Turbo Cowtipping (my F.I. build) 2/2014 addendum

[Nebraska_e28]

Catchy name eh? Well everyone else around here has built a force to be recokened with & now I'm converting to the Dark Side. I couldn't think of anything else to call this thread & didn't want to copycat anyone else so screw it! Turbo Cowtipping it is. If you don't like it, deal with it. Well, at least until I come up with something better or someone introduces a catchy "I'm stuck on Band-Aid" jingle that ties into my turbo build.

There are several board members both current & former that have influenced my FI infection, but I'll save the credits till thing thing actually runs.

I don't plan anything uber-fancy with this build & am not "Daddy Warbucks" as someone once mentioned, so KISS is the motto for now. I've had all the necessary parts courtesy of TCD & DIYautotune for a little while now but life limits my time to work on my toy. My goal is to have this thing built & tuned before 5erFest! Hopefully prior to that I'll have blown up all the trannies necessary to make an uneventful trip. In the unlikely event I blow this motor up, I have 2 laying in wait for their opportunity or just for a beefy rebuild.

basic specs:

Stock 84 533i w/200k, (decked head), rebuilt auto & 3.73 lsd
TCD s3 kit w/W>A
TCD 3000 stall TQ conv
MegaSquirt ecu
MSD wasted spark
stock head bolts & stock HG

Keep in mind that this cowtipping cowpoke from Nebraska works a fulltime job & has a second at a local auto parts store, my freetime fluctuates.

And now for some menial pics. (hey we all gotta start somewhere right?)

Car as initially found on a farm in Iowa.



JimStim




gutted GM ICM


More to come!

[Coldswede]

My goal is to have this thing built & tuned before 5erFest! Haul Ass

Great! That will be a nice way to introduce your new found boost!

Hopefully prior to that I'll have blown up all the trannies necessary to make an uneventful trip

I'll believe that one when I see you (Minus the Pontiac/ Buick) at 5erFest this year!

[Nebraska_e28]

Not much to update here, but almost done building MS. Seems like now that I have all the parts I need, there is not enough time in the day to work on anything!

Right now I'm stuck trying to locate what I think is a short somewhere on the board.

Thread located here if anyone can give me some direction. http://www.msefi.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=38279

[Nebraska_e28]

It's been hell to find time to work on this thing between jobs & all. A little more progress finally. Every wire has been triple & quadruple checked for accuracy between the db37 & motronic 55. Tomorrow I'll be tearing out all old wiring on the e28 & getting the new harness laid in. All in 90+ temps. Fun stuff!

One small piece of security I did was to use shielded cable for both the VR sensor & the TPS in the adapter harness. This made for a VERY tight fit in the db37 hood.

[alijonny]

sweet. kinda looks like my setup except for the actual MS box. I need to start working on mine again.

[babisbabou]

Keep up the work

[M. Holtmeier]

Awesome! Looks good, man!

Stay cool, the heat advisory starts at noon today and lasts until 8pm tomorrow. 115 heat index today.

[Nebraska_e28]

[vance]

Looking good!

Vance

[Nebraska_e28]

Still doesn't look anything like a turbo car but I'm cranking away on it between jobs. A little here/little there. Almost like taking a shit & then at the end there's that one big push and a sigh of relief.

[alijonny]

2 days of bust ass. do it.

[bornagain]

no in reality its like having a child there is a big push and then a big sigh of relief, then the headaches start.

[Nebraska_e28]

Hope to fab up the exhaust tomorrow.

[alijonny]

man there's a whole lotta real estate with the TCD manifold. I think I might have to give in after I get the car going....

[Nebraska_e28]

More work done. 2nd pic is turned backwards.

[bornagain]

looking good, keep going.

[M. Holtmeier]

Did you get the intake and intercooler piping installed?

[Nebraska_e28]

Did you get the intake and intercooler piping installed?

nope

Had to pull the manifold back off to tighten down the oil feed fitting on the turbo. Was unable to do this with it on the car. I can say though that the downpipe comes apart as ez as apple pie due to your excellent exhaust skills. It'll be another late one. ugh

Also found out that I have a busted driver motor mount. Oh well, better now than while under boost.

[wkohler]

Fortunately the motor mount is cheap! Replace them both.

[Nebraska_e28]

Fortunately the motor mount is cheap! Replace them both.

Nuff said, cheap insurance as well.

[JesterMX6]

subscribed

[Nebraska_e28]

Small update:

No pics this time (still looks like a rats nest). Got everything wired up (more or less) & after updating MS to the correct firmware I was able to get it started and running w/wasted spark this past Saturday. Took it for a spin down the block & back. Man talk about peppy! It's an auto & I don't think I got it past 2nd gear but instantly ran into traction issues at the 1>2 shift point under wot.
I replaced both motor mounts. Still to be done: finish relocating the battery, button up the wires, mount the HE & w>a reservoir, add in a few external gauges, other stuff?? Things are getting closer.

[FABEL]

subscribed

I as well. Nebraska's SO smart don't cha know.

[M. Holtmeier]

Any updates?

[cvillebimmer]

Subscribing for updates.

[Nebraska_e28]

Most of the wires are all finished up under the hood & I need to figure out why my temp gauge isn't working thought it's connected. Also need to go verify I have the correct wire for dash rpm gauge. I'm just about done routing the lines for the pump/HE & reservoir. I've been taking my time to figure how I want this stuff mounted initially so it doesn't look like a hack job. Of course I'll probably go back & revamp it all later. Still need to figure out a way to mount the water pump so it isn't just hanging around loose.

I've noticed with the stock fan/clutch setup, engine temps around around 185/190ish. A bit higher than what I'd like to see.

[JesterMX6]

Most of the wires are all finished up under the hood & I need to figure out why my temp gauge isn't working thought it's connected. Also need to go verify I have the correct wire for dash rpm gauge. I'm just about done routing the lines for the pump/HE & reservoir. I've been taking my time to figure how I want this stuff mounted initially so it doesn't look like a hack job. Of course I'll probably go back & revamp it all later. Still need to figure out a way to mount the water pump so it isn't just hanging around loose.

I've noticed with the stock fan/clutch setup, engine temps around around 185/190ish. A bit higher than what I'd like to see.

make sure you have a shroud properly installed. my shroud wasn't mounted correctly and my temps were sitting a bit higher. i pulled the shroud and reseated it so it'd actually seal around the radiator and my temps dropped down quite a bit.

[Nebraska_e28]

My car seems to be misfiring. Since being turboed, It's only been driven maybe 4 blocks & spent maybe 12 hours total idling in my driveway. I wasn't sure if I should post this up over in the TT forum or here in FI since I'm running Megasquirt. Guess I'll toss it out for anyone that might have some insight on something I'm missing, or a wild hair of what else I might try.

The car:
Stock 533i motor w/turbo, MS2 extra, e34 harness, & wasted spark

Situation:
I let it sit for a few days without starting it & now "out of the blue" it seems to have a missfire on one of the cylinders (or all of them?). After things warm up, it's still present but not quite as obvious until the engine is revved up. Then it sounds like Subaru or something.

Troubleshooting done: (in no particular order)
The wbo2 had come loose & it was running very rich so I pulled all plugs to put some fire to them and wire brush/clean.
Bought 1 new plug & swapped it to each cyl individually to trace the problem.
Checked coil to plug firing order.
Checked resistance on all 'new' plug wires.
Swapped in new plugs for the ones that have maybe 12 hours run time.
Checked for spark on every wire. Running MSD coils & it was huge!
Checked timing in MS.
Verified all injector connectors were firing w/noid light. (brand new injectors)
Tried separating the sparkplug wires (that I ziptied together) thinking the may have been some crossfire going on.
Created a new map from scratch in Tunerstudio.

I have yet to do a compression test to see if my worst fear is true, in which case I'll be pulling the head for a rebuild.
Any other ideas of what I might check?

[Nebraska_e28]

Well... Hoping to locate a cylinder that wasn't firing, I got an IR temp gun & hit each spot on the exhaust manifold port. Temps looked to be fairly consistent. Around 260 - 300F Is that about normal for a ceramic coated manifold? Also started in on a compression test & it was too much of a pain the arse to get the blasted thing threaded in the first hole. Gave up for fear of stripping threads. Call it mechanics intuition, but it was already a long day & I had a bad feeling about proceeding.

Crazy thing is it has too smooth of a rough idle (can i say that?) to be a total misfire. Tonight I plan on testing fuel pressure in the rail & then on to swapping in a "known good" set of injectors. From the advice of a board member, maybe my pipes are gummed up. More to come...

[Mr Project]

So, it runs badly, but consistently badly, with no evidence of one particular cylinder misfiring. Obviously the compression test is important, but if that goes OK, it sounds to me like you have fire and fuel, so you must have one of them at the wrong time....

How is the ignition triggered on this setup? Could something have slipped, wire broken/shorted, poor signal insulation on the trigger signal, etc?