this does have the relay with the broken fuse link..

So I found it


Opened it up


fixed with a 7.5amp fuse...


Now this is the part where the light goes out. Right? Right???? RIGHT?!?!?!!!
Still on....even when the key is simply turned on. I'm not sure what to try next....The relay under the dash now clicks and i can hear the relays under the bay click when the key is turned. Thats more than it did before.

Also had a few minutes to repair the threads on the front axles i picked up. Thread files are great!

[driftxsequence]

It didnt run better. It happened again.

I originally swapped ECUs when I fought the ICV problem. Not thinking it could be problematic....I left it swapped. Tonight I swapped back ECUs wondering whether or not that was the issue....turns out it was. Idles perfect. No CEL. No fluctuating idle. I'm a happy camper.

[driftxsequence]

Replaced C191 tonight with a deutsch connector...no pictures...but it seems to be running better. Idles a bit lower when warm now. I must have a vacuum leak somewhere else or some other issue...It's better though - and thats all that matters. Baby steps :)

[driftxsequence]

Thanks Litu! Its very fun.

Another beautiful day. We took advantage of it and covered some of the rust with some spray on bedliner to encapsulate and preserve anything left from the up coming winter. A welder will be acquired and replacement panels will be installed eventually. For now I feel its better to stop the spread than leave it untouched.

Also took the sunroof out and replaced the seal and quickly/crudely took care of the rust. A can of rust reformer and gloss white and back in it went with a new seal...



And a few photos of touching up the rear too!

[litu]

awesome ix project

[driftxsequence]

Today was semi successful. Figured out I was incorrectly probing the wire on the engine harness. It IS getting the engine temperature....so that means my theory was incorrect. the hose from the charcoal canister to the throttle body was loose so i zip tied it but that didnt fix the CEL either. I think the next thing to try is the hose that goes to the dip stick...its tight but maybe a leaking point? its kind of dirty.....I'm running out of ideas here...I unplugged the AFM while running and the car stayed running...should it stall?


I worked with my dad today. We replaced ALL the fluids in the car. Brake fluid, front, rear diffs, trans, and transmission fluid. The coolant was done last week when I did the head swap. It feels good knowing everything in the drivetrain is fresh for the next 60k miles! I accidentally bought just one bottle of MTL, but luckily my dad had two quarts of amsoil GL-4 trans fluid so we used that. I have redline 75w-90 in the diffs and Mobil 1 ATF in the transfer case. Oddly enough when i emptied the trans ATF came out...and with the new amsoil in there there is a lot less drivetrain noise when decelerating in gear.



I also finally got a chance to put the new rear guibo in. How much more life do you think it had? :)

[driftxsequence]

Took my lunch break and did some probing on the temp sensor. The temp sensor gave a good resistance. The ecu plug saw nothing. A continuity check of both pins on the injector harness came back good. So im guessing its either a bad corrosion, main harness or injector harness...going to spray contact cleaner on c191 tonight to see if that helps. Any other tips or ideas? I did come across c191 can be cut out. I may replace it with a deutsch waterproof plug....

Where are the main grounds to the car? I cleaned the shock tower ground...is there a ground that comes off the block?

[Das Delfin]

My dad helped test the AC system. we filled the system with nitrogen and tried to get the compressor to kick on and it didnt engage. The drier is rusted to hell, so I plan on replacing that. Is the pressure switch a known failure point? I'm not sure what else to check.

I just went through this last year. You wanna download the electronic troubleshooting manual

http://wedophones.com/Manuals/BMW/

and find the electrical schematic for your a/c system. What you want to do is get a volt meter and check for voltage along the system.. common failure points are the pressure switch (your late model should only have 1), the Evaporator Temperature Regulator (a 6 point relay under the dash that reads the evaporator temp sensor and controls power to the pressure switch and regulates the idle with the A/C on), the compressor clutch, and the TXV. Of all these, the TXV is NLA so..good luck on that one. Everything else is still available if you look around.

The manual will explain it but if you turn on the snowflake and it doesn't light up blue with the engine on and the middle or bottom vent slider to the right, it could be the slider tracks. There are electric conductors on the sliders that close when the slider is closer to the right and they can get dirty over time and not allow the system to turn on.

If your snowflake lights up blue and the electric fan doesn't come on, it could be your fan resistor. Also if the fan doesn't come on, it could be your ETR. If the fan does come on, check for voltage at the pressure switch. If you don't have voltage here, it's the ETR. If you do have voltage here, jump the switch and see if the compressor comes on. If it doesn't there is a short in the clutch. Unfortunately the only way to test the pressure switch is with the system charged so it's worth just replacing it as a preventative thing.

The clutch actuator in these cars can eventually burn up and this causes the electric signal inside that energizes the electromagnet to short and wear out. The solution is having the clutch resurfaced and the magnet replaced. I found a place in TX that will do just this for like 60 bucks after shipping.. or rebuild your whole compressor for like 200 after shipping. The link is in one of my threads somewhere.

So that's all you need to know. I think a ETR is $40 and the pressure switch is $20. A drier is $20 but there is a late and early model. You want the one with just one port for the pressure switch (early models had a high and low switch but late had one combination switch)

[driftxsequence]

This car is driving me nuts.

Code 1222 lambda code

I have tried a brand new sensor, a factory OE sensor extended
Brand new temp sensors on the thermostat housing
there are zero vac leaks from what I can see.

How do I test the evap system? A buddy said it MAY be the charcoal canister or the piece going into the bottom of the throttle body?

[Kershaw]

Do a smoke test. You can have a shop do it. They plug your exhaust and then pump smoke into your intake. Then you see where it comes out. You can try some DIY methods, like buying a party smoke machine or a smoldering oily rag in a car attached the intake. Not as good, obviously.

[driftxsequence]

Thanks guys!

I got it reassembled, and up and running. started first crank! The new head is a lot quieter...not nearly as much tapping noise going on.

Excuse the lack of "completeness" I didnt take a final shot..ha. You get the idea!



Now seeing that I had the entire engine apart..You figure I would have found any possible vacuum leaks right? Apparently there is STILL something causing the idle to wander. I'm going to take a couple clips tomorrow. Cold start is great, it holds beautifully - it's once it warms up that it starts to wander....Not a lot, but enough to be noticable.

Does anyone have any ideas? I tried brake cleaner around injectors, the hoses, the boots, the throttle body area...The brown and blue sensors are new as well...

This shitty ass ebay header is STILL making a god damn exhaust leak. I'm about ready to remove it permanently and put stock headers back on. I cant stand it anymore!

[stonea]

Sweet job on her so far

[Nisse Järnet]

Nice work!

[driftxsequence]

This past weekend was full of progress! Saturday was spent disassembling the engine bay and removing the old head. Sunday was reassembly. Everything came apart smooth and the whole process really helped me grasp the layout of everything that attaches to the block.

Here is the old head with the valve cover removed. The camshaft lobes had some wear on them....they almost looked grooved in spots. The new head did not have any of these marks so im hoping it quiets down the engine a bit.



Down to the block! Here is where i started to feel a bit uneasy. I've never done such an in depth job! No turning back now...



Elring gasket in place. Hopefully this holds some boost :)




Arp studs in, and torquing the head down...
Note - we didnt notice the old head had the alignment dowell still in it so the new head had to be pulled back off to put it in. Oops!





And partially reassembled. Just waiting on all new coolant hoses before putting the intake manifold back on.
Valve colver and intakr manifold are being sprayed with VHT gloss black spray paint.



Here is the old head that was causing issues. You can see how its missing a ton of threads and when i sprayed carb cleaner in there it was shooting a whole bunch right into the coolant jacket area. The stud was already loose and wouldnt hold so it blew out the gasket....again.



Tonight ill be taking pictures of my ghetto injector cleaning and then throwing some paint on the manifold. Next up is replacing the front axles.