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Thread: BMW Experts Assemble!

  1. #1
    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    BMW Experts Assemble!

    I know there's a few people on here with a BMW and (more importantly) some very mechanical minded individuals.

    So basically, bought a 1995 E36 328i, with the 'M50 manifold swap'. When I bought it, at temperature the idle would bounce between 400rpm and 1000rpm but not while cold. It also smells quite badly of fuel at a stop as if it's overfuelling. I have since:

    1) Checked the intake trunk for cracks
    2) Cleaned the MAF
    3) Tried disconnected the MAF (car just stalled)
    4) Repaired a split Idle Control Valve Hose

    Since doing that today I have made it worse. The car now quite simply stalls.

    Any ideas?

    Edit: It's odd that it only does it when warm, what would be different other than a higher idle and richer running during the cold start that would cause it to idle fine during the cold start?
    Last edited by mcleansc; 13-08-2016 at 13:36.

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    Guest Zornyan's Avatar
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    okay. here goes....prepare for my 2 years of e36 328 knowledge. (funnily enough mines a 1995 m reg too, apparently rare as horse shit nowdays)

    ok here's a massive check list, and things you need to go over.

    cyclone/pcv valve, make sure it's genuine, ONLY buy genuine. see if the hoses are caked with shit, one goes to rocker cover, the other goes to the dipstick.

    remove and clean the idle control valve, make sure to manually push down on the plunger to move it about and get all the crap out.

    remove the throttle body, clean, and reset it's 'resting' position.

    double triple and quadruple check for air leaks, pull the oil filler cap off with the engine running, it 'should' have a decent vacuum and the idle should become rougher with it off. if no changes happen that indicates a vac leak.

    unplug the battery for half an hour to reset your ECU

    obviously check your spark plugs, also check the bottom half of the coilpack, their called spark plug 'boots' and are replaceable (did mine recently) much like a HT lead.

    finally, there is a water temperature sensor for the ECU, but afaik these very rarely go wrong, so I would assume to be the least likely culprit.

    oh and check battery age/condition, their actually quite sensitive to battery voltage and an imperfect battery can cause odd issues.

  3. #3
    Guest Zornyan's Avatar
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    oh also check cam position sensor, just under the vanos unit, these can cause funny idle issue.

    and the vanos issue, although they commonly rattle, sometimes due to excessive wear they can 'lock up' in a certain position which throwaway cam timing off causing fueling issues.

  4. #4
    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    Zornyan you legend. Wonderful cars btw, for 195,000 miles on the clock it drives like a dream. I'd rather not have had one which has been modified but it was a decent price. I'll get checking all those and report back.

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    Guest Zornyan's Avatar
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    cool cool, gimme a shout in here if you need anymore help, my recommendations for your car would be

    trailing arm bushes/meyle HD
    trailing arm bush lock kit (2 large poly washers either side, don't fit poly bushes their absolute shit)

    bilstein b4 shocks+eibach sport line springs

    e36 m3 3.0 (non evo) lollipop bushes in some meyle HD arms (solid ball joints as opposed to plastic, bushes increase castor)

    e36 m3 evo top mounts fitted reversed (bit more castor)

    z3 steering rack (2.7 lock to lock as opposed to 3.5)

    or a e46 one if hard to find

    e46 330 front brakes (great upgrade)

    m50 manifold + a end tuning remap makes a huge difference

  6. #6
    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    BMW Experts Assemble!

    Cheers mate, it's already got the manifold and coilovers which are surprisingly comfy. I'll get the Z3 rack next as I want to use it occasionally at Driftland.

    Before I go over the full checklist you gave me I wanted to run something by you. I've found I can stop the rev bounce 90% of the time by coming out of gear around where the engine would idle, say 600rpm. Would that be indicative of an ICV fault since; it's fine when I'm bringing the car out of gear near the idle rpm, but it bounces if I, say, drop it out of gear around 1,500rpm?

    Edit: Off topic but it also has a worn looking cone filter, you reckon I'd be better with a decent panel filter and the stock airbox or a new cone filter?
    Last edited by mcleansc; 15-08-2016 at 19:54.

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    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    Does yours have the LSD Zornyan? I went to get mines welded and it has a 'plater'(?) LSD. Wondered if you knew the value of it? Marc and his mates who know BMW's said it'd be worth between £300 and £400?

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    Guest Zornyan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mcleansc View Post
    Does yours have the LSD Zornyan? I went to get mines welded and it has a 'plater'(?) LSD. Wondered if you knew the value of it? Marc and his mates who know BMW's said it'd be worth between £300 and £400?
    In the middle of fitting an evo rear end and lsd to mine.

    personally I'd keep the lsd over the welder. I've run them before and their ok for the job, but LSDs actually teach you better transitions and not to mention don't make your car sound ****ed day to day. when I went from a welder to a 1.5way it showed me where I was actually lacking alot and helped me improve my throttle control.

    the only thing worth doing is checking the plates to make sure their in good nick, and getting a 3rd plate added along with some machine work. it'll then be essentially a 1.5 way diff. their damm strong too

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    Engine Builder Mark's Avatar
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    Main cuplrit will be the ICV, be 100% sure its not this before looking elsewhere.
    Quote Originally Posted by silverzx View Post
    I like Mark, he seems fair.
    Quote Originally Posted by Slip_n_slide View Post
    Mark is right.

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    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    Yup Mark, was the ICV. The plunger was totally seized with carbon deposits. If it wasn't for Zornyan I wouldn't have even known it was supposed to move it was that bad

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    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    I've got in touch with a guy from DW who can add 2 plates to the diff, he's pricing it up for me at the moment. Have you done the Clutch Delay Valve delete Zornyan?

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    Guest Zornyan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mcleansc View Post
    I've got in touch with a guy from DW who can add 2 plates to the diff, he's pricing it up for me at the moment. Have you done the Clutch Delay Valve delete Zornyan?

    There's alot more than just adding 2 plates, the actual casing needs machining to clear the 'ears' of the plates, you also need to have the ramp angles machines to make any difference. just adding plates won't do much for you.

    honestly my advise mate would be this

    chuck a decent 10.9 or higher grade diff bolt upgrade in, change the fluid in your diff.

    drive it. don't worry about ramp angles and plates and all the other crap. not at this point in time anyway.

    RE clutch delay, bin that shit, but get a braided line made up.

    do NOT buy an ebay/off the shelf braided clutch line, their only about 6 inches long to replace the rubber section, go down to anywhere that makes braided hoses up, I got mine done in earls for about 25 quid with swivel fittings.

    best thing about it? a straight braided clutch hose makes the clutch completely self bleeding, no joke! handy as ****. usually e36s are a bitch to bleed, mine? pour fluid in, pump pedal , pour fluid in. done

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    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    I'll be sending the diff to him mate, he's a DW Gold Trader, Doritech Motorsports? I imagine he'll be doing all that shenanigans. Although, it's beginning to sound like it'll be rather expensive.

    Already changed the fluid, but what's this diff bolt you speak of?

    Awesome I'll get that, cheers for that mate, there's an almighty blowage on the zorst I'll need to sort as well.

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    Guest Zornyan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mcleansc View Post
    I'll be sending the diff to him mate, he's a DW Gold Trader, Doritech Motorsports? I imagine he'll be doing all that shenanigans. Although, it's beginning to sound like it'll be rather expensive.

    Already changed the fluid, but what's this diff bolt you speak of?

    Awesome I'll get that, cheers for that mate, there's an almighty blowage on the zorst I'll need to sort as well.

    It is very expensive, and honestly you don't need it at all for drifting unless your in bdc?

    front diff bolt is known to snap on the diff, look on eBay and various places that do upgrade 12.9 rated items, requires some drilling but easy enough to do.

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    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zornyan View Post

    trailing arm bushes/meyle HD
    trailing arm bush lock kit (2 large poly washers either side, don't fit poly bushes their absolute shit)

    e36 m3 3.0 (non evo) lollipop bushes in some meyle HD arms (solid ball joints as opposed to plastic, bushes increase castor)
    Where did you get your lollipop bushes mate? I've found the Meyle HD control arms, but can't find the lollipop bushes anywhere? Also the poly washers, where did you get those? Tried googling them but not 100% clear on what I need.

    I'm selling the diff and just buying a welder, with the profit I'll be getting these parts.

  16. #16
    Guest Zornyan's Avatar
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    e36 m3 (3.0 offset) items. think I got mine from eBay, lemforder do them too from euros iirc.

    trailing arm washers are derlin not poly, mine are ECS tuning brand from the USA .

    not sure if available over here, but 10x better than poly bushes mate as they actually fix the inherent issue in the design.

    I'd recommend getting a few bits from stateside, they do brilliant kit for e36s, whilst doing your trailing arms I'd recommend welding in the reinforcement plates for the pockets. easy as piss. take a look at my thread in motoring chat

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

  17. #17
    Guest mcleansc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zornyan View Post
    e36 m3 (3.0 offset) items. think I got mine from eBay, lemforder do them too from euros iirc.

    trailing arm washers are derlin not poly, mine are ECS tuning brand from the USA .

    not sure if available over here, but 10x better than poly bushes mate as they actually fix the inherent issue in the design.

    I'd recommend getting a few bits from stateside, they do brilliant kit for e36s, whilst doing your trailing arms I'd recommend welding in the reinforcement plates for the pockets. easy as piss. take a look at my thread in motoring chat

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
    Need you again Zornyan, my BMW Zen Master. Noticed I was running a bit lumpy at a set of ligts, as if the car wasn't firing on all 6 cylinders, accompanied by a very loud and noticeable tick. Car was down on power when I pulled off and stunk, in a bout of frustration I had a wee skid bouncing it off the limiter in 1st, which completely sorted it.

    You reckon this is coil pack / 'spark plug boot' you mentioned earlier or a spark plug issue?

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