Motronic 1.3 To MegaSquirt

[BarryG]

Hi All

Well i have had the 1.3 for some time now and I think it's time to move on. Back when it was the new/used system to go to, I went Head first and read as much info as was available which wasn’t much, just a few pics on the web. It worked and worked good but you all know it has its drawbacks - no adjustability for the most part.

On to Megasquirt
First thing is why would I take this on when you can have a Pro like Don just do it. Well I’m going to lean on the guys on the board to guide me along. I’m doing this with my son Michael who has been on me to swap over for some time. We want to learn all there is so we can fix, adjust, and tune in the future.

My Dirty m30 - 10:1 & a cam runs good but Something is missing , that extra HP / Torque.
I was at Dons place in the bay last week and noticed a block it was wrapped in plastic and I asked him what pistons are those... he smiled and said Custom. Yeah he planted the seed.
Let’s see what ... pics to come

 

[sfdon]

That’s an m90 block bored out with custom high compression pistons fitted for a b35 head. And more..... cam, rods....
not Terry Tinney class but still lots of fun.
Logan Saltsman‘s idea.

 

[BarryG]

Hey I didn’t give up there are just “ Days Between “
I have a few things to get right before I rip into the Coupe... in this order.

1. I have a dead spot in my ECU / Harness that needs to be found. The problem is that when I push it to around 4-5 grand it cut/backfires, not good.

2. With COVID-19 I haven’t driven it in months and when I did take it out last weekend it ran fine , but when I got home I left it on the driveway for 10 minutes and it would not restart. Checked everything, turned out to be the pulse sensor on the balancer. But still cuts ou t:-(
But hay I’m going Megasquirt.

3. Then there are all the engine changes.
Schrick cam - Head work.
Clean and coat the intake bits.
Get my Stahl headers coated - new exhaust behind the headers.

So it’s like cooking a good meal... it all has to come together at the same time.

I’m not sure if I should install the Megasquirt first or after the mods. Going to go see

 

[TodB]

Sure sounds like the ECU, I had the exact same issue in my E28 535i. Can you swap another known good ECU to test? There are also folks out there who will test and fix the ECU

 

[Bearmw]

As you say it may be the ECU or harness. Unfortunately many of the harnesses are also showing their age and can lead to similar issues. I remember a lengthy thread on R3Vlimited where jlevie discussed dealing with an intermittent cutout issue at higher revs during spec E30 racing that was caused by an old harness. He ended up buying some new harnesses if I recall. I have megasquirt on my m30 E30 and made my own harness to avoid such issues. I hope your issue is as simple as an old ECU since tracing a faulty harness can be time consuming.

 

[BarryG]

I delivered my spare head to my Machine shop this week. Ordered a cam, dual springs .

Stahl Header ??? In this thread

Stahl header collector

Hey guys I’m going to have my headers coated ... not powder coated. My question is how or what did you do at the collectors ends to get them into a single pipe? 2 into 1 Flanges or slip over... You can’t have them welded together for removal and install reasons. Pics would be awesome Thanks

e9coupe.com

 

[BarryG]

Well things are coming together slowly and I have a question.
Firewall insulation, I haven’t had one on my car and I’m thinking maybe I will if there is a big improvement in sound n heat in the cabin.

What are your thought? Don’t Csl not have the padding...

 

[HB Chris]

Purely cosmetic but I think it looks better with it

 

[BarryG]

Thanks Chris

 

[BarryG]

Update

Finally got my head back , parts took more time that I like. Head gasket & other gaskets showed up also.

There was this deep rabbit hole I feel into, you know ... while your in there.

I had painted my engine bay some years ago but it didn’t come out the right color so I stripped everything out and repainted. This time it matched up great.

Old paint

New paint

Engine bits cleaned up nicely

More to come soon

 

[boonies]

The engine bay looks great. Process? Degreased, light sand? Any other prep?

 

[BarryG]

The engine bay looks great. Process? Degreased, light sand? Any other prep?

Mostly a lot of getting the road dirt and oil’s. I had the front cam gear cover bolt strip which gave me a small oil leak.
I’ll do the heater bay and under the hood next spring.

 

[HB Chris]

I know the engine bay always bothered you!

 

[sfdon]

Looks great!

 

[BarryG]

I know the engine bay always bothered you!

Yes it did

 

[Craig Bower]

Watching this thread with interest.
I just want to provide a friendly reminder of the importance to clear those blind head bolt holes prior to reinstalling the head. Subsequent cracked blocks are not uncommon if this practice is not followed.

 

[BarryG]

Been a few weeks since the last update I got the head on , checked for valve to piston distances and all is good. Torque it down but still need to adj the valves.

 

[BarryG]

In the beginning I wanted to do and learn as much as I could about MS by myself , I had no idea how the harness was going to be so different from the standard old bmw harness. there are things in the harness I had no idea about. So here I am ... helplessly waiting.

 

[TodB]

Something tells me it will be worth the wait. Looks great!

 

[BarryG]

Anyone know what screw/bolt goes into the ground tab ?