Another BMW E28 - This Time From Australia

[epearce]

Looking good so far, its gonna be interesting to see the end result, cant wait.. Keep up the good work m8. Cheers

Thanks!

Can't wait till the motors run in so I can rev it out.

[Asee]

Looking good so far, its gonna be interesting to see the end result, cant wait.. Keep up the good work m8. Cheers

[epearce]

Time for a proper update.



The last wire to check on the engine loom was the one causing the issue. No idea how it happened.. So i ran a new wire to the ecu and got injector pulse! Whilst measuring resistances I measured the injectors, turns out they are low impedance and the factory injectors are high impedance. Probably should have checked this before fitting different injectors. Looked into running resistors, but decided it would be safer to fit the old injectors that the ecu was made for. Got them ultrasonic cleaned, filter baskets replaced and flow checked prior to fitting them. Apparently there was a 15% difference in flow between the highest to lowest flowing before hand and some were spraying at a 45 degree angle, this explains the running rough of the old engine. Now they are all within 2% and perfect spray patterns so happy days.



Whilst waiting on the injectors I filled it with coolant. Came back a couple of hours later to find nearly all the whelch plugs were weeping along with the headgasket externally at one spot. Devastated! It's pretty much an an engine out job to fix this... Couldn't believe it after taking so much care, but I was assured they would seal with heat so I nervously let them be.

Fitted the serviced injectors and turned the key expecting the first start. It fired but failed to start. Spent the next couple of nights checking distributor timing, airflow meter, spark, fuel etc. All with no luck. I was over it by this stage..

Thought i'd try a spare ecu as a last resort, lucky I did. Started and ran perfectly and the oil light went out instantly. Hard to tell how quiet the engine internals are with no exhaust system but so far it seem good. Let it get to temperature and checked for leaks etc. Amazingly the whelch plugs and headgasket stayed dry.







Took it for a drive a few k's down the road nervously waiting to see what may go wrong next. Apart from being deafening with the exhaust finishing at the firewall everything was perfect. Gearbox and clutch feel perfect, adjusted steering box felt nice and tight and the engine went great even though I babied it.

Pressure tested the cooling system once I got back and it didn't leak a drop, also not a sign of any oil leaks so far. So happy.



Plan is to put a few k's on it to make sure everything is right. Then i'll make the 25km trip to town to get the exhaust manifolds joined to the old system. Ear protection will definitely be needed!




(Has 45kms on it now)

Massive relief to see everything seems perfect so far, the hundreds of hours spent making sure everything was perfect might have paid off! And nothing feels better than knowing it is all built by me.

[nsogiba]

great build. serious attention to detail on that motor. Keep the updates coming.

[Asee]

If only they had a going car to go on

Soon, soon my friend..

[epearce]

That's some serious bling...

If only they had a going car to go on

[Asee]

That's some serious bling...

[epearce]

So the fuel issue is sorted and it now fires but won't run.

Motivation is running out. The amount of hurdles is getting to me. Hours on hours spent to achieve what feels like nothing. Fingers crossed tomorrow is successful.

Makes it worse is seeing these chilling on the couch every day.



Reading the latest stanceworks article has given me some motivation to get this thing going. This quote from the stanceworks article 911SC engine rebuild sums up my current feelings. "I was terrified that the blood and capital I had spent building the engine would be for naught. It’s not that I had a lack of confidence in what I had done as much as I was afraid of the old adage that “shit happens.” "

[DoABarrelRoll]

wow, this e28 gets better and better - can wait to see it on the ground and running! might have to get a set of those headers, looks like it will flow a heaps better than stock

sweet work!

[dvious]

Awesome work mate. Been following this build from the start, congratulations on getting the engine in!

[epearce]

Such Progress. Favourite build on SW right now.

Mate do you know the company who made the headers? and how much? same issue in South Africa with RHD. Finding headers is proving to be a bitch. And Fritz bits is too expensive for me

Appreciate it cheers mate!

I bought them off this ebay listing:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BMW-E28-E...2b93ea3&_uhb=1

It was a bit of an unknown buying them but i decided to take the risk. I was in the same boat as you trying to find aftermarket headers at an affordable price is hard (yes i know quality isn't cheap and i'm sure a set of german made headers would be better). They are an Australian company that I happened to stumble upon ebay searching. These look to be based on the fritz bits design. So far they seem good, clearances are tight but that is to expect with the rhd e28 m30s. I'll let you know how it sounds when i finally get it going and get them joined up to the rest of the exhaust system. They were $540 AUD plus postage (costed me $600 in total)

[symmat001]

Such Progress. Favourite build on SW right now.

Mate do you know the company who made the headers? and how much? same issue in South Africa with RHD. Finding headers is proving to be a bitch. And Fritz bits is too expensive for me

[epearce]

Went digging at work and found the factory wiring diagrams for the engine. If I can't get it going now I should be a first year :P

[epearce]

The motor looks super, some sweet work that u have done on it, a bit jealous....

Thank you, I'm jealous of the colour of your e28!



Another weekend pretty much over..

The engine bay is now 90% complete!

Replaced all the fuel and vacuum hoses as well as most of the coolant hoses for silicone ones. Also replaced the clutch hose for a braided version. The factory engine and trans mounts were well and truly stuffed so I swapped them for some urethane mounts. The tailshaft coupling was about to fall apart so I fitted a genuine one of those.









Fitted the intake manifold and started connecting wiring, shame this wiring is hard to hide. I'll try and make it more tidy once I know it goes. Had the fuel injectors flow checked and filters replaced, no doubt they would have clogged up somewhat in 30 years.





Next up was timing the distributor, new rotor button, cap and high quality ignition leads.









At this point it was time to start it for the first time. Nerves set in when it came to turning the key, luckily I didn't film it as it would have been a waste of time. Engine cranked over nicely but gave no inclination of firing. Definitely a mood killer.

Figured out not long later that it had spark and had fuel pressure, but the injectors weren't firing. Hours were then spent trying to figure out the wiring for the injectors as I couldn't find a relevant wiring diagram. For some reason the relay isn't switching the positive to them. No idea how this has happened as I haven't touched this part of the wiring. Hopefully tomorrow I can find a factory wiring diagram book and nut out how it all works.

Was hoping to get it out of the garage this weekend..

[Asee]

The motor looks super, some sweet work that u have done on it, a bit jealous....