New Project '87 e30 325i

[Jeroen]

OK well especially with that switching stage there are known issues with these ECU's, so it would be even better if you can borrow a known good one to test, or have one tested indeed. The plot thickens though....

[e21Keith]

Update

Stopped raining today so I went out and fitted the two sensors. To my surprise the engine fired, it fires on about 1 cylinder, maybe 2 occasionally, if I spray easy start into the manifold it runs for about 1 second and then stops. So I think I have proved that the ECU is OK.

I have little faith in the HT leads because the original distributor cap was broken in the accident, so I have ordered a set of plugs and have found a set of new HT leads in my stash. I have a nagging doubt that the injectors are clogged after about 15 years of inactivity and the running on easy start seems to support this but maybe by sorting the HT I can get it to run on a few more cylinders first?

[Jeroen]

15 years huh? Oh yeah. A while back I worked on an E30 M3 that had been parked for about 6 years, and because of the clogged fuel injectors pretty much everything before the injectors blew up! Pump, filter, pressure regulator, hoses. So yeah, better bring these injectors in for an overhaul or replace them, before you need to buy even more replacement parts.

[e21Keith]

Any suggestions on how to clean them? They have a gauze filter inside so with luck there won't be any dirt in the injector itself.

A trawl of the interweb has a couple of methods. One is just to blast the input side with carb cleaner, theory being that everything that teh gauze has caught will be dislodged and come out. Another is to put 12v on the plug and blast with cleaner, this will clean the nozzle itself.

Does anyone have experience of doing this?

[Jeroen]

Pardon my French but that sounds like a rubbish advice. It is not dirt that clogs them up, where would it come from when standing still? The cause is dried, gummed up fuel that is clogging the inside. You can try to clean them but then you must fully soak it in a solvent, then operate the injector electronically, then try to blow it clean. Still, that does not guarantee you will have 6 properly functioning injectors again as you'll never know if they are fully clean and 100% functional again, but they will be good enough for getting the car started I guess. But if the car was parked so many years, did you take enough precautions on the rest, like timing belt for instance? And when you get it running, be prepared for a fuel leak or two to develop haha.

[e21Keith]

Thanks Jeroen,

I suspect that your French is better than my Dutch. I used to Visit Amsterdam regularly (do you remember Cinenova Het filmkanaal?) but never spoke a word of Dutch.

No precautions were taken before the car was laid up at all, it just sat unused, The previous owner said he had it running but as the distributor cap was in many pieces I doubt his word.

I have replaced all the fuel pipes and line (metal and rubber), fuel filter, air filter, oil, oil filter, timing belt, water pump and radiator, plus of course distributor cap and arm. I've had the rocker cover and sump off to inspect for damage and contamination. Only items not replaced were spark plugs and HT leads, I never looked at the injectors because I just wrongly believed they would be OK if they had been left alone.

[uwbuurman]

Just ship them to Bernd Prickartz un Germany, and get them back cleaned, tested and like new. Ofcourse with a testreport.

http://www.asnu.de/impressum.html

[e21Keith]

She Runs!

I bought a secondhand set of injectors on eBay for £20 and went through all 12 I had. One of the new ones was faulty and only one of the old ones was OK so I had a set of 6. I also bought from eBay an adaptor that goes on the aerosol of carb cleaner, by applying 12v to each injector I could flush right through with cleaner and check the spray pattern.

I changed the plugs but haven't done the HT leads yet, idles fine, bit tappety, no smoke, no leaks, went up to normal temperature and sat there for 20 minutes. Not bad after 16 years of inactivity.

Next task is to flush the cooling system again, change the oil and filter again, then I need to set the steering geometry enough to drive the car in a straight line and get all the lights working, then I can go for an MOT.

[uwbuurman]

Cool! Congrats.

Got a link for that tool??

[e21Keith]

Looks like a piece of Chinese C**P but did the job, recommended.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Ca ... 2749.l2649

[Jeroen]

That is great news! It's alive!

[gerrit323]

Well done

[e21Keith]

MOT booked for Tuesday next week, yes my local MOT station is still open!

Some progress this week:

Adjusted tracking by eye so the front wheels point in roughly the same direction.
Flushed the cooling system, very brown liquid came out, added some flush and flushed again.
Investigated heater fan not operating. Cleaned thermal cut out in resistor pack, removed mouse nest from scuttle area and lubricated fan, all working now.
Fitted period Pioneer radio and electric aerial

[Jeroen]

Nice progress! Fingers crossed for that MOT then. And we want pics!

[e21Keith]

MOT passed today with (surprisingly) no advisories. Had to set the headlight aim during the test and one of the headlights was a little dim but came back when I re-seated the plug.

The 12 mile round trip to the MOT station was the car's first outing in probably 15 years, there was a misfire which cleared (still haven't fitted those new HT leads), the tracking needs setting properly (booked for Thursday) and te fuel gauge doesn't work, other than that all seems well.

What is the current recommended hosting service for adding pics so that I can post some please?