Looking for a good Mechanic

[mitchlevy7]

Running into some wiring problems on my m50 swap. Im looking for a mechanic to check it out and just finish up and button up the swap. Engine is in and its 95% there. Car is in Marriottsville MD (near i-70 and 695).

I also need a good exhaust shop to build a simple exhaust for me.

it would be nice if somebody can come to the car to save me towing, but ill tow it if needed. I want to get the vert back on the road!!!

[DREWHALL]

Hey man, the bmwrepairs4less email is a guy I work with. He lives down by me and he didn't seem to interested in making the trip, and honestly doesn't mess with swaps/aftermarket stuff much. If you can send me some pictures through email of the ones in question I can see if I can help you out. I'd like to help if I can! The C101 should be ready to roll unless something got damaged in travel/install.

[e30_325es]

What kinda wiring issues are you having/what is left to be done? Curious as I may be interested in taking the job.

[DREWHALL]

From what he told me, hooked the harness up and it started smoking. Didn't give me much info but it sounds to me like something got ground that shouldn't have. He got everything from me, had it all in my car for the last year with no problems. ldsbeaker/Adam on here saw the car a few times, and drove it once so I can say for sure it was good. Hard to say without seeing it in person but I don't really have the time to drive up there to look at it.

[mitchlevy7]

yea. im not where the car is at the moment so i cannot take pictures. i took some of the tape off of the harness and there was a brown/yellow wire that was smoking and was showing copper wire. It was on the ECU side of the harness (sorry i dont know much about wiring).

Besides wiring, I was having trouble bleeding the clutch correctly. I have an airbag car so I couldnt replace the pedals (wasnt gonna take out the whole steering column), but i unbolted the automatic brake pedal and bolted in the clutch and manual brake pedal. Also, I took out the gauge cluster (long story) and im puzzled what to do with the green harness connector. And finally, I havent wired the manual linkage so the reverse lights work. I need to twist the shifter linkage so it is in the middle of the hole for the shifter, and then put the interior back together. But overall, besides the wiring, just a bunch of little things.

[DREWHALL]

Is the green harness connector in the glovebox? My car is a manual so I didn't have to worry about the auto part but for some reason I think that connector is for the auto trans and does not get used anymore. If you could get a picture of the wire that is burnt up I could probably help identify but it kinda sounds like you may need to start shopping for a harness. :(

[mitchlevy7]

drew i emailed the bmwrepairs4less dude and he said exactly what you just said.

and 325es- if you want to pm me i can give you my number and I can explain more. -that goes for anyone interested.

[DREWHALL]

He was actually asking me about it today, he was going to put you in contact with me since he knew I had some experience with it. I may not be able to get up there to help but I could help you locate a harness. I know Brandywine Autoparts has a wall lined with BMWs, might be able to snag one out of there but they may charge out the ass.

A brown wire shouldn't be getting 12v like that to burn up though, something isn't right.

[mitchlevy7]

green connector in the back of the gauge cluster.

[DREWHALL]

Not sure about that, I remember reading something about it a long time ago in the 24v swap section before I even had my red car, but that was over 2 years ago at this point.

[mitchlevy7]

crazy rays in mt airy was flooded with m50/52s so i dont think ill have a problem finding a harness.
I have a guy in greenbelt that said hes done 10-15 e30 swaps that I will take to if i can't find anyone else, but that means throwing down more money for towing.

[DREWHALL]

See if he can just modify the harness without the car there, would make it a little less hassle IMO. If he will do that, see if he can label all the plugs/wires. It's pretty straight forward once you've taken one off the engine, but some of the connectors are confusing.