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MoCounselor's Project Thorisdottir (Annie, For Short)

Sorry guys, I just realized that I hadn't updated this thread in FOREVER!

Since my last post, I've replaced the tank (yes, I went for the china-bay one, couldn't find a good used one local to me,) the sending unit, and the in-tank pump. I also grabbed a good used ZF rack off of here, new inner and outer tie rods, super-pro front control arm bushings, a set of diesel motor mounts, and a new trans mount from FCP, all of which still need to be installed. (I didn't have a lot of time to work on it over the summer, as I was in my last semester of graduate school trying to finish my dissertation, portfolio, etc).

Now that I have a bit more time, money is tight (I'm starting a private practice for counseling and it is slow-going so far, which was to be expected,) so not a lot of progress has been made.

I had some credit at my local u-pull yard from a set of wheels that I ended up returning due to a crack in one spoke, so I grabbed a few odds and ends off of the only 240 that they had, and some parts off of a 940 turbo too. Tried out the primary pump from the j/y 240, and it was a no go. (this was as of yesterday.) It seems to be more dead than my prior pump, making no noise at all when I crank it. I have verified that either my fp relays are bad, or I have a harness issue, as trying to turn the car over doesn't result in the relays energizing and making contact. Manually making the connection and cranking the car still doesn't result in it starting either, and the "new" pump is dead silent. So, more troubleshooting to be done, hopefully today. Most likely the "new" pump will be going back to the u-pull and I'll be exchanging it out for something, possibly the oil cooler off of that 940 turbo.

The 940 parts will be going up for sale here as a package later today (I have the ecu up now, but have decided to package it with the 90+ turbo manifold and factory downpipe,) to help fund a bit more work to get this car up and running.

-Ben
 
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Oh, here is the latest pic of Annie. I picked up the front air dam from a '91 240 at my local pick-n-pull. Once funds allow, I'll be going back to grab the front brakes and front struts/spindles/hubs off of that car too.

The front right wheel was just a test fit, it's the spare off of my daily 330ci. I'm not sure I like the style of it on the 242, so most likely they won't get a set of these. Although, the test fit did help with figuring out sizing. That is a 17x7.5" wheel, 41mm offset. It's on a 25mm spacer with a 225/45 tire, and sits just about right for my tastes.

 
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Micro-update: for the first time in ages, I spent a bit of time turning wrenches on the car yesterday. It was unseasonably warm (79 degrees) in my area, so it seemed like a good day to put some time into the car.

I put the IPD heavy duty trans mount in the car. The stocker came out in two pieces, so it obviously was done. The shifter definitely sits higher now, and it will freely row through all gears (previously, putting the car into 4th caused the shifter to make contact with the back of the opening. The next nice day we have, I'll be borrowing an engine bar and installing the diesel motor mounts on it.

Fuel issues are still there, as I haven't had the funds to get a new primary pump. But, that's okay, the car sits tucked away nicely in my garage until that happens. It won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Pics of the trans mount, just to show how roached it was:

 
Some how I missed this but looking great and following along.

Thanks Greg! I need to update it, as I swapped in a newer ZF rack that I got from Kjets on here, new tie rod ends, and new lower control arm bushings. Still need to do ball joints, but I'm holding off on that until I pull apart the strut assemblies for new inserts and possibly a coil-over conversion.

-Ben
 
I have truly been a buying fool! I looked in the trunk the brakes I got from you and Boom��! The correct power steering pump and the ZF rack to replace the manual rack in the 80 242. It too came from K jets. I have been driving the red 84 every day until today. Exhaust pipe separated under the car. Parked it until I can do some work . Love those seats you put in I can never find a good set of black.
 
I have truly been a buying fool! I looked in the trunk the brakes I got from you and Boom��! The correct power steering pump and the ZF rack to replace the manual rack in the 80 242. It too came from K jets. I have been driving the red 84 every day until today. Exhaust pipe separated under the car. Parked it until I can do some work . Love those seats you put in I can never find a good set of black.

Interestingly enough, I am pondering pulling out those seats and selling them. I also have a set of black leather seats from a Conquest Tsi that I think that I want to get reupholstered and run instead because they seem more period correct in their design. Any interest in them? :D
 
Quick update: I picked up a set of BBS RC-090/BMW Style 5 wheels yesterday for a steal, so the parts hoarding for this car continues. (I actually traded for the wheels. I'd bought a set of 18" BMW M-Parallel wheels for $100 off of Craiglist and 48 hours later traded them for the RC-090's..Score for me!)

35903315584_03596d7590_c.jpg
[/url]RC-090
 
Dude, nice! Redrill the fronts, but if you don't mind rolling the hell out of your fender lips, use 1" adapters in the rear. Mine always looked a little too tucked in the rear.
Your car is going to make me really miss my car once I sell it.
 
Dude, nice! Redrill the fronts, but if you don't mind rolling the hell out of your fender lips, use 1" adapters in the rear. Mine always looked a little too tucked in the rear.
Your car is going to make me really miss my car once I sell it.

Thanks man! You're was definitely an inspiration for mine for sure! I think I'm going to end up changing the color on it though, so hopefully that will help lessen the blow!
 
Update: 3/7/18

And, after a long break, we're back.

My 242 project has been dormant for awhile, hence no updates. I've been fighting with no-start issues (it would crank, but wouldn't fire up,) for quite some time. Additionally, the fuel pumps aren't getting power without jumping the relay through the 3 plug diagnostic under the dash.

This past weekend, I had a friend who is a mechanic come down to help me out with it (He got wind that I was thinking about selling it and wouldn't hear of it, knowing how long I wanted one of these cars.) We spent the better part of the day cleaning all of the grounds in the engine bay, charging the long-drained battery, replacing the main grounds from the battery to the block and chassis (those spec'd at 40 ohms of resistance, so they were a BIT corroded!,)and testing multiple other things.

After all of the above, we were able to get it it fire up, and it sounded pretty good. :) No valve train noise, no knocking etc. At that point, we decided to check and possibly adjust the timing on it, (as it had never been done since I've owned the car,) and upon moving the distributor, we were back to the no-start situation again.

It's obvious that there is a wiring issue somewhere with it, (probably more likely wiring issueS,) and the impulse sender is the suspect we are looking at currently. The mounting ears were broke off of the plug on it a long time ago evidently and someone tried to glue it to the distributor housing. I could grab the plug and move it around laterally and in/out a good 1/8-1/4 of an inch. :omg: Ignition switch might be a next culprit, but one thing at a time...

New impulse sender is on the way (Thanks again Ian for finding that on eBay!) along with new plugs and wires, as I had a mismatched set of wires, one of which was completely different from the rest, having a long rubber boot on the plug end instead of the metal boot.

Once we get the non-start issue ironed out where it consistently starts the next step will be to trace down why the pumps aren't getting power without jumping them. At that point, I may just be able to drive this thing again, get it registered, etc. :oogle:

I'll update more as soon as there is any new info!
 
happy you are back at it!

Thanks man! I honestly was right where you were with the 142, as far as selling it, a few weeks ago, just out of frustration with lack of progress. Thankfully, I have a good network of friends that knows how much I love the car and they wouldn't hear of me giving up on it.

Replaced the impulse sender last night, and put in new plugs/plug wires. Still no start, but it will crank over with no problem. More troubleshooting this Saturday, I'll update Saturday night or Sunday. Hopefully, we will have it up and running for the next update!

-Ben
 
Update:

We may very well have found the culprit of all of the non-starting/running rough issues:

26866226498_dffa5ea55e_z.jpg
[/url]busted resistor by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

That's a resistor on the circuit board of the ecu and it's obviously bad. We traced this down after discovering that if we grounded pin 17 on the ecu harness with the harness unplugged from the ecu, the car would fire up and run, (albeit running REALLY rich.) But, the moment you we plugged the harness back into the ecu, the car would go back to cranking, but not starting.

Ordered a 5-pack of resistors from digipack in the same value today. Thankfully, I have an electronics friend who can desolder the old resistor and solder in the new one. Should have the parts here and have it replaced by next Saturday. Fingers crossed that this fixes the no start issue, and we can move on to timing, tuning, etc.

Also, I spent some time after my friend Gray, whom I have now deemed "The Car Wizard," left on body wiring. I got all lights working except the turn signals/hazards, and the passenger headlight. As someone evidently cut the passenger wiring and some point and "fixed it" via wire nuts. *shakes head*

Pic of the car semi-lit up just to prove it's working, and because it makes me happy to see it getting closer to being road worthy...
39842548235_24a63b549a_z.jpg
[/url]242 front lit up by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
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