In reply to Brokeback (Matt) :
ooo and a fellow santa cruz rider! (I have a tallboy) I'm definately looking to get up and do some riding in flagstaff once I finish sorting out the wagon if you're ever looking for a very slow riding buddy.
In reply to Brokeback (Matt) :
ooo and a fellow santa cruz rider! (I have a tallboy) I'm definately looking to get up and do some riding in flagstaff once I finish sorting out the wagon if you're ever looking for a very slow riding buddy.
Absolutely - let me know, if you message me I'll send you my cell or FB details. Currently out of town for a couple more weeks but am hoping to get back on the bike when I return. I'm not good at riding technical-skills wise and I'm also out of shape (18 month old twins) so you'll fit right in!
Bah humbug.
Made a big push this weekend to wrap up the car for an alignment that was scheduled for tomorrow. Got the car on the ground ready for it's maiden voyage this afternoon only to discover the car will fire up, idle for 10-20 seconds and then shut off. I can get it to stay running slightly longer if I use throttle. but it still triggers the EML light and shuts down.
Spent 5-6 hours trying to troubleshoot without much success. I have fuel, and I can hear the pump/relay priming, I can also trigger them with my scanner. but I'm still getting a host of misfire codes, and a code for a fuel pump relay?
Finally had to walk away from the car. I'm sure once I figure out the issue it's gonna be smack my forehead simple. But right now it's frustrating.
It looks pretty good on the ground!
my cornucopia of engine codes:
Well, at least they all seam related. I'm guessing walking away for a bit will be your best troubleshooting step at this point.
Is there a way you can see what the fuel pressure is?
adam525i said:Well, at least they all seam related. I'm guessing walking away for a bit will be your best troubleshooting step at this point.
Is there a way you can see what the fuel pressure is?
I plan to pick up a fuel pressure test gauge after work tonight, BMW didn't make it easy with this one, the only tap spot is on the fuel pressure regulator which is located conveniently under the car buried below several panels.
A buddy mentioned he thought it strange I have misfires on 1-4 instead of the usual bank 1 or bank 2 type issues you'd usually see for electrical/o2 sensor type codes. which might jive with fuel pressure related issues since it feeds from back to front?
The line for the FPR is pretty tiny/long, I guess I won't be entirely surprised if I discover that somehow got damaged during the swap.
Taking a break from my depression fueled FoMo at OLOA to bring the thread back to current:
Rebuilt the rear subframe with the following components: Revshift subframe bushings, Powerflex front diff bushing, Turner Motorsports control arms with rubber inner bushings, Bimmerworld spherical RTABS, Ground Control articulating rear spring perches.
It's a good thing it's out of sight under the car, because choosing parts based on their performance does not a lead to a cohesive color scheme.
in between that I put a top coat of paint on the rear subframe reinforcements. it doesn't match, but since it will all be hidden under interior trim, it's good enough for me.
Then it was time to move onto brakes and suspension. As previously mentioned I went for 135i calipers with stock E46 M3 rotors. I always had really good luck with the Centric high carbon rotors on my racecar, so that's what I'm using here, although with a decidedly more street friendly Brembo OE pad.
The whole combo, with Apex spacers to get the 135i fitment 17x9 arc8's where they need to be.
After getting the brakes and suspension on I was ready to torque the rear camber arms at ride height, I had some help getting this task done:
While we were under the car we threw a new Meyle HD guibo on:
Cleaned up a bunch of the underbody parts in preparation for the first drive:
These parts were all pretty nasty, I had totally intended to take an after pic...but seem to have forgotten
Bleeding the brakes, nearly time for a test drive!
On the ground ready for it's first test drive!
Unfortunately this was approximately the point that I realized the car will run, but it misfires a bunch, and after 15-20 seconds of idling it throws a CEL and shuts the car off. I've been fighting that for several weeks and found a handful of vacuum leaks which I fixed, a buddy came over and we discovered the timing was off a bit so we re-timed the motor. I also fired the parts cannon at the fuel system with new FPR/Line/filter in case any of those got contaminated during the swap. All made it better, but it's still not driveable. It will idle longer, before still throwing the same codes. Work has been getting pretty hectic recently too so I finally made the decision to tap out and get some professional help. I'll be trailering the car to a local shop (Haus of Euro) this evening so they can take a stab at diagnosing the car.
I'm now 7 months into my 2 month project, it's getting hot, I want my car back driving 
It might be 7 months into your 2 month project, but it is going to be so cool when your done. All the proportions of that wagon look just right.
Somebeach (Forum Supporter) said:It might be 7 months into your 2 month project, but it is going to be so cool when your done. All the proportions of that wagon look just right.
That's what I keep telling myself!
I've been extremely bummed all week watching friends compete at OLOA while I'm at work. However, I just heard rumor today that a west coast "OLOA experiance" may be occurring this fall! so that's the new target for having the car really well sorted!
It's probably not running right because it's missing GRM stickers.
For real though, maybe something like a crank angle sensor?
hoping for good news
With that many misfire codes, it would appear to be a timing issue. I'm assuming you replaced all coils?
I'd definitely be interested in a West Coast OLOA if Brock puts one together.
In reply to docwyte :
It's a little annoying that "One Lap of America" is really "One Lap of a Few Central and Eastern States," isn't it?
In reply to brandonsmash :
When it kicked off at Watkins Glen it was more of an Eastern loop. Now you're right, it's Central/Eastern. Makes it much harder for those of us in the West to attend, as it's multiple days to just drive there and back, plus the event. Then if you want to be prepared, you've got to try and run those tracks beforehand, which are nowhere near where you live...
Well nuts. The shop gave me the diagnosis today, no compression on cylinder 1, suspect bent valves, but need to diagnose further to confirm that (have to assume that's the most likely issue given my various other issues)
They did figure out the car shutting off during idle issue was due to me swapping the M3 throttle pedal without clicker into the car and not resetting the adaptions for it (apparently ECUworx "reset adaptions" doesn't touch that one)
The quote to R&R the cylinder head comes in at $4900 
not exactly unexpected given how much work it is, but does give me some pause to determine a path forward.
It's starting to be pretty hot in AZ, bike commuting has become pretty unappealing.
Option 1: Buy another car, perhaps a dual purpose tow vehicle daily driver?
Option 2: Have the shop repair the head, pick up running/driving wagon in a week or 2.
Option 3: Buy another S54, drop into the wagon as-is put current motor with brand new rod bearings/vanos on an engine stand and take my time, get the head re-done/setup for cams, then swap that motor back over into the wagon at a later date.
Option 4: Bring the car home, pull the head, have it repaired then re-install it myself (likely the most economical solution.
Option 5: (My wifes suggestion 
) Sell the car as-is and just have something more modern/reliable to drive daily
I'd do a leak down test before tearing the head off. Also any way you can scope that cylinder before any commitment?
Yeah, I'd want to double check that diagnosis before doing anything. If it is indeed a dropped valve, I'd look into buying a good, used S54 head and just swapping that.
Let me just add that this is probably a car that I could keep forever. And, how much for it?
This was a running engine pre swap, now has no compression in one cylinder. What was changed? If a valve is bad it got bent from a cam timing issue, they don't get bent from sitting in the garage.
Sounds like the wife isn't happy about this whole thing? I'd probably go option 2 and enjoy the car. Option 4 would be my first choice if there wasn't family in the mix.
Option 3
If your wife has suggested #5, that means she's probably a little tired of the car and your time on it, so IMHO that renders options 3 and 4 useless, since that means EVEN MORE timesuck and project drift.
If it were me, I'd buy once, cry once and let the shop give you a good running car in short-ish time. This is the goldilocks car you have dreamed of building, per your exact words in the first post. you'll regret selling as-is, both from a financial loss and a 'what could have been' standpoint.
Good luck though... I hope to see this thing running for sure regardless.
It seems like if you walk away now, you are going to lose a ton of equity and will be disappointed to see it go.
However, if you really have to walk away, I'm just up the road and I own a truck and trailer!
Oh, also, if you need a commute vehicle for a little bit while you sort this out I can probably spare one of my vehicles.
My input (unasked for but im watching this thread :D) - owning only a BMW for transportation is not a good idea, based on my personal experience with mine. Even if you do keep this, do you have space to park another (cheap or nice, your choice) car that's the backup?
My wagon is back up and running - still not convinced it's totally fixed as I'm getting a bit of oil out the bottom of the bellhousing. could be residual oil from the RMS, could be worse....either way, new plate seemed appropriate and makes me laugh.
I'll should clarify, option 5: I've got a pretty understanding SWMBO and she's content to watch from afar as I run amuck on self imposed car projects/restrictions, so this option was mostly in jest. She wouldn't be upset to see it go, but it's not causing any rift in our relationship either.
a bit more context to the shops diagnosis:
I believe my snafu was during the engine out phase. My order of operations was below (and wrong)
I'm still a little astounded that rolling the motor over by hand would bend a valve, but I guess here we are.
Talking to the shop about timing, they're 3 weeks out from being able to pull the head, 1-2 weeks at the machine shop and then 1-2 weeks to fit it back in the schedule and reinstall the head. allowing a bit more time for project drift, things to not go according to plan etc. puts option 2 well out into July, during which timeframe my family (and backup transportation minivan) will be in MI. So not ideal.
Option 6 surfaced last night, there's someone 45 minutes away in North Phoenix selling several S54 heads. I can scoop one of those up, and make this a "quick" remove and replace project. I'm reasonably confident that 3rd times the charm and I can totally set the timing right now. (I'm not too proud to ask for help, so I'll still get my buddy to come double check my work before closing up the motor this time)
I'll get the motor home over the next couple days and can resume digging back into it, although I do have to say, I very briefly considered just walking away from the project seeing multiple of you interested 
I don't even want to consider how much I've spent up till this point and how small of a % of that number I'd have to sell this car for as a currently non running/driving car
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