New World Datsuns...

1. Remove engine.
2. Install missing flex plate.
3. Reinstall engine.
4. Profit.

^^^ oh this guy

Oh that thought occurred to me. I double and triple checked I installed the flex late correctly...

Or I am an idiot, or I was just too tired...

I went out and tried again... I noticed the tach was reading like 150rpm...

Got out, looked at the serpentine belt, "cranked" it again. OH, the belt moved. I guess without the spark plugs the motor spins real easy.

Anyways, Im prepping my computer to download the 3.0 Tune for the ECU.

I will be starting it tonight.

Got it started. Took about a good 30 seconds to prime the fuel system. And after about 10 attempts it finally caught.

Pulled it out of the driveway, no leaks. Started driving down the road, um thats a weird sound, and it feels really reserved. Roll my window down, that is coming from the back... Damnit, my left rear tire is flat.

Got it (the tire) blown up. Went on a drive. Overall it went well. Kept the engine load varying. Put 10 miles on it. Engine is running smooth. No check engine light so far.

Towards the end though, I seemed to have developed a squeal, and its pretty loud. Goes away with engine load. Present at idle and deceleration. Im gonna investigate more tomorrow. Not driving it to work yet

Hope it's nothing serious. Congrats on getting it running though. Do you notice the extra .5L?

Yea I'm hoping it's related to the belts...

I can feel the torque way earlier, it just glides from a start. Top of the rev range doesn't feel much different, like it rips from a start then the excitement doesn't carry through. I will put the 3.0 tune on, that should make it run 100% correct.

All I really hope is that the sound is not from inside the motor.

I’m almost willing to bet your paycheck it’s the belt

On another drive. Squeal went away... Until I had the motor good and warm. Not as prevalent as yesterday.

I'll check more when I get home. But I noticed after I turned the car off the sound faded off... Like the engine should not have been running, yet the sound was still there.

So now my train of thought is a air leak which is whistling. It actually sounds like a whistle, like the type with the balls that bounce around inside.

Oooo brain thought, I have my catchcan installed... It must be pulling massive vacuum... That could be the whistle...

Ok, hood up, when it wants to be loud, it is ear piercing when standing in the right spot.

it is 100% related to crankcase vacuum. As soon as I pull the oil cap off the sound goes away immediately.

Um this is gonna be hard to find... I need a smoke machine.

But it wont stop me from driving it now that I know what it is... Its pretty loud outside of the car. Inside its a mile annoyance.

This is exactly the sound and symptoms. Probably just too much vacuum. Some port makes a whistle sound. Time to inserts a PCV into the system. (Because it cheaper than the stupid malfunctioning OEM system).

Grabbed a random PCV from autozone. Hopefully it will limit the vacuum pulled.

And the sound is fixed! Drove it to work today. No sound.

Need to do the oil change tonight.

Also I was thinking about the power again. Torque is way better, the car feels way smoother off the line. It's revving less to accelerate, and it's definitely faster at the lower rpms. High end, it's odd. The car pulls hard all the way to redline. But it doesn't feel significant at the high rpms. I suspect that to be because I was running headers on the 2.5, and now cats on the 3.0. I'll wait until I flash the 3.0 to really assess how it is.

Also on the emissions front, only evap and O2 heaters have yet to pass. Evap never has on this car, but never fails. I need the O2 heaters to pass. Kinda odd that they haven't...

Well I’m glad I didn’t bet your check or you’d be broke.

And my mistake also shows how much I know about BMW’s

Glad you got it figured out

On my drive home today I checked the car to see if it has passed all of its readiness monitors.

YAY it had, and no check engine light (Still have pending P0171 and P0174 lean codes). But it was 5:45, and I was still 5 minutes from home, and I needed to do an oil change, and the testing station closed at 7pm.

Got the oil change done by 6:20, out the door at 6:30, and leaving the test station with a PASS at 6:50. And headed out for a couple of drinks with friends at 7.

Car is behaving well. Though I have figured out that WOT is not consistent. It fell on its face earlier.

Good to be legal again. No more Journey for a while I hope.

Well I have been trying to update the cars computer, well engine computer (DME), but the software keeps having some sort of issue...

But I did manage to update the Transmission Computer (EGS). It now has whatever the newest algorithm on it is. There has been a few revisions for that. As I drive it Ill see if I notice anything.

I think I am getting a real good grasp on the BMW software tools. I think I will have to go diagnose my friends 08 Mini next.

Transmission update is awesome. It shifts a bit faster, and is way smoother. I used to be able to count to 1.5 before it would shift from reverse to drive. Now its almost immediate.

Still can't figure out the ECU update. I mean, I know how to use the software, but I cant find the proper tune...

I would have to buy a new computer before I could work on something like that. I like BMW’s but I had no clue they were that involved.