RE: '87 325iC - acceleration and and blower motor

["Fadeev, Alex" <alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Drew Mouton [mailto:drew@domain.elided] wrote:
> 
> I'm back on this list after a couple-year hiatus. I recently 
> bought an  '87 325iC (automatic), and though I've previously 
> owned and rebuilt a  2002 and a 320i, I'm learning new things
> about the 325i everyday.
> 
> looks like the engine was replaced/rebuilt within the last 
> thousand miles or so. 

That's weird. You did not say how many miles on the car, but M20B25 engines
last forever if 1/2 taken care of, unless the t-belt goes (major neglect). 
 
> I'm about to install an ANSA free flow exhaust, 

Drew, 
Do yourself a favor and stay away from ANSA crap => get a real OEM $200
exhaust.

> but from the moment I first turned the key, it started 
> right up and idled evenly at about 1200 rpm.

first sign of trouble: M20B25 engines should idle around 750rpms. 1200 is
way too high (even with AC on).

> 1.) Here's my first problem: the day I drove it home, I was 
> out on the freeway at about 60mph, and I accelerated hard. It
> seemed to immediately falter, rpms dropped down to 1000 or so,
> acceleration dropped off completely, and the engine faltered 
> for about 5 seconds. Then, it resumed normal revs. [..]
> 
> However, yesterday afternoon, after driving it around a bit to 
> get it warmed up, I stopped at a stop sign, then stomped on the
> accelerator. Hard. I got about 50 feet worth of really good 
> acceleration, then the rpms dropped to about 500, there was no
> response to the gas pedal, and the engine continued to falter. 
> I stumbled part way up a hill, then eventually I was able to 
> resume (mostly) normal driving.
>
> This morning, I turned the key, it started up, then the engine
> quit. It wouldn't immediately turn over, but after goosing it a
> bit it did catch eventually, and I drove the car (normally) 
> into work.
> 
> So...my gut feeling is that this is an injector-level problem,

Most likely not. 
I would start by checking the idle control valve (ICV) and all the temp
sensors that feed the DME. 
When the engine is stalling/failing to start, is the fuel mixture too rich
or lean? Most likely culprits would be:
Too rich: bad ICV, bad fuel pressure regulator, bad temp sensors causing DME
to keep the car in cold start mode, etc
Too lean: vacuum leaks (unmetered air is sucked into the engine), ICV, etc
Basically, there are way too many unknowns to diagnose the problem remotely.


> but since I've never done any work on injectors - much less on
> this car - I'd be working directly from the Haynes book. Anyone
> have some suggestions for the best way to approach this problem?

I would start by throwing the Haynes manual into a recycling bin and getting
the Bentley E30 manual (http://www.rb.com)

> 2.) Second problem - when I got the car, the AC blower didn't 
> work. No response from the control on the console. I removed the
> blower motor, applied current to the contacts and the fan blew fine. 
> I cleaned it and put it back in, and now it can be controlled from 
> the console - except that it only clicks on at full-speed (level "4"). 

Your blower resistor pack is shot. 
Get a new one from the dealer ($15-20), remove the firewall cover in the
engine bay, remove the blower cover and you will be looking at a rectangular
plastic thingy with 3 coils smack in the middle of the blower case. Pull it
up and out. Put the new one in. Enjoy.

good luck with the idle trouble shooting,
alex f

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