E30 M52
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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.
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!
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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.
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So what you're saying is we should definitely expect to see this beast at Cars and Coffee on Saturday !
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
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.
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Take a deep breath. These are minor hiccups. You're at the finish line!
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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.
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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 gaugeRun 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)
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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?
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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 gaugeRun 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
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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.
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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:
Dan
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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)
You have an awesome coworker!
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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.
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That’s an excellent idea, wiring the window lock to the fan. I hope you don’t mind if I copy the idea lol, I’ve currently got the fan wired to a toggle under the dash but I really don’t like reaching under there every time I want it on.
I might’ve missed it earlier, but where are your auxiliary gauges at?
Hope the test drive goes well!
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