3.4L Motor Swap Underway!

[schoir]

Originally Posted by insite

okay, i hit it with a code reader today......no codes. another oddity is that even though i'm using the RoW program which should only monitor two O2 sensors, i'm getting readings from all four.....

so, here are some numbers at idle:

MAF: 0.95
Ign Adv: 12deg
Fuel Sys 1 & 2: closed
ST Ftrm 11: -11.7%
ST Ftrm 21: 9.4%

the symptoms are a lumpy idle and a very fuel-rich exhaust with some smoke. from the numbers above, it seems that one bank is rich & one is lean.....

i will work on prepping a diagnostic plan tomorrow. in the meantime, any ideas are welcome! as a first order of business, i will check to see if the small oil leak from the area of the #1 spark plug tube is somehow related.

Insite:

I know that you have dealt with the common issue of the correct volume/velocity of the air intake as affected by the diameter of the intake housing/tubing by installing the BMW 540i MAF housing and the associated silicone tubing, but are you sure that all of that is correct and that there are no air leaks anywhere in the tubing connections?

Also, is it possible that the DME has to learn the values by going through the various cycles, as it does when you disconnect the battery for a while and the DME has to relearn the correct fuel trims, etc.? And that may one of the causes for the lumpy idle?

Regards, Maurice.

[insite]

maurice - all good puts.

since i have an oil leak and it's the first obvious point of breach from the engine internals to the environment, i'll look there first for vacumm leak issues. once i resolve that, i will pull the plugs & examine each to try & pinpoint the issue to a single cylinder, single bank, or all cylinders / all banks.

your MAF questions are good. looking at my ST FTRM readouts, you'll notice that once cylinder is trying to lean itself & the other is trying to enrich itself. if the MAF were the issue, we'd see similar rather than opposing trends between the banks. looking at these numbers, my guess is that if i allow the engine to run a bit longer, the adaptation will eventually move me out of the 'normal' range and i'll get a 'LEAN LIMIT' code, meaning that the engine is running too rich for the DME to compensate. i will, however, disconnect the MAF & give it a test run just in case.

the next order of business will be to check for vacuum leaks. i'll do this with propane & a visual / audible inspection.

hopefully by the time i get to this point, something will be obvious. if not, i will need to revalidate the camshaft timing. i'm positive i verified it as spot on prior to putting the enigine in the car, so i bet we'll find the problem before we get here.....

in the meantime, here are a few more photos of the installation:

engine bay:







airbox (i will add a hose to the airbox inlet that elbows over to the body inlet to ensure cold air only):





close-up of the too-tall tranny mounts:

[JAAY]

What Maf housing are you running?

[insite]

Originally Posted by JAAY

What Maf housing are you running?

it's the 3.5" housing from a BMW 540i (E39). i believe it was your recommendaton, & it does match the 996 3.4L diameter. still, if the MAF housing were my issue, i think i'd be reading rich at both banks......

[JAAY]

Never mind. I missed the 540 post. Sounds like a vacuum leak. I had issues like this right after I did my 3.4 also. I just had leaks in the intake system and on the intake manifolds. I hope you get it all ironed out.

[insite]

Originally Posted by JAAY

Never mind. I missed the 540 post. Sounds like a vacuum leak. I had issues like this right after I did my 3.4 also. I just had leaks in the intake system and on the intake manifolds. I hope you get it all ironed out.

you're probably right......we shall see.

[insite]

ok, some progress:

oil leak diagnosed. i remember now i had waited to tighten the oil pressure sender because i didn't have a narrow enough wrench to get between the head & the sender. no worries; channel locks worked wonders.

funny noise diagnosed. the power steering lines were still cavitated. i turned the steering back and forth a bit, topped off the fluid, and it quited down.

drivability issue diagnosed. i pulled the plugs; all looked well. i checked for vacuum leaks; all looked well. it SEEMED like a cam timing issue to me, but i got a feeling it would work itself out. this motor was degreased & shelved for EIGHT years. when i did a compression test before i installed the motor (turning it by hand), some cylinders didn't have very good readings. i've been working under the assumption that some scaly crud was preventing the valves from closing all the way & maybe interfering w/ the lifters. anyway, i let it run for awhile. i revved it up to 4k and held it until everything was good and hot. i blipped the throttle a bunch & generally tried to blow out the junk. sure enough, it smoothed out & the fuel adaptation values converged. everything is looking good!

saturday, i'll raise the transmission 1/4", then put the axles & suspension bits back in. then it will be time for a road test. booyah.

[Pat]

All good news. You've got to be SO jacked by now to get that thing on the road. VERY exciting stuff!
:dance:

[insite]

Originally Posted by Pat

All good news. You've got to be SO jacked by now to get that thing on the road. VERY exciting stuff!
:dance:

i really can't wait to drive it. it died in march of '08! been WAY too long. it takes me a good bit of restraint not to rush it......

one of the coolest things was watching the VarioRam properly actuate, proving all the wiring & vacuum routing works like a champ.

one odd thing: the low coolant light is flashing. i'm all topped up, the system is burped (heater routing too!), and the sensor is plugged in. small issue, really.....

[schoir]

Originally Posted by insite

i really can't wait to drive it. it died in march of '08! been WAY too long. it takes me a good bit of restraint not to rush it......

one of the coolest things was watching the VarioRam properly actuate, proving all the wiring & vacuum routing works like a champ.

one odd thing: the low coolant light is flashing. i'm all topped up, the system is burped (heater routing too!), and the sensor is plugged in. small issue, really.....

Insite:

WAY TO (methodically) GO!

When you first get it on the road, make sure you get photos of your permagrin that are as good as the other photos you have posted!

For the coolant light flashing, is it possible that the float sensor (inside the tube in the coolant tank) is stuck in the down position and is thus sending an incorrect signal?

Also, don't forget that the "coolant level low" warning light can also flash to indicate a fault in the engine compartment blower fan, so check that out as well.

Regards, Maurice.

[Cloudsurfer]

Looking good Kevin! Glad that you could put those silicone bits and t-bolt clamps to good use! You'll LOVE it once you take it for a drive....

[insite]

cloudsurfer - glad you remembered my name!! :-)


ok, road test today & put 70 miles on it. a little scare when i started to back out of the garage; HUGE billows of black smoke that smelled eerily familiar, but that i couldn't place..... oh yeah, bonding agents & kevlar. it was the new clutch. once that crap started burning off, all was well.

first impressions? holy ****************. i'd forgotten how raw and visceral this particular car was. first off, it's a no-option car, so it's very light. it also has very stiff suspension, no sound deadening, a solid front motor mount, and a LOUD stebro race exhaust. it is now also quite fast. this thing stirs every emotion when i drive it, even a little fear.....but in a good way!

the torque curve is so different than my G35. the G has TONS of low end grunt, but struggles for air up high. this thing is the reverse; torque is a little muted below about 3k, but once you're over 4k, it just builds and builds. MUCH more tractable around town; no need to shift as often. the noise is wonderful. also, with the added 600 RPM's, i can now breach 60mph in 2nd and 100mph in 3rd. this alone will save me some tenths at the track.

i still have a couple of minor details to handle. the car still wants to die at idle when i get off the gas. need to find the vacuum leak. the hose betweein the oil separator & my throttle is pinched; i'll also need to fix that. all in all, i'm very happy with the car & the project was a lot of fun.

thanks to the board & online community for all the help. i need to individually thank Todd Holyoak for all his help in paving the way for these swaps & for putting up with all of my questions along the way. Cloudsurfer was invaluable in helping design my intake plumbing. he even sent me a few silicone pieces and T-bolt clamps. thanks!

the one person i need to kick is hans; that's the name i gave to the guy that put all those friggin spring clamps on the hoses in this car. bubba's the name of his nemesis, the guy who invented the spring clamp cable pliers (i'll post a pic!).

more to come......

[AndyA6]

Congrats!

You made a lot of people take note and dream!

Later,
Andy

[tnoice]

Comgrats. I hope you get all of the little bugs ironed out. It sounds like this project was well worth the time, money, and effort. We will be looking forward to hear ongoing reports.

[insite]

update:

holyoak reminded me of the idle air control valve.......duh. i pulled it off to clean it & check it. it was rusted solid; i couldn't even move it by hand after i opened it up.

i dug out the one from the boxster engine, gave it a good cleaning, & popped it in the car. ran TERRIBLE!!! way worse off. i reset the DME & voila, buttery idle. running very well now.

keeps getting faster every day. i gave a check ride to a forum member last night (byron in atl); he agreed it's a little scary. much faster than either of us thought it would be.

[Bladecutter]

Good job, and congrats!

I have one question:

Since you installed a light weight flywheel, what precautions have you taken to prevent the crankshaft from going bye-bye?

Cracked cranks have been reported with light weight flywheels.
Especially track cars.

BC.

[insite]

Originally Posted by Bladecutter

Good job, and congrats!

I have one question:

Since you installed a light weight flywheel, what precautions have you taken to prevent the crankshaft from going bye-bye?

Cracked cranks have been reported with light weight flywheels.
Especially track cars.

no precautions at this point. i used a LWF on my old engine. when i take it apart to inspect, if it has a broken crank, you can bet i'll pull the LWF immediately.

i may go ahead & get a damped crank pulley. we'll see.

[AndyA6]

I guess you do this anyway..... but after the initial runs do you plan to change the oil, say after a 1,000 mls?

[seningen]

Originally Posted by AndyA6

I guess you do this anyway..... but after the initial runs do you plan to change the oil, say after a 1,000 mls?

When we do our M96 rebuilds

It's 20 min dump oil, inspect filter
250 mile dump oil & inspect
1000 miles dump oil & inspect
We keep the revs below 4k
Until the 1250 mark
Then drive it normally and change oil every 6k miles

In the big scheme of things
Oil is cheap

Mike

[insite]

since this engine is already broken in, i plan on a 1000 mile oil & filter change.

BTW, vBox dyno that gave my boxster engine 174HP at the wheels was used to dyno the new motor. 288HP! i think that may be a bit high, but it does seem to confirm my suspicion that i'm putting down a lot more than the stock 3.4's 299HP. this thing feels REALLY REALLY quick.

Originally Posted by seningen

When we do our M96 rebuilds

It's 20 min dump oil, inspect filter
250 mile dump oil & inspect
1000 miles dump oil & inspect
We keep the revs below 4k
Until the 1250 mark
Then drive it normally and change oil every 6k miles

In the big scheme of things
Oil is cheap

Mike