NOR-CAL General Chat.

[mbonanni]

He is jelly of all the sweet powa Steven has.

[Vivek]

Gonna come straight at you.
you couldn't swap an identical engine correctly. why do you think a swap+bar is something you can do? you have a very limited tool selection and no one to help.

if i were you i'd put the pump in and if that doesnt work, tow your car to someone that will make it work. and put that $1500 into a know good runner.
[risk:reward]
not trying to be mean, just telling it as it is.

Fair enough. Although in my defense I don't think anything I could have possibly done wrong caused my oil pressure issue. It was just shit luck and literally no one has a clue what it is.

[Vivek]

Ideally if the pump doesn't work I could buy DK's m42 and be done with it. But idk if he wants to sell it. Wreckers claim e36 m42/44's are different, but I believe that although there are very minor internal differences, I can just swap the intake/exhaust manifolds and harness and it'll work exactly the same. Oil pan and pickup may be different also.

[2mAn]

Wasnt the motor running fine when Steven had it???

[Vivek]

Wasnt the motor running fine when Steven had it???

Yes. Beats me (and the rest of this forum including decade+ m42 veterans) . My best guess is that the oil all draind outta the pump, and now for some reason it won't prime.

[2mAn]

its something stupid.

[decay]

Ideally if the pump doesn't work I could buy DK's m42 and be done with it. But idk if he wants to sell it. Wreckers claim e36 m42/44's are different, but I believe that although there are very minor internal differences, I can just swap the intake/exhaust manifolds and harness and it'll work exactly the same. Oil pan and pickup may be different also.

yeah, i am just not in a position to sell right now.

m42 heads (as a complete unit) are better than m44; use old head on new block.

there's one sensor that will have to be moved into your coolant pipe because there isn't a place for it on the m44 block.

a guy on m42club did this; search around over there and see if you can find his thread.

[freeride53]

Sold my swapped E30 to another enthusiast to put a new roof over my head. Sad that I didn't get a chance to bring it to Bimmerfest... :-(

the tears, they roll down my cheek. :(

[Vivek]

yeah, i am just not in a position to sell right now.

m42 heads (as a complete unit) are better than m44; use old head on new block.

there's one sensor that will have to be moved into your coolant pipe because there isn't a place for it on the m44 block.

a guy on m42club did this; search around over there and see if you can find his thread.

Yeah I heard that the m44 has only one coolant/temp sensor. But tbh a head swap even when I have both is easily a $400 job with around $200 in gaskets and then $200 getting the head resurfaced. I'd rather just find an m42 and not have to mess with anything.

I was considering using an m44 until i read this, and now it seems like another m42 would be best

They're very different. The heads/blocks don't interchange, and an engine swap is a lot of work - the M44 has an air mass meter not an AFM, the M44 only has one coolant sensor on the head not two, the cam and crank sensors are all different, so is the exhaust etc etc etc.

But another question, were all e36's m42 until 1996? That's what Wikipedia says and I don't know e36's, but I thought most that I've seen had the funny shaped intake mani which I thought meant m44.

[Vivek]

its something stupid.

Could be...but I'm pretty sure I've checked it all other than the pump, or if it's not bleeding right. It's a mechanical pump, if the engines turning it should be pumping.

[JinormusJ]

Veevs

Change your pump

...

[Vivek]

Veevs

Change your pump

...

That's the plan. I'm just planning for in case it doesn't work like everything else I've tried so far.

[Wanganstyle]

Could be...but I'm pretty sure I've checked it all other than the pump, or if it's not bleeding right. It's a mechanical pump, if the engines turning it should be pumping.

does it clank terribly when running?
have you tried running it with cam cover off to see if there is lubrication happening in the cylinder head?


is there anything stuck in the oil filter housing under the filter?
Does your oil filter housing bolt have a new O ring on the bottom? perhaps it got damaged on install or forgotten?


have you tried pumping a thick oil into the oil pressure switch hole? i.e. 75-90 gear oil; see if you can force said air out somehow?

*************

if pump and engine have never been taken apart and engine was running when removed there is about 0% chance of the oil pump going bad in-between cars unless something very wrong happened; i.e. someone evil filled your oil pan with RTV from the dipstick etc

[Bimmerman325i]

IIRC, M42 = OBD1, M44 = OBD2.

Honestly, I'd get it towed to a shop. Put the $1500 into having the issue solved by a tech since everyone here seems to be chasing our tails and going nowhere. [/unpopular opinion puffin]

[2mAn]

The shop will want to start with the basics also and that $1500 will disappear quick and the car still might not be fixed...