looking for a good shop or mechanic
 

We've hit a wall with the car :mad:

Still wont stay on unless being rev'ed, otherwise idles really badly then slowly stalls. We replaced the engine as the original had a blown head gasket. The new engine has been dynoed, was fine. Replaced all of the gaskets, most of the sensors and belts as well. Also changed the fuel filter while we were down there.

After research we checked the following as well:
Knock sensors - replaced
camshaft sensor -not throwing code
vacuum lines/seals - didnt find any leaks
idle control valve & sensor - cleaned valve, changed sensor
mass air flow sensor - ran same disconnected
cleaned fuel injectors & pumped out the old gas and put fresh in as it has been sitting 8 months

Frankly we're stumped and almost ready to part it out (hes more than ready :frown:) Have a sneaky suspicion its something small and simple to fix, just cant find it.

Anyone have a suggestion as to a good shop or mechanic in Santa Rosa or Sonoma Co in general? Or maybe Napa Co? somewhere within about 100 miles from Jenner. The family mechanic is not BMW fluent, and no longer just down the road.

Try another Mass Air Flow sensor. Evie, what year is your TI? One of us likely has a spare you can try or maybe you're close enough to a member who can pull theirs and try it on your car.

Also, I see you all checked, but it could also be a vacuum leak. It's easy to miss a hose or cracked bellows, hose or fitting. Just saying...

NorCal - Anyone close to Jenner? :cool:

i work in sonoma.

i just picked up a new stock TI. you can maybe come to my workplace and i can have you test out my MAF

I can highly recommend North Bay Bavarian in Santa Rosa. They aren't the cheapest, but their work is excellent and they're probably the most knowledgeable shop around.

I'd offer to help since I'm only about 40 minutes from Jenner, but I don't have any experience to give in this instance unfortunately :redface:

Off topic: I was out there a few months ago taking photos for the ti calendar, the coast is so beautiful!
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...6645-1_1re.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...6708-1-1re.jpg

Best of luck!

Jaime, nice shots! If you're out there, the extent of the help would be to remove your MAF and let her try it on her car. It should behave differently connected vs not connected. One of our SoCal friends just went through a similar condition.

Let's see Evie's response as I missed if she has a M42 or M44. I have spares for both, just a little further away. :rolleyes:

Any place good to eat there? I might be tempted to make the drive just for the view. :cool:

Sounds like the TI is not drivable to get down there. Thanks tho John for the offer! :cool:

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I've heard there are a couple good restaurants, yeah! Lots of fun twisty roads in the hills too :tongue:

Maybe our next meet can be a drive up there if we don't do a fix-it session again. I like driving the twisty coastline. :cool:

So, I will likely be in Fairfield Sunday. If no one has a spare, I can bring a MAF for Evie, just need to know which motor she has. Not sure how we get it to her TI, but it will be 50 miles closer. :rolleyes:

That would be cool! We could meet at my place in Windsor, then caravan out to the coast. Lots of scenic overlooks where we can do photoshoots, or stop at the redwood forests as well.

I wouldn't anticipate many people since it's a lot farther out than the central Vallejo location, but could be an awesome adventure for those able to make the trip!

Ya, I'd prolly think about the "Inn at the beach" as it's a little further drive for me unless we started early. :cool:

Wow. Just wow. Thank you guys so much for the responses! :biggrin:

I have a 96. the last 7 of the vin is AS95578, i believe it was originally a M44. Unless there is a way to tell on the new motor, I'd need to call up the shop we got it from for more info.

Its about a 30 min drive from Windsor, I live on the Russian River, about halfway between Jenner and Gurneville. There ARE nice places to eat out here :wink:. Not far from Bodega Bay either, right down Hwy 1.

Right now we're both a little under the weather, and I think next weekend would work better for us anyway. So if anyone could make a trip and lend a hand then we'd appreciate it.

Nice pics! You were at Goat Rock Beach right?

Yes John, thanks for the offer :smile:. and no its not driveable :frown:

Evie, take a picture of your motor and post it. You may need 5 or more posts before you can post a picture. We can confirm the motor if we can see it.


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Is there an easy visual difference between the two? Supposedly the shop used the vin to match the motor (or so i'm being told)... but he says the wiring harness was slightly different. :eek:

I'll try to get a pic tomorrow after the sun comes over the hill.

Assuming it is a M44, there are two emission setups for 96 I believe. That would be the difference in the wiring.

The MAF for the M44 is black cylinderical Bosch plastic tube.
http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/p...psqqw1nppk.jpg

The AFM for the M42 is attached to the top of the air box and is made of Aluminum.
http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/p...psoube1jb1.jpg

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According to a VIN decode, it's an M44. Build date of February 14th, 1996
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...ti/AS95578.png

Thanks Jamie!


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grrr how do you post pics directly in the text?? i think i'm not getting the image URL versus the page URL...

anyways finally got these to attach: its for sure a M44

Evie, try using Photobucket. Upload your pics, then paste the IMG link in your posts.


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success! lols, thanks

[IMG]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7753/...2a7be18f_o.jpg318ti by bimmerchaser, on Flickr[/IMG]

From the engine compartment photos, it looks like a early year, pre-airpump emissions M44 configuration. Is this a recent picture or from before you pulled your motor? In the later model, the exhaust manifold changes, and the emission control and wiring harness changes.

If you swapped motors, did you use the original wiring harness and exhaust manifold?

Thanks for the pics! :cool:

i took the pics yesterday, the new engine is shown, and we used the original wiring and manifold.

joe is saying the new motor had one main wiring plug, but my car had a mass of individual wires.

just an update, car went into the shop today. thanks Jamie for the recommendation of North Bay Bavarian, from what i can see it looks like a good shop. :biggrin:

fingers crossed!

Good luck Evie! :cool:

Awesome, I hope it works out! I was just there last week, it's always a treat seeing what fun cars they have parked out front to drool over :tongue:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...f.jpg~original

so...
 

update time...

Got the car back yesterday. Good news and bad news.

Good first :smile: The idle problem has been solved! it WAS a vacuum leak.. but not the MAF. its the crank case vent valve.. (i didnt even realize that was part of the air system :rolleyes:) so a new valve and breather hose later it just purrs. :biggrin:

wonderful shop, parts are kinda high, but labor is reasonable so it evens out. best of all they didnt talk down to me :tongue: thanks again for the ref Jamie!

BUT

the oil leak that we thought was the oil pan gasket (which he admits he didnt put the correct gasket maker on) isnt the problem. apparently when the engine was removed from the donor car, the junkyard sawsalled through the hose above into the timing chain cover :eek: :mad:

**bangs head on desk**

the engine is under warranty. for a lot of good it'll do. we called them up today and explained the situation. lot of bs, 'how do we know you didn't do it?" etc.

basically boils down to this:
if we replace it ourselves we null the warranty.
has to be done by a shop, but they wont compensate any of the bill, labor or parts.
we can only trade the engine in for a replacement, no refund.
and they dont seem to care if we go to small claims or not.

le sigh. :frown: decision time again. least we know whats wrong this time, no giant puzzle.

looking for a good shop or mechanic
 

Upper cover? I saw a early 96 at the Rancho Pick and pull last week. Pre emissions pump M44. I can pull it for you next time I'm out there. It is a specific cover for a motor release of a few months. Not a difficult swap. Pic of the cut? JB weld for a temp fix?

Where did you source the replacement motor?

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rear cover... i'll have a few pics in a few.

pretty constant drip when running. cut into the threads

[IMG]https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7725/1...4f2f7fe0_z.jpgDSCN0623 by evie b, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5342/1...3d6c2537_z.jpgDSCN0621 by evie b, on Flickr[/IMG]

looking for a good shop or mechanic
 

Forum: JB weld to seal? Gotta be really clean. Don't get it all over the chain tensioner retention housing or its washer. I bet that will work for a seal. Not a high pressure area.

Alternatively, can also weld the area and retap the threads.

Thoughts? :cool:

we tried replacing the cap and washer from the original engine last night, unfortunately the cut is through all of the threads and gasket face and still leaks with the different piece. we've tossed around several ideas on this, including jb weld

we got it from Bavarian Auto Recycling in Rancho.. awful place, dont ever use them. terrible service and if we had read the reviews before, we probably wouldnt have used them in the first place.

If the early 96 is still at Pick n Pull next week, I'll pull the cover from the 96 I saw there... :wink:

that would be awesome, thank you :smile:

In the meantime, clean the area well including the chain tensioner cap and carefully apply JB wend into the cut. It will form threads to seal (and help keep the JB Weld in place). Apply to cold, clean surface in the afternoon where it's not too cold.

When I recover the cover, I'll recover the timing chain tensioner cap and washer as well.

What a drag. Sorry you're gong through all this. TI fun... [emoji12]

This actually reminds me, I need to locate the same cover and emissions assembly for my rebuild. Worse case, I'll send you one off my M44 as it the same one as yours as I need a late models timing chain cover in the event the Pick n Pull one is gone next week.

Either way you'll have one. PM me shipping info once I have one in hand.


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