M M

I'm 100% that it's not the ECUs because both worked on another car so one is bound to be fine. They are also both outputting the correct voltages etc at all the pins. The crank sensor I am not 100% sure on but am almost certain it has something to do with it, but might not be the sensor itself. It's the only thing that can cause it not to spark. I think I'm going to swap looms again just in case, but there are only 6 or so plugs + injectors so it's very hard to miss anything.

Tell me about it. Yeah I have but no one seems to have any idea. I've got one guy who I deal with for parts who's been helpful but can only do so much. The funny thing is usually people come to me for wiring issues so I'm sort of on my own on this one it seems.

I tried all those things man, trust me. What puzzles me is what changed between when I unplugged it all and put it all back exactly as it was. I did check the grounds, power supply etc but those are all exactly the same from when it went and now. Yesterday I tried another crank sensor, off a different motor but with same resistance reading, got nothing. Also tried to jump 5v to the pin that loses it when the sensor is plugged in, it was showing 5v on the multimeter with it jumped like it should but still no start. I don't care about keeping it factory, I just want the car going. I think I'm at the point of just doing Megasquirt, I was thinking about doing it later on anyway. But I hate being defeated by something so stupid as this so I won't give up just yet.

I am currently going through the process of doing just that. Got a crank angle sensor yesterday to test, however it's from a m50 motor so will have to make sure it's the same. The funny thing is, my crank angle sensor is showing odd resistance values, yet it worked on another car. I tried adjusting it's distance too but that didn't help. I am 99% certain however that it has something to do with it, there is nothing else that would stop spark, except a dead ECU. But I know for a fact that the ECUs are ok.

So, in a effort to fix all the small odd running issues this motor had, I managed to break the car again. The story goes like this: When the motor was in the E34, the fuel pump was jumped between the ignition 12v pin and the pump power wire to get it to work. I tried a relay (which was unknown condition) to see if it would work but it did not. The car also developed a very bad miss just before I pulled the motor out until the day I drove it to the place I was working at to pull the motor out. What would happen is the car would start ok but missed and backfired under throttle, the more you pressed the worse it was. It was driveable cold but got worse as it warmed up and became pretty much undriveable when warmed up. The day I was driving to pull the motor, it stalled on me a block from the place. I tried to start it but it wouldn't fire and the battery went completely flat. So we towed it. Once there, I jump started it to see if it would start and it started a bit rough, then came to life and ran perfectly. Drove it up and down the road a bit and it ran without a single issue. So I took it inside and pulled the motor. Once the engine was in my E28, when we first started it, it ran rough like it did in the E34 when it was missing. I fiddle around a bit, left it for a day with the battery disconnected and then the next day it started up fine. Ever since then the car was running fine, except for a slight miss at low revs, until I pulled my gearbox off to change the clutch. When I put it back on, it did the same thing. It ran rough and missed, so I let is sit for a couple hours with the battery disconnected. What do you know, started up and ran perfectly fine. Last weekend I decided to swap the loom and DME with one I bought to see if it would solve the fuel relay issue and other issues like the ICV not working at all. The fuel pump relay gets 12v to all pins when key is in except ground which is grounded, yet the relay (tried 2, one was definitely good) does not work. Anyway, so I swapped the loom and DME, turned ignition on. ICV buzzed as it should. Then I tried to start the car. Nothing. It cranked but would not fire. I triple checked everything and even tried my old ECU, still nothing. ICV no longer buzzes but gets 12v at all pins. Grounds test at 12v, however the coil only got 9v. I ran a relay for it to test but that only gave it 10v, even though the power wire was a completely new one. Also tried different coil, still nothing. Took my crank sensor out and tested it on my friend's M30 and it worked perfectly fine on his car. All issues the same as with old loom. So I swapped my old loom back on and still had the same issues and wouldn't start. Since then, I tested the ECUs/DMEs on my friend's car, the crank position sensor pinout voltage which is correct (5v at the correct pin), charged the battery so the coil now has 12v etc. Everything I could possibly think of. Got pinouts of the ECU and checked every wire that could effect starting and everything is working as it should. On Friday it came to me that maybe the lead from the coil was bad, so I tested that. The lead turned out to be fine but the plastic on the post of the distributor cap just broke off. This left me slightly hopeful but not really, and I swapped it with a spare I had. Put the battery on charge and tried it the next morning. Nothing. The last test I have to do is this afternoon I will try to put a plug straight on the coil lead and see if it sparks. Then I will put the new loom back in as a final resort, just in case. If that doesn't produce any results, I really don't know what to do next short of converting to Megasquirt or something. I don't like fixing things that way but I see no other option. For some reason I don't seem to be having much luck with this motor. TL;DR: Tried to fix/improve it, broke it again. Now have no idea what to do.

It's looking good man. Looking forward to more.

Small update as of last night. Always wanted to do this and I figured now was the perfect time.

Thanks man. Just send me a message when you are in Auckland, you are welcome to stop by and we can go for a ride. Just be aware I'll be away until mid October.

Oh and I forgot to mention. Since the tune, it shoots flames.

Well, the car I was going to buy when I listed this is no longer for sale, and no one wanted my mk2 so I guess I'm stuck with it. So I figured I may as well do this right. Last week I managed to track down an Audi A3 1.8t 180hp tune which I flashed on my ECU. It's the same motor and ECU, just a different tune which is quite cool. The difference was amazingly significant. I was expecting an increase but bloody hell does it go now. To give a bit of a comparison, when I first put this motor in, I raced my friend with his 2L 16v mk2 from standstill. He got me on the take off because I couldn't get grip and I only started to catch up once I got grip in 3rd. Once I flashed this tune on, we raced again. This time, even though I had significant wheelspin still, we were even through first and second, then as soon as I got grip when I hit third I just flew past him like he was not even moving. I couldn't believe it. Yesterday I also fixed my low hanging muffler (which has fallen off multiple times), however I plan to remake the exhaust system later this year with a 2.5" system. Today, shit got real. 205/50r15 Toyo R888s. See you all at drag day.

Followed the Brap a few blocks on my way out. What a way to end the meet.

Man it looks good. Excellent job as expected my friend.

Not to prison, before someone asks.

Will be my last meet before I go away.

Finally the car is going again. After spending a couple of hours on Sunday morning rolling around on the wet ground trying to get it done, I had it about 90% finished but couldn't get it done as the previous day a friend of mine was over and was kind enough to push the clutch pedal, dislodging the piston from the slave cylinder. I didn't realise this and spent a good 45 minutes in a lake trying to put it back in, with the rod not budging, only to realise what was going on. Luckily, my good friend Ben came to the rescue that night with a replacement one which I went to pick up. Yesterday afternoon I got back to it and got it back together. The improvement with this flywheel is drastic. I almost couldn't believe what a difference it made, but then it does make sense. The car takes off so much faster than it did before. Anybody with an M30, if you want your car to go faster, I seriously suggest you track down a single mass flywheel, no matter the cost. It's well worth it. Over the next couple of days I have a few small jobs to do on it like replace the front bumper and some small engine related stuff. I'm just glad it's going.

Sounds like a Prius meet will be in the same spot soon enough.

Guess what?

Last weekend I picked up this slammin' parts car. Beneath the rough spots it is actually a decent car with minimal rust, and it has a full black interior including leather. So most of that including the carpet will be going into mine. I will be keeping my Mtech seats however. Yesterday I started fitting my M5 replica front lip. Test fit: Paint: On: I also swapped the good fender from the parts car onto mine. It's actually in better condition than the last one was before the hit and the color matches close enough for now. Nevermind the sagging bumper, I will be putting my new one on shortly too. Started cleaning up some of the black interior parts from the parts car to go into mine: I'm going to be fitting the non AC center console from the parts car, just need to make a panel to fit my radio and I'm going to incorporate a space for some gauges while I'm at it: Also this arrived today: After a very long and tiresome search, I should have a single mass flywheel in the next couple days. So with any luck, the car will be going again by next week. Then I can cruise around and show off all my nice new parts.

Shouldn't that be a Mustang?

I find these tests you are doing with air pressure and resistance rather interesting. Will be following closely. As a side note, I wonder how much difference glossy paint vs matte paint makes for this. We've probably all joked about it at some point but there must be a difference, however, probably immeasurably small.

While the car is not going I figured it would be a good time to replace the heater core and redo the foam flaps in the heater box. Removed the heater box yesterday. Only took about 2 hours. Not sure why so many people make this out to be such a big deal. And I've never done it before on one of these. There's nothing I hate more than messy wiring, so that's all getting tidied up too. The inside of the heater box as it came out: New foam flaps and heater core: I put it all back together and back in the car this morning. No photo as I'm sure most of you know what a complete interior looks like. I've also removed the AC part of the heater box and sealed up the AC flap. Because who needs that? Just slows you down. All the rest of the AC system has already been removed. Look at the size of the thing:

Shot's fired. Will be there.

Today I made good use of nothing to do and pulled the gearbox off to see what disaster awaited me. What I came upon wasn't pleasant. Those with weak stomachs dare not read on. This is what fell out as I separated the gearbox from the block: The remains in the bellhousing: Then I went back under the car to have a look at the pressure plate and remove that behemoth of an assembly. This is what awaited: I was not expecting that, and can't say I've seen that before. It must have been one hell of a party in there (which I funded by the way). The total sum of the destruction: Luckily no damage was done to any other parts so I can just put on the new flywheel and clutch kit and hopefully carry on with skids. I don't like to end on a down note, so here is a stance picture: Phwoar.

So I believe the throw out bearing seized, then probably collapsed, this causing no clutch at all when the pedal is pressed. Still engages if you put the car in gear with the engine off. So it looks like gearbox will be coming off, a bit annoying after just finishing the work but it's partially my fault for not doing the clutch while it was all out. I was trying to save some money! I'm now in the process of finding a single mass flywheel and clutch kit. Picked up a flywheel yesterday but it turns out that one is not ideal as it's essentially a remake of a dual mass in single mass form, if that makes sense. I have been offered another apparently standard one so I hope to get that this weekend. No one here has any clutch kits for this anywhere, cheapest I have found is a LUK on ebay which will be around $550 including delivery and import tax. Includes spigot bearing and throw out bearing so not too bad.Ironic really as the one time I wanted to actually buy something locally, no one can help. Might pull the gearbox off next week since the car is just sitting now anyway.

Unfortunately, something in the clutch system just failed on me. Went for a short drive to pick something up, halfway home, no clutch. Won't get a chance to investigate until the weekend probably.