I start by prepping the body for a paintjob slowly-slowly. Decided to turn my attention to mechanicals, where i compression test the engine [160psi in all 4, good] and change the spark plugs to some new ones i had lieing around from my old weber-fed G161. Anyway, all this start-warmup-movedowndriveway routine is part of me spraying the car as im constantly turning it around to make it easier to work on. Lately its developed abit of a misfire, abit like the misfire when the battery loses its voltage but a quick glance at the volts gauge on the dash reveals everythings ok. Hrm. So i decide ill rip the plugs out for a sec, see whats going on. And im faced with this - a 2-3week old spark plug thats only been in the engine ON 5 times.
Basically all four were ROOTED beyond beleif. The fact i havent even DRIVEN the car was abit of a cause for concern, let alone the fact that it wasnt a powdery black [rich mixture] colour, moreso a gloss black colour. With abit of help from Bugle [cheers bloke, it was staring me in the face the whole time i just didnt pay attention to it] ive found the source of the problem, and its not something i wanted to see. Blown compressor cover seal.
I first noticed the oil on the comp cover housing when i first looked at the car however i didnt worry about it too much as the car hit boost fine, went good, made no noises what so ever and didnt smoke at all. The pool of oil in the air filter box worried me slightly but i didnt think much of it because the car went fine. I now know otherwise.
So basically i have hit abit of a pothole. My budget is running thin, and this is something that has to be repaired. Think about it - if it fouled 4 brand new plugs so quickly, i have no chance of keeping this thing running on the road. The turbo needs fixing, which is my next problem.
If i can fix the RBH5 with a new seal i will do it; getting another second handy is not an option as it will more or less end up like this one. Rebuilding it is also not an option - $$$$, and its still a shit heap.
Next idea was to fit a bigger turbo - say a T28 or a T03, but with this i need mods to the manifold, exhaust, cooler pipes etc etc. More hassles then its worth. So, i guess ive kind of reached a desicion then.
If it cant be fixed then it will be up for sale. I doubt ill get what ive spent on it, which is more of a problem but i cant afford to keep it. Its a fucked situation. The only thing that sits in my mind is if i fix it, what goes next? Bottom end? Clutch? Gearbox? Diff? This is probably the worst possible desicion i couldve made since buying the BMW - rushing into buying a Piazza. For someone thats supposedly mechanically minded i can be so stupid. Anyway, im off to my corner to cry and whinge. This setback isnt something i needed - if i DO end up fixing it, it pretty much means i wont be making my way to Sydney if all goes ahead.
Nick-
