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nc325ic

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  2. nc325ic
    Let me start with the brick wall I've hit. The EGR pipe adapter in the exhaust manifold is one stubborn S.O.B. It will not budge. I am down to 3 foreseearble options:
    1) More heat, I need to let the torch cook it for longer. I always get antsy when torching.
    2) Cut off the head of the fitting and hope it is seized on the face, not the threads. (If it is a tapered thread this would not be a good idea)
    3) Remove the exhaust manifold and replace it.

    Luckily it is not holding me back too much because I'm waiting on parts.
     
    The other day I was cataloging and replacing the coolant hoses and came to the short little heaterbox-heatervalve hose. I loosened the clamps and cut the hose off without taking the time to think about what I'm doing. Sigh... have to pull the heaterbox I guess. Lucky I did because the heater valve is seized, the fan is seized and it is all around in need of refurbishing. This will save me from having to drain the coolant some other time. Parts are on the way, and in the mean time the heater will just wait in my "I'll work on it inside" bin.

     
    I also dug through the parts that the PO provided and found a nice supply of carb jets and other parts. I purchased a rebuild seal kit as well. I set the carb back up to C.Diesels prescription. Somewhere along the lines I think someone got the carb adjusted to where it would run. I don't think it was well adjusted or jetted well because the throttle stop was all the way screwed in, and the high idle stop was likewise quite far in. I pulled both of the stop screws back out and set the idle mixture to 1.5 turns as well. Now just have to see if it will start and idle.

     
    Remaining items on my list before I can be done with engine bay stage 1:
    Intake - Vacuum Tubing and EGR Blockoff Plate (laser cut at work)
    Exhaust - Plug EGR Pipe hole
    Cooling - Reinstall fan/pulley and radiator, Rebuild Heater
    Electrical - Install Battery and plug wires
     
    I will also do a valve adjustment, compression test, set the timing, and adjust the idle.
     
    Bonus*** My wife and I bought ourselves a house warming present for the garage. MaxJax just arrived today. Need to get it prepped and installed.

     
  3. nc325ic

    Engine plans

    By nc325ic,


    Stage 1
    As I mentioned at the end of my last post, my immediate drive line plans are to ditch the m10. The ideal choice for me was an m20 because nothing beats a bmw i6. Backup choice, and all around easier swap, is the m42. Facebook marketplace made that decision a lot easier for me with a $400 m42+g240 about 15 miles away. 
     
    The engine has about 200k on it so at the very least a minor refresh is in order. I decided to pull the head and oil pan to inspect everything. I'm glad I did. No catastrophic damage, but damage did exist and it was only a matter of time. 
     
    The root cause of the damage is the half thrust bearing. It machined away roughly 3 of the crankshaft thrust surface. This of course let the crank walk about 3mm and led to some pretty significant scuffing on cylinder 3. I say scuffing and not scoring because you can't feel any damage by hand. 
     
    So, with that discovery the engine got fully torn down, "new" crank from ebay, and they're all at the machine shop now for measurement and light rework. They'll also get a valve job and new seals. 
     
    Meanwhile, I am being lazy and waiting for our MaxJax to get installed before I do a front suspension refresh. The m10 is relatively well tuned now but it sounds like I have a totally worn out ballpoint in drivers front. So, for now I keep to the neighborhood for my casual drives. 





  4. nc325ic

    Small progress

    By nc325ic,


    Stage 1
    ... because it's the little things that count.
     
    So to build from my last post. I did some of what I said I should do. #1 I got the car warmed up and made sure the coolant was all set. Good to go there.
     
    In an effort to eliminate a potential vacuum leak I disconnected and plugged the vacuum line to the distributor and then set out on tuning the idle. I screwed the mixture screw in probably 1+ full turns until the idle came up. So i dropped down a jet size and did it again until it was basically dead at 2 turns out. Right in the sweet spot. I then hooked up the distributor vacuum again.
     
    And of course, the idle went to crap again. I pinched the line while it was still connected, to eliminate the vacuum leak, and this did not solve the issue. If i held the line pinched and disconnected it from the distributor the idle came back down. So I had this new bit of information to go on, came inside and started typing up a post to ask for some help. Just before submitting it I did some searches and kept seeing people referring to "ported vacuum" so I dug a little deeper to find out that the distributor is supposed to be connected ABOVE the throttle plates and I had it hooked to manifold vacuum. 
     
    So, that problem is solved. I have the warm idle tuned pretty well now, but I still need to work on the cold idle. As much as I like the water choke, it is a bit more frustrating to adjust so i swapped it out for an electric choke that came with the car. I will work on getting the choke adjusted properly in the coming days.
     
    I also have some front suspension parts on the way because of some concerning noises when driving it around the neighborhood recently.
     
    I have also decided on a near term path for the car, stage 1.5 i may call it. With the M10 burning oil there is some need for attention. I also am not a huge fan of the emissions levels of carbureted non-cat/conv vehicles (he says having removed the rudimentary emissions equipment). My eventual plan is to go electric with it. At the moment however the electric swap aftermarket scene is still not mature enough for me (read: I'm too dumb to figure it out and too cheap to pay someone else to). So my intermediate plan is an m20 or m42, but probably an m20 because I like a straight 6. This will also let me do a 5 speed swap all at once.
     
    That's all for now, thanks to those that have left comments.
  5. nc325ic

    Poor planning

    By nc325ic,


    Stage 1
    So I am now beginning to think that I may have done too many things at once. 
     
    Here's what I did, all at once:
    Remove AC, Remove EGR, reject carb to cdiesel prescription, refresh cooling system, rebuild heater box
     
    Here's what I should have done, one at a time, not necessarily in this order
    1) check timing
    2) adjust/reject carb
    3) remove EGR
    4) Repeat steps 1+2
    5) Remove AC and refresh cooling system
     
    Not only would this have kept the car running and driving for more of the time, but now I'm am in a bit of a predicament.
     
    First off the car starts and runs, but it doesn't idle. No, it does idle, but somewhere in the ballpark of 4-500 rpm (I don't have a tach...). The driver engine mount is toast so it shakes quite a bit at such low rpm so I can't really get a screwdriver in there to adjust mixture or speed while it's running. 
     
    I have a fresh cooling system that I need to bleed, so I need the car to warm up. But it won't idle so I need to keep it revved to keep it running to warm it up. 
     
    The exhaust is quite potent so I think my carb tuning and or my timing is off.  Tried to check my timing today, but I don't have a tach to know what rpm I (my wife) am holding. 
     
    These are all real problems that I am having that I think would not have piled on like this if I had taken a more piece wise approach.
     
    That being said, anyone have any helpful suggestions for a very low idle and very potent exhaust (likely with multiple leaks)?
     
    My plan right now is to pull the car out and warm it up and do the coolant to cross that one off the list. Then I will get a tach and set the timing. Then I will tackle the carb. 
     
    Any tips on carb tuning outside of lean idle?
     
    Thanks for reading,
     
    Chris
     
  6. nc325ic

    Removing the Unwanted - Part 1

    By nc325ic,


    Stage 1
    I have broken up my project into a few stages. Stage 1 of the project is just to kind of get it mechanically sound again. Something I can drive with an acceptable level of confidence. Luckily the previous owner supplied me with a nice cache of new parts to get started with. 
     
    I begin in the engine bay. My goals for the engine bay are pretty simple for now. The engine starts and runs pretty well. It burns oil, that much is for sure, but other than that it seems to be in decent shape. Electronic Ignition is already in place, as is a Weber 32/36 DGAV. It may run a bit rich so I will likely review the current jets and do some idle fiddling. That being said, the goal for the engine bay in stage 1 is to:
     
    Remove EGR (components will be available for sale/free) Remove BEHR Aircon (components will be available for sale) Flush the cooling system Install the new coolant hoses, waterpump, thermostat from the parts cache Install new belt Install catch can to help reduce oil burn (minimal effect I know) Remove Charcoal Canister (for sale/free) Valve adjustment Carb Review Throttle linkage issues/questions  
    I may have missed some stuff that I am doing but in general the goal is to open up the engine bay and remove as much unnecessary, inoperable, or unwanted equipment/hoses/wires as possible. Leaving only what is necessary.
     
    OK so I am attaching a few pictures of my progress. I have been putting maybe an hour or so into working on the car after work. No shop manual so I have been mixing research online with good old fashioned recon on how things come apart. So far I think the most challenging thing was figuring out how to take the grill off.
     
    At this point the EGR system is about 90 percent undone and about 60 percent removed. The tube is stuck in the exhaust. I think I may have to cut it and get a socket on the fitting. I was hoping not to destroy anything so I could sell/give away as many parts as possible to those who might need them for restorations, but I just cant get it to budge.
     
    I started removing AC after I tired of trying to remove the EGR tube. Got all the wiring and hoses undone in the engine bay. My wife has been great and helping me out with a lot of this stuff, it isn't the air-cooled Porsche that she would rather be working on, but she has agreed to help. She is now working on getting the AC out of the interior, though the aftermarket radio is proving a nuisance. Back in the engine bay I struggled with the condenser until I found out how to remove the grills. Then I realized it would not fit out past the water pump. So I undid 4 of the bolts for the pump only to find that the AC compressor bracket is on the outside of the water pump and uses two of it's bolts! What kind of sadistic german "engineer" (yeah I put it in quotes for this guy) would do this kind of thing... Monster. Anyway, that's where I am now. I will go out and remove the compressor on my day off and then get rolling on the rest.
     
    Now a question to whomever reads this. There is a picture attached with the carb still mounted on the intake. In that picture you can see a red wire attached to a sensor/sender on the carb. That red wire travels along the firewall and onto a spade terminal on... the ignition coil (blue). Can anyone tell me why or what this is about?
     
    Thanks for reading,
    Chris








  7. nc325ic

    Introduction

    By nc325ic,


    Introduction
    Hello All,
     
    Wanted to do a quick intro on myself and my new project.
     
    My background in BMWs is through the magical world of e30s. I have driven an e30 from the time i got my license until about 2 years ago. I have also owned an e34 540i/6 and currently drive a 2012 135i. The ownership of a modern BMW has taught me one main thing. I dont like modern BMWs as much as classics. So with that said I set out looking for an older BMW again. I didn't want to get another e30 unless it was an M3, and I am not currently made of money. So I set my sights on the model which started my family's obsession with BMW all those years ago. 
     
    Produced only a few thousand cars from the car my mom drove before I was born, this 1974 2002 is Chamonix over Indigo (or other navy blue). Purchased on this site, from a seller in Oregon and shipped across the country to North Carolina. The car shows 80k on the odometer (likely 180 or more), a running and driving project with a few mechanical, a few cosmetic, and a few optioned (Automatic Transmission) issues to sink my teeth into. I am looking forward to getting working.
     
     


  8. nc325ic

    Removing the Unwanted - Part 2

    By nc325ic,


    Stage 1
    After yesterdays blog post I got to work getting the rest of the AC system out as well as the EGR system.
     
    I removed the AC compressor, which I'm pretty sure could run a small motorcycle, through the bottom without having to put the car up on jackstands which was nice. I was also able to pick up where my wife left off and pull the full center console out. I honestly think it looks pretty good without a console and I may leave it out in the future. 
     
    As I noted in a comment on my last post I did end up cutting the EGR tube at the exhaust manifold. Unfortunately, try as I might I was unable to get the coupling out of the manifold... so I am going to pull the manifold and try it on a bench. If I cant get it there I will probably try to get a replacement of some sort. Does anyone know if an e30 M10 exhaust manifold works in a 2002? I know the e21 manifold looks to exit in the wrong location, but the e30 one looks like it could be OK.
     
    Last but not least, the carb wire. I searched the site and found that it is used as a fuel shutoff to prevent dieseling. Mystery solved. Since it wasnt causing idle issues before I started pulling things out of the engine bay I will leave it in place, but clean up the wiring a bit.
     
    And this, I think, concludes the removal of systems in the engine bay. Now its time to start getting in some new parts. I have most of the cooling hoses that I need. New water pump is already in place. 
     
    Bonus! I dropped by my grandparents house and borrowed a couple old tools that I knew he had laying around. The one that is most pertinent to this forum is the JRE Wonderbox. According to my dad he bought this for my Grandfather back in the late 70's when the family had 2 or 3 '02s. I hope it still works and I can figure out how to use it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.







  9. nc325ic

    Inspiration - Style

    By nc325ic,


    Inspiration
    So, now that the intro is out of the way. The car arrived about a week ago, drove it home in the middle of the night without issue. The brakes worked surprisingly well, the steering was relatively tight (not helped by the low air in the tires), the engine ran well enough after 2 weeks on a truck. All in all, a good first impression.
     
    I want to take a little bit of time here to go over the cars that I am taking inspiration from for my project. First off let me drop in a picture of my most recent e30 from when I sold it. It is a 1986 325e with an s52 swap. The car was stiff but not uncomfortable, it was aggressive but not over the top, and it was without chrome. One thing that I liked about the car, that I think gets overlooked for styling was the tires. I like a beefy looking tire, the tires on my e30 were 225/50r15 mounted on ltw5 15x7 wheels. That's an 8.9" tire on a 7" wheel, I think the result is a kind of chunky aggressive look.
     
    So keeping with that motif I have found a couple 2002s that I think get the proportions of the car spot on. While I don't agree with 100% of the styling decisions on these two cars, overall the styling is aggressive but not over the top. 
     
    Basically it looks like I'm going to go with a turbo valence and flares, though I may try to either blend the flares in or find some metal flares to weld on. These cars both mounted the flares high up on the body minimizing the space between the flare and the body line/hood/trunk which I think helps to correct some proportional issues that larger wheels can make on these cars. Both have deleted the beltline and knee trim, and the white car has blacked out the chrome as far as I can tell. The tire/wheel proportion on the green car is perfect in my opinion, though I will probably stick to a 15" wheel.




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