| NSR21L |
Posted
Saturday, Jul 14th 11:33am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 52
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
Ok, i got whole fuel & ignition system diagnosed. on the fuel side, fuel is being delivered at the correct injection pulse, flow & pressure. the ignition is set at the correct timing. For some reason or another im getting a reading of only 3 inches of mercury!!!
i've set all the valves to the correct valve clearance i've done a compression check and all are reading above 150psi, the car idles fine but when i try to accelerate it starts to hesitate, backfire, poping and no climb what so ever on the rev counter.
so stressing out pulling my hairs out 
please help me guys.
Regards,
Simon. |
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| JJG323 |
Posted
Saturday, Jul 14th 5:46pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1331
Reading MA USA
1979 BMW 323i |
Test the fuel pumps both external and internal.
Also replace the fuel filter and fuel relay in the fuse box. |
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| imaradiostar |
Posted
Sunday, Jul 15th 2:38am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1067
Nashville, TN
81 323i, 82 525i, 85 524td, 90 535i |
Could also be an ignition issue- you might try OEM cap, rotor and wires. I've seen off-brand parts cause this kind of problem.
jamie |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Sunday, Jul 15th 11:56am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 53
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
i have changed the pumps both internal & external & ignition cap, wires are new and the rotor is ok.
i was thinking i fitted the 325e inlet manifold and i'm aware that the runners are somewhat longer than the normal 323i k-jet manifold, i was also told that i could use either a 520i manifold or a 325e manifold, would this contribute to the problem?
regards,
Simon. |
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Sunday, Jul 15th 3:07pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 579
australia
1979 323i |
Hi Simon
don't worry- IT WILL WORK OUT IN THE END! 
Are you still using the same fuel injectors that you had when you had it running before you rebuilt the motor?
Sounds like it could be running extremely lean- this was my problem when I first did my conversion and the injectors I used were almost completely blocked! I swapped them over for some other injectors, and all was ok. It would idle fine, but as soon as you applied any load it had no power at all.
Could also be a vacuum leak somewhere (causing the lean conditions)... check all hoses very carefully- the L-Jet seems slightly less sensitive to leaks than the K-Jet, but this can still be an issue!
On the manifold front- which head are you running... if it's the e21 head (200 casting) the 325e/525e manifold will match the ports on the head best, but will effect the motor at high RPM (will run out of puff at 5500). If your using the e30 (731 casting) then the e30 320i/ 323i or e28 520i manifold will suit the ports on the head best.
I guess the ignition timing could be another thing to check also.
Good Luck!
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| yabby323 |
Posted
Monday, Jul 16th 10:44am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 10
Adelaide, Australia
bmw 323i |
i'm using the 520i manifold you speak of, with 2.8ecu and 2.7 injectors, no hitches, everything else e21, i had it on solid ground that e21 manifold etc were'nt useable, as it pissed me off cos i got mine all polished up with nowhere to go so if you haven't done it, prob look into it is a good idea. |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Monday, Jul 16th 4:59pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 54
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
i got ex-wreckers 520i injectors, im still waiting for mine to arrive from the states,
sounds like i got a very similar problem to what you had aussie323.
i'm running the 200 head with the e30 325E manifold.
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Tuesday, Jul 17th 1:17pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 581
australia
1979 323i |
| NSR21L wrote: |
i'm running the 200 head with the e30 325E manifold.
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Yup- that's the exact head/ manifold combo that I'm running. Works just fine! |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Tuesday, Jul 17th 5:19pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 55
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
this is what my car looks like at the moment
IMG]http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb86/droid2c/DSC00822.jpg[/IMG]
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Tuesday, Jul 17th 5:20pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 56
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
forgot this one
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| melloh |
Posted
Wednesday, Jul 18th 12:01am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 582
California, USA (San Jose)
1980 320is, 1991 318is |
I think I found your problem... the plastic around the intake. Just kidding. You guys and you big bad 6-cyl e21s make me sick from rancid jealousy. Those little yellow caps look familiar. Are they from new spark plugs (packaging) or something like that? |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Wednesday, Jul 18th 6:44am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 57
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
because i work in the aircraft engine industry all components that are yet to be installed on the engine are inhibited & blanked these yellow blanks are some of many different sizes & colours to suit a particular component.
they're pretty useful they seal pretty well 
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| Hadrian |
Posted
Wednesday, Jul 18th 8:08am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 57
Australia, Melbourne
E21 323i |
You don't have a hose on your crank case ventilation hole in the valve cover... |
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Wednesday, Jul 18th 8:13am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 583
australia
1979 323i |
ah- you've got the idle stepper motor there... I don't have that on my system- just a simple idle screw that fits in a little housing where you have fitted the stepper motor!
the install looks great! You have a whole bunch of vacuum lines capped off there though... I guess with the stepper motor, you don't need the additional air slide + connection that runs over the throttle body, and connects the idle bypass to the inlet side of the plenum?
Seeing as your having problems... is the system set up correctly for the stepper motor (it's wires aren't hooked up in the pics).
Overall, great job though... she's looking really good!
EDIT... well spotted Hadrian... it definately won't run with that disconnected! (Unless this is an assembly pic, and you've got it hooked up now?.... well actually it's obviously an assembly pic because your fuel lines aren't hooked up either )
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Wednesday, Jul 18th 4:58pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 58
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
Yea those are assembly pictures, i have everything hooked up now, should'nt be too long now im getting very very close to having my 323i running well. When i get it running ill upload a streaming video of it to show you all
i still haven't connected the hose for the crank case vent ill do that tomorrow. |
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| JDBeyer |
Posted
Wednesday, Jul 18th 5:00pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 233
N. Humboldt county Ca.
82 323i on steroids |
Like HADRIAN said:
I don't see a valve cover vent hose.
That would be a huge problom....Like a vac.leak.
Put one on to that pluged fitting in the throttle housing, I bet it makes a change.
Jeff |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Saturday, Jul 21st 1:34pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 60
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
whoa! there was most certainly a change there, the engine runs so much better and i got a 10 inches of mercury improvement as well! i still got a vacuum leak though but i feel i've narrowed it down to the injectors & seals.
another thing ive found i've swapped the rotor button for a 1k rotor button and it actually runs alot smoother incomparision to the orginal one which ran rough & grumpy during rpm increase, should i stay with this rotor or should i just stay with the original?
i should be hopefully getting my injectors this week so the minute i install them ill let you all know |
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Saturday, Jul 21st 2:37pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 585
australia
1979 323i |
for sure... I'm surprised you got it to run at all with the crankcase ventilation pipe disconnected. If I pull mine off the engine stalls almost immediately!
glad to hear it's all starting to work out! |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Thursday, Jul 26th 3:20pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 61
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
Ok i've received the new 325e injectors & installed them as well, it runs now 12 inches of mercury.
the valve clearances on the M20 e30 motor is it the same as the m20 e21? or are they a little looser in clearance? im thinking of loosening them by a thou or two |
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Friday, Jul 27th 8:38am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 588
australia
1979 323i |
the haines only lists one clearance...
0.25mm (0.010 in)
that is the cold clearance, so just set them after the car has sat without running overnight.
How's she running with the new injectors? |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Saturday, Jul 28th 8:51am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 62
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
i've noticed that the exhaust tone is different probably because of the different flow rates that the 325e has incomparision to the 520i injectors that i originally had in the engine, i also gained 2 inches of mercury. tomorrow ill try to adjust the valve clearances to .013 thou & let you all know how i go. |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Sunday, Aug 5th 1:04pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 63
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
Ok i've adjusted the valves both intake & exhaust but i decided to gap them all at 0.012 thou in accordance with the 325e manual, in doing this i have gained an extra 3 inches of mercury over the 10 that i already have. as for the rest of the 7 inches of mercury it's around some where in the engine.
i thought as well i would carry out a compression check of each cylinder, i ended up getting 175 psi in each cylinder so that rules out any sealing problems with the head.
tomorrow i will measure the pressure & flow of the fuel pump & post the findings.
Simon
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Monday, Aug 6th 5:16pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 589
australia
1979 323i |
hmmm... so are you still having the same problems of no power under load?
Once you have checked the pump-
I would still be looking at vacuum leaks if this is the case. If it is running reasonably well, but not quite right have you checked the mixtures properly? There is adjustment on the AFM (the round hole near the rear of the AFM- you turn the adjustment with the allen key). Failing that, you may need to adjust the spring in the AFM by prizing off the black cap on the top- you need to be very careful doing this though because it will change your fueling though out the entire rev range, and is probably best done with propper equipment. You will find a large plastic cog under the cap, and you can turn it a tooth leaner or richer from the standard setting.
As you seem to be using a bits from different systems, maybe this is what you need to do (once you are certain there are no leaks and everything is hooked up and working correctly).
Basically, for my conversion, I used everything off an e28 520i (including the throttle body). The only part I used from the ETA system was the manifold to match the ports in the head. I have no idea whether the ETA injectors have the same flow rates as the e28 / e30 520i/320i/323i injectors, if they flow differently, then perhaps you will need to adjust the spring. There are hints on some of the 5 series and e30 boards on the best ways for doing this. From memory I got quite a bit of information from the e12 board first fives.
http://www.firstfives.org/
Good Luck! |
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| usang36 |
Posted
Sunday, Aug 12th 8:35pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 39
Oregon
78 320i, 83 320iS |
Update Please! |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Thursday, Aug 16th 6:13pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 64
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
SUCCESS!!! i removed the idle stabilizer valve & blanked the areas that it attaches to (this was creating a huge vacuum leak as the stabilizer valve was'nt working), i then tinkled around with the valve & ignition timing, replaced the fuel pressure regulator as the one that was on there the diaphram was perishing, the engine kicks over first time. absolutly perfect. and while i was at it i changed the fuel pump & spark plugs, im now getting 15 inches of mercury which is good enough.
The only thing i have to do is remove the dizzy again and make a 1cm scallop to allow more advancement of the dizzy ill gain the other 4inches of mercury.
Thanks everyone especially you Aussie323i for all your help.
ill let you know how it runs.
Thanks again everyone,
Simon.
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Friday, Aug 17th 10:30am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 65
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
I manage to drive it today, it drives off well but the minute i go WOT there's no acceleration but if i just touch the throttle it's smoother & theres slow gradual increase of revs,
| aussie323i wrote: | | for my conversion, I used everything off an e28 520i (including the throttle body). |
i think i have found my problem im using a 325E throttle body & different TPS the part numbers for these are completely different to the e28 520i hardware, ill be getting a 520 throttle body tomorrow and installing it.
let you all know how i go.
Simon |
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| usang36 |
Posted
Wednesday, Aug 29th 12:22am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 40
Oregon
78 320i, 83 320iS |
Update! did it work? |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Monday, Oct 15th 6:07am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 66
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
Ok, i changed computers once again to the original computer (the 520i computer) i got a 323i e30 computer even though they are the same part numbers they act differently, this 520 computer i thought it was faulty but i was wrong. i now have the idle taken care of running very smoothly & at 20 inches of mercury! But during the transition to WOT i still get that fluttering even when i drive it. if i only just touch it my 323 moves fine but when i floor it to WOT during drive it flutters.
im nearly there but running out if ideas. |
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| TJ |
Posted
Monday, Oct 15th 7:56am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 40
NY, USA
82 528e2i 84 320i/4 80 320i |
325e fuel injectors are low impedance. Do you know if the 520i L-jetronic is meant to use low impedance injectors also? If not, that could be a problem. |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Monday, Oct 15th 4:08pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 67
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
Hi TJ,
The injectors that i'm using are off a 520i, I tried using the 325e injectors & the end result was very smokey & very Rich Run.
I was thinking it could be my loom or my computer, the loom being as it was salvaged from the wreckers and it was cut in some areas i did use the manual to propely trace down what wire is what, the computer im thinking i mite get it checked but really it should be ok. |
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| Hadrian |
Posted
Saturday, Oct 20th 6:32am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 62
Australia, Melbourne
E21 323i |
I've got an L-get ECU if you need it... |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Friday, Oct 26th 4:06am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 68
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
Would anyone know if i have to swap wires around on the ignition module? im begining to lean more on this. as the more im reaserching the more im thinking i got it wrong.
the ignition module i have at this very moment installed in my 323 is
BOSCH P/N: 0 227 100 111 |
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| TJ |
Posted
Friday, Oct 26th 11:16am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 42
NY, USA
82 528e2i 84 320i/4 80 320i |
If your problem is that the engine won't deliver any power under load, I don't see how the ignition module could be at fault. If it's doing the job at idle then why should it be any different at WOT?
There were no M20s with L-jet among USA models, so I'm not really familiar with the setup, but I can think of two possible causes for this problem. One is that the ignition timing is too far retarded and only the vacuum advance is keeping it running at idle and part throttle. That should be easily ruled out. The other is that when you open the throttle the AF mixture is leaning out for some reason. Does the car have an oxygen sensor? |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Friday, Oct 26th 2:47pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 69
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
I don't have a Oxygen sensor on my L-jet, the timing is right, the dizzy is no where near retarded. although ill check the vacuum advance diaphram, on the ETK it shows that the 520i e28 used vacuum limiters & valves. ill check that & the Wires leading to the ignition module |
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| aussie323i |
Posted
Saturday, Oct 27th 3:09am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 592
australia
1979 323i |
The part number sounds right for your ignition module... if you used the whole loom off th 520i, you shouldn't need to rewire anything! Looking at your pics again, I notice you are running a GT40RT coil! If you look at the Bosch listing, these coils are only for the old points ignition systems (1602, 2002, 320i (early)- etc) I have made this mistake on an old bluebird I had before, and thought the RT bosch coils are for electronic ignition, but they arent - it didn't run properly!
I have run a Bosch VN commodore V8 coil on my car before, and it worked ok, although when I had ignition problems the auto electrician suggested it probably wasn't a good idea. Maybe you need the standard BMW coil... I just run the standard e21 one. |
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| NSR21L |
Posted
Monday, Oct 29th 10:02am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 70
Sydney NSW
BMW E21 323i |
im using the commodore bosch coil not the GT40RT as shown in the pictures, theres very big spark differences, i'm thinking ill need a complete & unmolested E28 520i Engine loom, the one i got in my 323 now was tampered with when i salvaged it from the wreckers.
so if anyone has an engine loom that they want to sell please message me. |
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