engine and drivetrain in dire need of help.. strangest thing ive seen, with pics..

[Robotin]

so i bought a low mileage refreshed m10, and ive been having alot of issues...

the person i bought the engine off of told me the engine came out of a 1602 that got a 2.0 swap.

one issue is that the engine has a 118 head...

not a huge problem, but the issue is that the old 2002 distributor WOULD NOT meet the cam gear...

so i tried using an e30 dist (knowing the dist gear is cut backwards).

the e30 dist fit all the way in and fits inside the cam gear perfectly...

now that everything is meeting up perfectly, i go to test for spark by holding the spark plug close to the VC to see any arcing, and still no spark.

but it seems the plugs on the dist are different.

^^^ 2002 dist

^^ e30 dist

and i have no idea how i am suppose to get the dist to work...

also, the e30 spark plug wires wont fit on the 2002 ignition coil, and the 2002 spark plug wires wont fit on the e30 dist cap.

[Preyupy]

The e30 distributor is for an ELECTRONIC AMPLIFIED system. The one for a 1602/2002 is points, condenser and coil system. You CAN NOT just hook the wire from the coil to the e30 distributor, it won't work!

If you can not put the 2002 distributor in the engine then for some reason the engine was built with a e21 1.8 or e30 1.8 liter camshaft inside a 118 head. This engine sounds like a real Frankenstein. If it is a 2 liter bottom end with a 118 head and a e30 camshaft you are going to need to either 1) get a complete ignition system from a e21 or e30 4 cyl and wire it into your car or 2) remove the internal coil and reluctor from the e30 distributor and figure out how to install something like a Pertronix ignition system or 3) pull the camshaft and install a correct one for the early distributors.

What is the serial number on the block? are you sure it is a 2 liter? I can't believe someone built a 2 liter engine with the small port/ small valve head from a 1600. What intake manifold does it have? if it is a 2 liter manifold there is going to be a huge mis match at the head, this thing will never run very well this way.

[pkbinplano]

vin number on block will explain alot

[Harv]

An MSD 6 will fire off the coil with that distributer I believe. If you cand find one used or new Bob's your uncle.

John

[ray_]

I bet it'd run really weirdly if you swapped the distributor gear.

Don't do that!

;-)

[eurotrash]

Weirdly, Ray?!

[ray_]

Totally!!

;-)

Weirdly, Ray?!

[remmib02]

It is possible to change the lower gear on distributor and the car will run fine. Unfortunately the distributor shaft has a spiral groove machined in it to move oil downward. Once on a 320i I ran the 02 gear without changing the shaft which resulted in oil being pushed up into the distributor body and then weeping out the holes near the cap. The car ran great but oil dripped out of the distributor and then on to the exhaust.

[tim385]

Hate to say it ......but id pull the head ...check your bore 2002/1600? change the cam , check your manifold to head match.A bit of time and a few gaskets VS hell who knows what ya got .Engine no wont tell you what you have only what it should be . I believe a 1600 can be bored to 2l and valve seats can be opened up a bit .......but why ...when there are plenty of 2002 motors out there .As for replacing the cam for a std 2002 one im sure plenty of people would give you a std cam ......I would but the post would be a killer!

[Preyupy]

The other problem with turning the distributor the other way just by changing the gear, the "advance" both vacuume and centrifical would work backwards and become "retard"

I also have 15-20 stock cams you are welcome to one if you need but I guess you could find one much closer..

[Robotin]

im thinking i may just look into buying a 121 head, from some research ive seen its 118 head and the 121 head require the same pistons. and that way i could use my 2.0 mani, and my old dist. seems easier......

[Guest_anonymous]

The new assumption is that you have bath tub pistons. I wouldnt buy a head until you know whats in the block and if they are useful.

Daron

Was this car running in its current configuration at all?

[Preyupy]

If the pistons are flat top then they will fit no matter which head you have. If they are any kind of "pop-up" or domed piston each head has a different shaped combustion chamber and they may or MAY NOT fit.

If this is a 1600 and you just put a 121/e12/e21 head on it the combustion chambers are going to be a much larger volume and your compression ratio is going to go down. The combustion chamber is also larger than the cylinder bore and you will have to use a 2liter head gasket just to get it to seal. The difference in bore is 6mm between a 1600/1800 and a 2liter.

This engine has never run? Where did you get it? It seems to me that whoever put it together did not know what they were doing and just grabbed a bunch of parts from under a work bench and bolted them together. I would not run this in my car unless I took it apart and made sure it was assembled correctly first. But then again it's not my car or my $$.

[Robotin]

i completely understand, i bought this engine from a person i had met a few times at a couple meets and when i asked people about who he was, nothing but good graces about him.

i never saw the engine ran, but what he told me was hes going to do a EFI swap, but then found a m42 for cheap and decided to go for that. and from what i see, the car has gotten a full top end refresh. and the engine has never been fired under these gaskets.

he told me the engine was in running condition. and he told me it was a 2.0 engine, not a stroker or overbore. i will post my block VIN on my next day off. and i guess i will have to remove the head and ill take a picture of the pistons.

[Preyupy]

I just don't know why he would have built it with a 118 head if it was a 2 liter engine. I"m sure it has flat top pistons which is just fine it should run ok it will just run out of power early (my guess max HP will be somewhere around 5000 rpm) the really big issue will be the match between the intake manifold and the head. I'm guessing he had a bunch of camshafts laying around and just grabbed one and did not think about the distributor drive gear difference, the engine COULD be just fine except for that one big OOPS.