Another BMW E28 - This Time From Australia

[nsogiba]

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

[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.

[Asee]

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

[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.

[Tarmac180sx]

spot on keep it up!!

[symmat001]

Once run in and exhaust is done, VIDEOS!

[epearce]

Made the most of a long weekend and put a few more k's on the new motor. Had the exhaust joined up during the week making the risky trip through the middle of town with no exhaust. Turned out well and the exhaust note sounds perfect.



Now at 426kms and no engine faults so far.

Few issues with the fuel side of things but that was to be expected with running the wrong ecu. It doesn't rate cold starts and takes atleast 10 seconds to fire on first start, but runs perfectly smooth once it does start. There is meant to be a cold start injector in the intake manifold, but due to fitting a later model intake there was no place for it. The other issue is my A/F reading under 3/4 quarter throttle is 14. Which is on the lean side from my knowledge, cruise is about 13.5. I have tightened the spring tension on the AFM to try and improve fuel efficiency. I should probably back off the spring tension a bit and forget about fuel for at the moment.



Without closed loop feedback to the ecu it is going to be hard to get this right across cold start, cruise and accelerating. Need some sort of module with different resistance circuits so i can trick the ecu into thinking the engine is colder and increase injector pulse duration. No idea if you can actually buy this sort of thing though?

Took some photos in the main street of Gladstone aka middle of nowhere before heading back home..







Apart from the starting issues and lacking a bit of power, I'm stoked that everything else is perfect.

[Asee]

Looks bad ass, wana se some wheels on

Did some miner change´s to my doorhandles yesterday, took about 5 hours, first i grinded the black paint away with a circular steel wire brush, then i used 240 grit paper smoothing it some, and worked my way up to 2000 grit wet paper, and used Autosol for the finishing buff. The pics dont do them justice, thy came ut as good as the chrome on the car it self. Hope it gave you some inspiration... Best regards Mattias / Sweden

[epearce]

Thanks.

Nice work on the handles, I'll probably leave mine black but.

[epearce]

Been polishing the rear bbs's ready for test fitting some tyres this week. Got some test fit tyres to try a 225/50 and a 225/55. Can't wait to see how they sit on the car!

[Breakfast]

Sizes on those wheels?

[epearce]

Sizes on those wheels?

16 x 10 ET-20

They were sold to me as being 11s, sorta glad they aren't .

[Grime]

-20 is gnarly man. I foresee quite a bit of fender work. How much poke do they have?

[epearce]

Bought a timing light so I could set ignition timing correctly. It was set to where i thought it was idling best, turns out that was 0 degrees advance at idle. It's now set to 10 degrees advance and it much more torquey. The motor also has 750kms on it now. I'll give it another 250kms then i'll be able to test out how well it pulls at higher rpm.



Polished the rear wheels. Purple polish worked a treat!





Test fitted a tyre to one of the rear wheels. Fitted it myself as I trust myself more than tyre fitters. Started with a 225/50. Less stretch than I expected for a 10'' wheel. Think I need to try a 205/55 or 205/50 next.





Attempted to test fit the rear wheel on the car tonight. But couldn't even get it bolted up to the hub as the tyre is hitting against the guard even when raised (coilovers = basically no suspension droop). Tried to raise the coilover but for some reason it doesn't want to raise any more than 15mm. CBS removing the coilover tonight and sorting it out. Fitting a wheel with -20 offset and not having it protrude outside the guard a mile is going to be a massive challenge. The only way I see possible is making a rose/heim jointed adjustable rear subframe so I have adjustable camber and toe. With about -8 degrees camber they should fit. Only issue is I can't find many posts online about anyone successfully doing this to a e28. I'm definitely no engineer or suspension pro. Think i might have to drop a complete subframe out of one of the spares and see what will work.

Jeremy Whittle, Michael Burroughs, Rileystair; are any of you willing to shed some light on how you got so much rear camber?

Bolted a rear onto the front for a laugh as they won't bolt on the rear...




Think they might go back into hibernation for a while

[Pazi88]

You should forgot those 50-profile tires. They look horrible and that's why you have problems fitting them. Instead try 40 or 45 tires. 215/40 should fit nicely on 10" wheel.