New Owner + Questions

[dunnright7]

Hey everyone,

As of a few days ago, I'm the proud owner of a '78 320i (US Spec). This is my first BMW, but I've done a bit of work on E30s in the past.

As far as I can tell, the car is in pretty good shape. There is no master cylinder right now, so I haven't been able to actually drive it more than 10 feet yet, but that should be fixed in the next couple days. Odometer is sitting at 115,000 and supposedly works.

Questions:
- The EGR system appears to be completely bypassed. From what I've read, this is ok to do. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to this?

- The engine runs very well and idles smooth, but doesn't like to start. Are there any common things to look for here? I'm completely unfamiliar with the K-Jet system, so I have a bit of learning to do.

Thanks!

Pics:

[uwbuurman]

Welcome!!! Looks like a nice one! Bood color and sweet interior.

Egr: since it was put in just for the US and so other small markets, i would definitly recommend getting it out. That engine was Not designed to have it on, so get rid of it.

As for the starting: only whe cold? Could be the cold start valve then.

[Jeroen]

Welcome, looks very good and well kept!

EGR's are known troublemakers indeed so if properly bypassed I'd definitely leave it out.

Explain 'doesn't like to start'. Does it just take a long time, does it start but at very low revs, uneven or hunting idle, sputter, what does it do? Every cold start or only after sitting for days/weeks?

Usually the cold start valve (aux injector) doesn't make that much of a difference, usually it just takes longer before it catches on. If exhaust gas values are ok when warm and there are no obvious vacuum leaks, first suspect would be the K-Jet's warm up regulator.

[dunnright7]

Thanks everyone!

When starting cold, it takes much longer than it should, and requires a bit of gas to get it going, otherwise it just coughs a bit and dies. Once it starts, it seems totally fine.

I haven't been able to get the engine up to temp yet because the fuel line to the cold start valve leaks at the vale when running. It looks like the line itself is at fault here. Not sure if this is factoring into the starting issue or not - I haven't been able to work out a way to fix the line as it appears to be NLA from BMW. If anyone has any ideas, that would be great.

Thanks!