E30 M52

[B C]

I pulled the batt cable to reset adaptations and went out for another 3 mile drive after yet another bleeding attempt. The temperature once again went to 3/4. i switched the car off then back on again.....

Aha!

Just like yesterday once i turned the car off and on again the needle snapped back to just under 1/2 and stayed there. I started realizing the gauge may actually be lying to me and made my way home to start connecting the VDO gauges I installed.

It was running top notch, no sign of any issues, it seems like the reset and the fresh gas are showing a difference already

I have the wires run for the VDO gauges but do not have the sensors installed. I have been waiting to order an oil distribution block and also a good enough reason to pull the thermostat housing so i could drill and tap it for the VDO sending unit.

It was my intention to keep the stock temp gauge in the cluster function and use the vdo as a backup/sanity check but I need answers and cant trust the stock one anymore.

I removed the stock temp sender and installed the VDO one in its place without removing the intake manifold. Do I win a prize?

Im actually feeling quite optimistic now.

Tomorrow I will give it a long drive and see for sure what the temperature is. As far as things are going right now, it seems to be running perfect and its just the temp. gauge reading that is an issue.

Here is a video of the gauge reading climbing then reverting back to a better reading after shutting the car off.

And a video of the engine running ever so smooth and nice.

Please let this be just a lying gauge and not another head gasket....

[Rekpoint]

That exhaust note [emoji7][emoji7]

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Jeff]

Sounds beautiful does it drone in the car?

[B C]

No drone, its just super deep and flat. I dont think it sounds as good as an M20 exhaust note, but its good.

[m42b32]

snap said:

Uh....

When it's cold out and after shorter drives the underside of the oil cap on my M3 looks like exactly this, and it goes away after a longer drive or frequent driving. My guess is it's just condensation and a longer drive should eliminate it. 

snap said:

My next stop was the gas station. It took 8 gallons of fresh 93 octane to help dillute te old stuff. I continued to limp home and watch the temp gauge get to 3/4, pulled it in the driveway and got bummed out that things arent going well so far.

After my car sat for 2 years, the gas in the tank smelled pretty terrible and the car ran ok but definitely not smoothly. I had maybe 3/4 of a tank so I ran it down and then diluted it with fresh gas, ran so much better. I'd guess that your stumble is at least partially a bad gas problem. 

As far as the temp gauge, have you checked the grounding nut on the back? If it's vibrated loose it can make the gauge behave weirdly, it looks like it's bouncing around a little bit and that's nearly exactly how my e30 behaved when I bought it. The grounding nut had completely fallen off, tightening it back down fixed it completely. 

Another possibility, and this is just me tossing ideas around: Where do you have the e30 temp sensor reading from on the engine? I am running an 80C (176F) thermostat in the M3, and the ECU typically reads the coolant temps in the head around 188-190 (freeway cruising or cooling fan on) and up to 195F sitting at a stoplight for a few minutes. I would imagine that with a 92C (197F) thermostat, your coolant temps (assuming you're getting the numbers from a similar location to stock) would be around 20F higher, so maybe in the 215F range. I couldn't find numbers on what the stock m20 runs at, but I'd imagine is significantly lower since the stock thermostat is an 80C and some people even run 71C. With an m20 and a 71C thermostat, some people on r3v say their gauge sits at the 1/4 mark, and with my m42 and it's 88C thermostat the gauge sits just over the 1/2 mark at operating temp. Its entirely possible that somewhere around the 3/4 is just where it wants to sit with that thermostat/engine? I would definitely hook up the VDO gauge for a sanity check/backup though. 

Also that idle sound fantastic!

[B C]

Thanks for the reassurance. The way my car is presenting itself to me is a lot like consulting Dr. Google when you dont feel good and everything you read is cancer, AIDS, or heart disease, but actually you just have a cold.  There are some overlapping symptoms, but im optimistic that everything is fine. Tonight I will go out for a proper shakedown run with the VDO connected and should be able to confirm that everything is fine and ready for daily driver status.

[i_love_cars]

So what you're saying is we should definitely expect to see this beast at Cars and Coffee on Saturday !

[B C]

Anniversary trip, otherwise I would

[jc43089]

Condensation on the oil cap is not abnormal.  Get the real gauge hooked up before worrying, the stock one is useless.  Was the engine from a wrecked car or unknown?  If you know it was from a wrecked car I consider that a good thing because it was likely driving fine when an accident happened.

[patsbimmer1]

Take a deep breath.  These are minor hiccups.  You're at the finish line!

[Earl]

Wonder Showzen was incredible

I can also state that the oil cap looks normal and my coupe looked like that during short trips and cooler weather.

[straight6pwr]

[Jdesign]

Died @ the temp gun. I would say 99.8% that your gauge is lying. I experienced the same problem way back when I got my vert. Bad ground or SI batteries.

[B C]

A couple years ago I replaced the SI Batteries and cleaned/tightened/re-flowed solder on the gauges. I dont think the battery replacement did anything and that perhaps the SI board itself is bad. As long as my speedometer, tach, and gas gauge work im fine although I need to re-fix the odometer gears. I need to swap in a spare odometer because I think the motor on mine may be burned out.

Gameplan:
Finish connecting the VDO temp gauge

Run a manual over-ride switch to the fan for actual emergencies

Go for a proper shakedown run.

If everything checks out I will drive it to work tomorrow. (30-40 min with stop and go traffic)
 

Next items on the never-ending list:

-oil dipstick tube mounting bracket

-Shim drivers side engine mount for better booster clearance

-Some ride height leveling with spring pads 

-Alignment

-New brakes

-Wire fog lights (still need to find some connectors)

-Install HIDs

- 'is' rear spoiler

-Fix odometer

-Oil distribution block

-New steering wheel

-New front sway bar links (AFAIK they are original, I should have changed them out when I did the sway bars)

[Daggerty]

i_love_cars said:

So what you're saying is we should definitely expect to see this beast at Cars and Coffee on Saturday !

Is this the Watertown one?

[Daggerty]

snap said:

A couple years ago I replaced the SI Batteries and cleaned/tightened/re-flowed solder on the gauges. I dont think the battery replacement did anything and that perhaps the SI board itself is bad. As long as my speedometer, tach, and gas gauge work im fine although I need to re-fix the odometer gears. I need to swap in a spare odometer because I think the motor on mine may be burned out.

Gameplan:
Finish connecting the VDO temp gauge

Run a manual over-ride switch to the fan for actual emergencies

Go for a proper shakedown run.

If everything checks out I will drive it to work tomorrow. (30-40 min with stop and go traffic)
 

Next items on the never-ending list:

-oil dipstick tube mounting bracket

-Shim drivers side engine mount for better booster clearance

-Some ride height leveling with spring pads 

-Alignment

-New brakes

-Wire fog lights (still need to find some connectors)

-Install HIDs

- 'is' rear spoiler

-Fix odometer

-Oil distribution block

-New steering wheel

-New front sway bar links (AFAIK they are original, I should have changed them out when I did the sway bars) 

You can do it

[patsbimmer1]

Daggerty said:

Is this the Watertown one?

557 Cottonwood Ave.

Ste. 101

Hartland, WI 53029

[P_Roloff]

Did you end up driving it to work today?

[B C]

P_Roloff said:

Did you end up driving it to work today?

DOH! someone followed up with last nights goals!

No, I didn't and I feel bad because a guy at work brought donuts in thinking I would bring it (he is a BMW guy and is excited to see it)

I had some family things to do last night, so as soon as those were done I spent from 8P-10P in the garage working on some wiring

-Repaired the 12V outlet that had stopped working some years ago.

-Bypassed the window circuit breaker switch and recommissioned it to be a fan manual override switch

-Moved the VDO coolant gauge to the far right spot so its in better view since when it was in the far left spot my hand/steering wheel blocked its view and now that it is the primary coolant gauge I need to see it easily at all times.

-Completed the connection from the VDO temp sender in the head to the gauge.

Tonight I have between 5p-7p to button it up and test it out. I really just need to run one more wire through the firewall , put the HVAC panel back together, and try it out. As long as the temperatures stay below 200F on my test drive I will be taking it to work tomorrow. 

. After that its just worrying about scraping and ripping my exhaust off on unexpected bumps.

[straight6pwr]

snap said:

After that its just worrying about scraping and ripping my exhaust off on unexpected bumps.

i really want to be in the car with you the first time you make solid contact with your skid plate.

you: