ALAN WITH AN S38B35

[alangarch]

POSTED A LONG WHILE AGO
I HAVE A 74 3.0CS IN WHICH I PUT
A 86 S38B35 BRAND NEW W. 11:1 COMPRESSION
AND I "LINK" ECU
WHAT A MISTAKE AS I CANT FIND ANYONE IN THE WORLD TO SET IT UP FOR
LASS THAN 20 THOUSAND DOLARS
MY QUESTION IS CAN I USE A STANDARD M5 MOTRONIC ECU TO RUN THE ENGINE
IF SO IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE I COULD BUY ONE FROM
I WOULD NEED THE HARNESS ALSO OF COURSE
IM AT ALANGARCH@YAHOO.COM
ALSO THANK HOPE TO HERE SOON
ALAN

HEEEELPPPPP

[///M]

Have a read of the thread on the motronic ecu on the post list, see if there is anything for you.

[euroclassicmotors]

Hi Alan,

I have sent you an e-mail.

Regards,
Anri

[alangarch]

SO IT SEEMS LIKE THE MOST INTELLIGENT THING TO DO HERE IS PULL THE UNIT SELL IT
AND THEN FIND ANOTHER S38 THAT HAS JUST BEEN REBUILT SWITCH OVER ALL THE
INCIDENTALS - FIND A STOCK MOTRONIC ECU AND HAR5NESS
THROW IT IN AND BE ON THE WAY.
I SURELY WANT ANOTHER S38 TO PUT IN AS I REALLY LOVE THE WAY IT LOOKS AND OF COURSE
THE PERFORMANCE.
SO IF ANYONE KNOWS OF A FRESH S38
LOVE TO KNOW OF IT,
THANKS ALAN

[Karl Grau]

It's 2022, please turn off your caps lock.

[kojo96]

SO IT SEEMS LIKE THE MOST INTELLIGENT THING TO DO HERE IS PULL THE UNIT SELL IT
AND THEN FIND ANOTHER S38 THAT HAS JUST BEEN REBUILT SWITCH OVER ALL THE
INCIDENTALS - FIND A STOCK MOTRONIC ECU AND HAR5NESS
THROW IT IN AND BE ON THE WAY.
I SURELY WANT ANOTHER S38 TO PUT IN AS I REALLY LOVE THE WAY IT LOOKS AND OF COURSE
THE PERFORMANCE.
SO IF ANYONE KNOWS OF A FRESH S38
LOVE TO KNOW OF IT,
THANKS ALAN

According to your original post above you ALREADY have a fresh motor and just can't get it to run on the standalone ecu you have. Now you want to look for another FRESH S38 to put in?

Sorry, but you're not making any sense. Are you located in the United States or are you overseas? If in USA what part, there's known shops that can help you.

[alangarch]

YES THATS WHAT I HAVE TO DO
THE UNIT I HAVE NOW NEEDS THE STANDALONE AND IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO SET IT UP FOR 4 YEARS
SO GETTING A BASE S38 WILL LET ME USE THE STOCK MOTRONIC ECU
I CAN JUST PULL IT IN AND AWAY YOU GO
SO IF ANYONE THERE N\KNOWS WHERE I CAN GET ONE PLEASE SEND A NOTE
IM LOCATED IN THE BAY AREA IN PLEASANT HILL EAST OF OAKLAND
94523 AND MY CONTACT IS
ALANGARCH@YAHOO.COM
AND 925-476-5395.
ALAN ESTRADA
ILL NEED TO GET THAT UNIT OUT SO I CAN BUY THE NEW ONE
THE REASON I WANT ANOTHER IS SO ICAN USE THE (E) EXHAUST SYSTEM
AND INCIDENTALS AND WONT HAVE TO REDO ALL THE HOOKUPS.
AND I REALLY LOVE THE LOOK OF THE MOTOR. AND POWER WILL BE JUST RIGHT.
APOLOGIZE FOR THE ALL CAPS -MY KEYBOARD IS PROGRAMMABLE FOR USE WITH AUTOCAD AND
ITS SETUP TO USE CAPS FOR ALL NY DRAWINGS
OK

[Philo]

Hi Alan, I installed a programmable ECU on my stock S38 back in the day and there are some setup idiosyncrasies specific to the S38 that you need to consider in order to get the car to run properly with a stand alone system. This has to do with the vacuum signal from the throttles if you intend to run a MAP signal for fueling. Also the ignition setup you intend to run. Even with your higher compression engine there will still be issue and has nothing to do with your Link engine management system. That ECU can easily control an antiquated non vanos engine like the S38. Reply back with how your engine is setup to measure air volume, MAP, MAF, Open intake (alpha-N), and also your ignition approach. Your Link ECU needs to know this stuff before you start the engine and start playing with fuel tables. Im assuming you're running Coil-on-Plug, waste spark or sequential ? What is the engine configuration regarding wiring up the ECU ? Have you gotten this far yet ?

If I were you I'd stick with the high compression engine in the car, get the ECU wired up based on your configuration approach, and then work with a tuner to setup your fuel and timing maps. You should be able to use the Link "configurator" to get a base 6cyl 3.5ltr map and then go from there. You will spend some money because this endeavor will take a good chunk of dyno time. If I had the car I'd get it wired properly and then get it to first start and idle in the driveway. Then work on throttle enrichment setting to get the engine to rev when you jab the throttle. Then statically adjust the main fuel map at various RPM using an external, or secondary installed, wide band 02 sensor with a digital readout. If you get this far and can get the car semi drivable you can then hit the dyno. This approach with save you some dyno money. Although, a good dyno guy can get the engine up and running from scratch within an hour if there aren't any mechanical or electronic issues keeping it from being tuned. I know this is a ton of info but it all needs to be considered and worked out prior to turning the key. The Link setup manual should have a section on engine setup and wiring.

I know of several tuners that can help in the Los Angeles area but you should be able to find a good tuner in the Bay area that works on a respectable hourly rate. Get away from "BMW" specific tuners and look for a Link shop. Call Link, they should be able to help. Also reach out to Anri who posted earlier, I know him personally and he can definitely help unravel your mess. Anri was instrumental at getting my S54 engine swap project up and running.

Here's my custom S38.
https://www.dropbox.com/preview/M5%20Pa ... e=personal
https://www.dropbox.com/preview/Car%20S ... e=personal

Feel free to email me, we can also chat by phone if you like.

Phil Conrad
phil@thetaxcapital.com
310-766-1923

[euroclassicmotors]

Hey Philo,

Thanks for the kind words. I think Alan is absolutely going back to stock ECU
as most would. Every time it comes down to the same problem, no one wants
to spent coins making the S38 with modern EMS, cams box, exhaust etc. Very
very few.

Aside from this, hold tight I will have a solution for steering rack conversion
so we get rid of the heavy power box. Also there is another upgrade I am
working on and you are going to love it.

Regards,
Anri

[alangarch]

YEA HAVE THE ENGINE READY TO GO ALL THE EXHAUST IS INSTALLED WITH EURO SNAKES
ITS A WONDEFUL SETUP YET CANT GETIT WIRED TO START
IM REALLY RATHER DISAPPOINTED
I SHOULD TRY TO SETUP THE LINK UNIT
I THINK IM GOIND TO SELL THE MOTOR
SO I SHOULD POST IT HERE I DONT MIND SPENDING TO SET IT UP
JUST NOW 20K
AND THERES NO ONE ELSE!!!

[Philo]

Alan, I sent an email reply. But, i think i understand now where you're at with the setup.

So, if you haven't wired the engine up yet I can see why a shop quoted you 20k. My recommendation, since you've gotten this far, is to wire the engine harness yourself. This is what i did years ago and learned a lot doing the work myself. If you go back to a stock engine, A) not sure you'll be able to find a good S38 for under 15-20k, and B) the engine harness for this engine is unavailable.

You see where I'm going here.., it's my gut feeling that you should continue in the direction you're on. I recommend you find a bimmer buddy in your area that can help you through this mess vs. having a shop do the work.

Good luck.

[alangarch]

THANKS for THE INPUT
im really not sure what to do
i want to keep the engine yet theres the issue of not being able to turn over with all the plugs installed
if i pull two plugs the starter will turn it over
yet when i put back in the two more forgetabout it
it wont turn over i have a new battery and the wiring is
fine tomorrow ill recheck the wiring again to see if i have
something wrong
if i cant get that resolved ill get the a 3.5 and be done with the problem
ill p[ost the updates
i do have a person that has the stock unit
and offered to trade straight across -- so i think thats the
way im going to go
as i reallty want that engine in my car

[Philo]

Hi Alan. So you can't turn the engine over with plugs installed ?? This is very very odd, you should be able to no problem. Who built the engine for you ?

What I would do is pull all the plugs, take the valve cover off so you can see the cams, turn the engine to TDC using a socket on the crank bolt, and verify cam timing marks. If you get any resistance when turning the engine STOP. If no resistance, make sure the dampener mark at the crank is at TDC and that piston #1 is at the top of the stroke (use a long stick or screw driver down the spark plug hole), and then check that the cam timing marks are correct. The fact that you can't get the engine to turn over to me sounds like you have a cam timing issue but it's really hard to diagnose from my chair.

My recommendation is to find a board member that is familiar with the S38 and see if they can lend a hand. Sorry to say but you are a long way off from ECU tuning.

Let me know what you find.

Phil.

[alangarch]

yea its a dead end
im going to pull the engine and sell it
get a 3.5 from a 6 or 7 series WITH THE HARNESS AND ECU
AND JUST THROW IT IN
GET A RUNNING UNIT TO PULL IT FROM
THAT may be a bit more difficult than it
seems
antway so that the path im going with.