E36 328: In over my head!

My package came a little later than I was expecting, plus I was a little tired.

I should have made sure the picture was good.

But I did put it on the car. I forgot the brake fluid, so I have to bleed it tomorrow, then I can try to start it!

I just wanted to leave it hanging for now. I also pressed the old ram into the old slave cylinder so I may have a spare part.

I bolted the clutch slave cylinder to the car and bled it. It isn't quite right, or the part is faulty because there is still free play before the clutch pedal has any feel. Then, I tried to start the car, but I had a no crank, no start. Then, I checked out the engine bay, and I found a ground strap that I forgot to fasten to the engine mount. Then after I attached it, I turned the key and it cranked but didn't start. It made a whirring noise from the starter.it also made a shlumping, glunking sound I never heard come from a car before. It sounded like it was trying to suck up oil or something like that. then I remembered to put the bolts on the trans bellhousing that I forgot to fasten. Then I fastened those, and tried to start it again, and it did the same thing. I checked the voltage for the battery, and it is around 11.6 volts so I'm charging it now.

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: I bolted the clutch slave cylinder to the car and bled it. It isn't quite right, or the part is faulty because there is still free play before the clutch pedal has any feel. Then, I tried to start the car, but I had a no crank, no start. Then, I checked out the engine bay, and I found a ground strap that I forgot to fasten to the engine mount. Then after I attached it, I turned the key and it cranked but didn't start. It made a whirring noise from the starter.it also made a shlumping, glunking sound I never heard come from a car before. It sounded like it was trying to suck up oil or something like that. then I remembered to put the bolts on the trans bellhousing that I forgot to fasten. Then I fastened those, and tried to start it again, and it did the same thing. I checked the voltage for the battery, and it is around 11.6 volts so I'm charging it now.

A good charge will help a lot.

You did work on the cooling system, right? and the engine hasn't been run since? You may be hearing coolant finding its way (slowly, since the engine is not running) into places it hasn't been in a while.

Also, bleeding clutches is a pain in the butt. I often need to try a few times and get a helper to get it right. on my e36 the pressure bleeder from the top down works well though. Keep at it, you will get it.

Ok, since the car won't start, it must not be getting enough fuel or spark. How do I check to see if the coils are firing at the right time, or if the signal is getting to the spark plugs? The coils did not 'seal' to the ends of the plugs like they were when I took them out.

Is this wire/cap and rotor tester good for ignition coils too? This is my first non-distributor car I have owned.

I didn't get spark with the first two coils.

I have a HUGE update! I tested all my coils with my multimeter and they all read .5-.7 ohms which is in the good range. All my spark plugs are brand new. Someone copied the information from a Bentley manual to a BMW forum and I have a Haynes manual which doesn't have that specific information. I then watched a how-to video on youtube on testing fuel pumps for E36s and I found this.

So I need to get a new fuel hose, then I can take it out and continue further testing. I didn't have the fuel pressure tester that connects to the fuel line so that actually worked out better this time.

On second inspection, and after cleaning it and vacuuming it, the dirt isn't gassy.

Also what does an E36 fuel pump sound like? I'm hearing a hum when it comes on, not a click. I'm just making sure.

You should hear a hum, but that doesn't necessarily mean the pump is producing enough pressure to operate the injectors. You really need to test the system fuel pressure near the injectors (at the factory designated test port if possible) to be sure. I replaced a fuel pump in my Bonneville, ran it with jumper wires once I removed it from the car, it pumped liquid, but it would not generate enough pressure at the fuel rail to feed the injectors when they pulse. Good thing is if you do hear the pump run, then at least your wiring to the pump is in good shape and the pump relay is working .

confirm your crank position sensor is connected. They LOVE to disconnect when anyone is working near them.

I'm fairly sure the crank position sensor is connected, but it's hard to confirm it with the fan installed. I watched a detailed series of videos on checking fuel pressure on an E36 and he said to unplug the fuse and send a wire that connects the powered terminals together so they stay on. It's for the fuel pump terminals. I did that and the secondary air pump turns on. Can connecting the wrong wires under the intake manifold do that? Then, I connected the fuel pressure gauge to the test port and when I turn the key, it doesn't read anything. I'm not rushing to buy a new fuel pump because I want to at least try to be able to power the fuel pump continually to do a pressure test.

Next, I connected the pressure gauge to the test port properly and when I turned on the key, it read 42 psi and is dropping steadily.

Not a BMW expert, but the pressure should hold steady during a key-on test. (Does for GM, Honda and Chrysler) That symptom sounds like you have a bad fuel pressure regulator.

Damn! I forgot about verifying that too. I should order one of those also. 42 psi is low for an E36 so I ordered a fuel pump. The pressure read 30 psi after 35 minutes.

I got my trans bracket from the welding shop, finally. That took way too long for a simple job so I'm only going to go there if I have a $500+ job for them.

Here is the picture of me trying to run only the fuel pump through the terminals.

I hit another problem. Heating up the nut on the bottom of the bracket still didn't get it off so I had to pry the mount off, then hammer the remaining out.

The metal around the hole was getting thin, so I brilliantly used washers for both sides. I'm lucky I happened to buy a package of 3 washers instead of buying an individual one.

I finally have the trans properly supported! I also connected the shifter to the trans and I tested the clutch by turning the flange by hand in neutral and trying it out in first gear. Now, I'm waiting on some parts so I can continue to try to solve my no start issue.

As you can tell, at least for the BMW owners, I removed all the insulation from the underside of the trans tunnel. It was sagging, and needed to be replaced. For a lower center of gravity and handling purposes, it's better under the car, but for maintenance, it will be better under the center console trim. I'll eventually get dynamat and put it under the trim so I won't have to worry about maintenance anymore.

This came in the mail today.

Then, I took a picture of the old one, just because.

I was almost in a panic because the instructions in the repair manual said to use a huge set of pliers to take off the huge lock ring. After trying to squeeze it with two wedges and turning it, I tried to tap it loose with a hammer and the wedge against the nubs. That didn't work so I read the BMW performance upgrade book and it said to use my method if you don't want to spend money on BMW's special tool. So I got back to tapping it with the hammer and wedge until I could twist it off by hand.

I put the old rubber seal on it and was about to put it in when I realized that I did get a new seal, so I ran in the house to get it and put it on.

I put the fuel hose and connectors on, then picked up the lock ring, so I had to take off the hose and connectors then put the lock ring on, and then the hose and connectors.

Then I hooked up my fuel pressure gauge to check it to verify that the fuel pump was the problem. I sprayed fuel from it from not securing the connection, then secured it. The pressure only read about 30 psi. I then sat in the driver seat and noticed that the displays were dim, so my voltage was low. I charged the battery, then tested the fuel pressure and it's in spec.

Then, I was going to try to start the car, but my subwoofer amp must be draining the battery, so I had to charge the battery again.

Ok, I made a video to see if you guys can help me out. It still won't start. For more information, the ECU isn't reading the cam position sensor so I have to get back under the intake manifold to correct it. It still makes the strange sound like before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHHG1j2balw&feature=youtu.be

BMW uses a two step to turn on the fuel pump... once to build pressure on the start circuit and then when the starter drops out and there is a run condition. One is by relay and ign switch, the other by relay with signal from ECU.

So... fuel pressure is fine. The strange sound is just your starter spinning an engine that isn't trying to start. It sounds like you have no spark. (actually in the video it sounds like you have no compression or left the spark plugs out... but the video sound is horrible so don't panic yet ;) ) BMWs have no spark when they can't tell where the spinny bits are located in relation to one another. Cam angle sensor, crank pos sensor ... make sure they are all connected properly and/or good.

Also - are you sure you hooked up the power wire on the pass side of the rear engine bay to the distro block? It has black tape on it... you wouldn't be the first to hook it to ground. It's pretty thick (think #6 or #4 ga, about the same gauge as the thin wire that runs with the main battery cable to the trunk) and if you pull back the cover ... red. If the ECU isn't on you can crank all day. You would still get fuel in start/crank because that is relay controlled until the key is in run pos & the ECU sees a signal from the sensors.

I have to investigate that. For some reason, my connector for the trans for the reverse lights is missing... I don't know how that happened.

I was doing some investigating, and what does the distribution block look like?

If it's not this block with the power lines coming from it, I don't know what else it could be.

This is the wire that I forgot to hook up and I got a no crank, no start. Then, I hooked it up and the car received power and would crank, so this has to be the ground to the chassis. Well, it possibly could be something else, but I do remember that being hooked up to the engine block.

Please fix your oil filter O-ring. It looks like it's doubled up.