Got her started tonight after work, yea!!
After a complete engine and tranny rebuild it was nice to hear her running again. Now the problems, the engine only starts 1 out of every 3-4 tries the other times the starter just spins not catching the teeth of the flywheel. I have had the starter rebuild twice so I don't think that is the problem, it's very strange.
The idle seems to be hunting around in the revs from about 900 - 1150 rpm. undoubtedly one of the many sensors.
A major oil leak at the top of the timing cover(one drop per second) so I'll have to pull the front again and deal with that.
Chris

good to hear that you got her running again chris! Its always nice to hear progress get done on other cars, makes other people want to keep trucking on their own projects!

-Jeff

Chris, were you the one doing your own S38 rebuild?

Yup, that's me. It's funny, I haven't heard it run since November when I started the tear down and in that 5 months I've forgotten what it sounded like. So I don't know if it sounds "normal" or not. I guess a new engine can sound kinda harsh for the first while.

Hey Chris, if the starter just spins, it isn't engaing. You either have a bad tooth on the flywheel that it keeps trying to engage or the starter drive itself is not right. The fact that you had it rebuilt 2X is telling me that maybe it was not done correctly to begin with. Glad you did get running. My engine is finally going to the machine shop next week. It's been a long 2 1/2 years

You rebuilt an engine since November!? Mine's been under construction since December, will be another month probably, and is no where near that in depth.
It's definitely your starter. It's probably just sticky if you want to take it apart, clean it and grease it. In the meantime if it refuses to engage, bonk it with a wooden stick. Surely you already inspected the ring gear? Problems with them are pretty rare.

Okay, it was the starter. Pitched the old re-built twice starter and went with the Bosch SR441x from a 1992 735i weights less, smaller,higher torque, much easier to install. It was used on a wide range of cars so should be easy to find.
Fixed all the leaks.
I have found that there is no signal being sent to the idle control valve, any one know where the DME relay is located on an M6?
Thanks

You rebuilt an engine since November!? Mine's been under construction since December, will be another month probably, and is no where near that in depth.
It's definitely your starter. It's probably just sticky if you want to take it apart, clean it and grease it. In the meantime if it refuses to engage, bonk it with a wooden stick. Surely you already inspected the ring gear? Problems with them are pretty rare.

Bonk it with a stick eh?? That is some mighty technical advice...

:D

Bonk it with a stick eh?? That is some mighty technical advice...
One would be surprised how often that works with old starters!

DME relay? Do you mean the Main relay?

Page 9000-2 of the '87 ETM lists the Main Relay (M6), Under the RH side of the dash, above the glove box (See page 7000-10-1)

One would be surprised how often that works with old starters!


It also works on carb bowls with sticky floats too still. :D

So I changed the main relay for a new one and still no signal to the ICV.
I guess I'll have to take off the Miller MAF, go back to the AFM and see if that helps.
Anyone have a spare chip they can sell me, I didn't figure I would need the old one so I sold it, what a twit.
Chris

I'm confused. the main relay doesn't send a "signal" to the ICV. It does supply power to the fuel pump relay, the injectors, the ECU (DME), the TCU and the ICV, so if the relay is bad, all of those things would be out.

The signals are supplied by the ECU, but the ECU needs to know that the throttle is closed so that it knows to start controling the idle with the ICV. Check that the Throttle Position Switch is closing properly at the idle position.

I can hear the switch in the TPS click as I just start to open the throttle and click again as I let it go. That's how it was before the rebuild.

Well she's running again! What a beautiful sound.
Since last time, I took off all the Miller MAF stuff and installed a stock 1988 chip, but couldn't get the engine started. Chip Guru, Mark D'Sylva came up to my place and determined the stock 88 M6 chip was good but was not compatible with my older DME. He burned me a new stock chip right in my kitchen and she started up right away, everything sounds good, none of the problems from before.
I'm just waiting for a new rear caliper pad spring to come in, then it's wheels back on and out for the first test drive!
I plan on keeping the stock chip in for the first 1000 miles til the engine is run in and then change over to the Miller system and also try Mark's performance chip.
Ahhh, the world is a beautiful place tonight

Congrats on the DIY S38 rebuild Chris.

That was awful nice of Mark to drop by and help with the chip issues. It sounds like many miles of smiles are coming your way soon.

Joe M in WV

Thanks Joe, yeah, there is nothing better than the community of the fourm to help you out when you are in trouble.
I took her out today for a 34 mile run. I have rebuilt more than a few cars in my time
so on the first few drives you keep it very close to home and carry lots of tools with you for the inevitable breakdowns. But nothing happened. Maybe I'm just getting better at this or maybe BMW has something to do with it. There are a few issues with constant heat coming out of the vents, wipers wiping the cowl and not the windshield, sunroof won't open, CHECK light keeps blinking at me. Little stuff that I can fix over the summer. But 34 miles with no problems on the first drive after an overhaul, well I'm impressed.

So am I !!
A brazillion congrats .
T.

Well she's running again! What a beautiful sound.
Since last time, I took off all the Miller MAF stuff and installed a stock 1988 chip, but couldn't get the engine started. Chip Guru, Mark D'Sylva came up to my place and determined the stock 88 M6 chip was good but was not compatible with my older DME. He burned me a new stock chip right in my kitchen and she started up right away, everything sounds good, none of the problems from before.
I'm just waiting for a new rear caliper pad spring to come in, then it's wheels back on and out for the first test drive!
I plan on keeping the stock chip in for the first 1000 miles til the engine is run in and then change over to the Miller system and also try Mark's performance chip.
Ahhh, the world is a beautiful place tonight
Since she would not start with the Miller chip, is it possible that it too was not compatible with your DME? When I installed the Miller MAF, I have to admit that I had that pit of the stomach feeling when I started the engine the first time. Fortunately for me it started right up.

Oh it started with the Miller chip but there were some issues detailed above, so now with a stock chip I'll set the engine up right and then install Miller