Well I Won't Be Participating For Awhile

#21

I will definitely check that. Well everybody loves pics, so I took some this morning. The car is missing it’s front splitter as I haven’t fabbed any brackets yet:

#22

Figured it was time for another update:

So I didn’t make it to a track day in 2009, but I did make the second track day weekend of 2010 at Road Atlanta this past weekend. I had a great time, and the car did wonderfully. The only issue was a fuel starvation issue created coming out of turn 7 before the long back straight due to the double hump tank not having fuel for the fuel pump to pump. This only started later in the day when the tank got to about half full. I will fix this before the next track day. My instructor drove a Spec E30 prepared car and gave me a ride in it along with taking me for a ride in my own car. I got to watch both of the Spec E30 races and they were awesome. I can’t wait to get back on track and to continue my build with some of the spec suspension pieces and exhaust to pick up some more “straightaway talent”.

#23

bronzit rocks!!

#24

The fuel hiccup problem can be a tough one. I have an '87 with the same symptom. The PO replaced everything except for the tank and vent line. Others have fixed it in various ways. Seems like the causes can vary so the solutions can vary. Jim Robinson got so frustrated by it he put in a fuel cell.

I never did solve the hiccups, so I adjusted the car’s weight such that I start sprints with a fuel tank.

Ireland has a little device that acts like a fuel surge tank to provide a little fuel to the high pressure pump so it can ride out brief supply hiccups. If you get interested in it, I’ve one that I never installed.

#25

Yeah I was gonna do a bunch of research on it. I definitely don’t want to do a fuel cell, but I am more than willing to replace the fuel tank and do whatever I need to. I will look into this Ireland device you speak of.

#26

So I looked at my car, and I have like a 12/86 build with the older style tank with the crossover tube. I heard that just cleaning the crossover tube might fix it. My symptoms were the car worked great till I got to about half full on Sunday then starvation appeared. When the day was over I went and filled the car up with no problems. Then on Saturday when it got to about 3/4 of a tank it started doing it. I tried filling it with my gas can, but it wouldn’t take fuel and the gauge still read 3/4 of a tank and it kept getting starvation. Since I have the early setup and not the later setup what are the most likely sources? Obviously the filler neck fills the passenger side of the tank. What side is the pump and fuel gauge on? Is is possible the crossover got so clogged that no fuel was crossing from the full passenger side to the driver side?

#27

Gauge and low pressure feed pump are on passenger side. Your crossover idea seems reasonable to me, but Jim Levie’s the fuel tank guru.

#28

This tank variant uses a low pressure in-tank transfer pump to lift fuel to the external high pressure pump. For that tank the causes of starvation will be a weak or bad transfer pump, a rust clogged cross over tube, or rust in the tank that gets stirred up and clogs the pump inlet screen.

There is s spec in the Bentley manual for the flow rate of the transfer pump. So that is easy enough to diagnose. To check for rust in the tank, pull the pump and level sensor and use a stick to stir the bottom of the tank. If there’s a layer of rust you’ll feel it. The fix for a rusty tank is to replace it with a new tank or to acid clean and seal the tank you have. Cleaning and sealing the tank is inexpensive compared to the cost of a new tank. If there is rust in the tank, the filter is likely to be clogged up and the high pressure pump is probably worn and weak.

I happen to have a cleaned and sealed tank like the one in your car that came out of my old Spec E30. So if you need a tank that might be an option.

#29

Valuable information is worth tagging :slight_smile:

#30

jlevie wrote:

I will probably take you up on that option. I am thinking get a new/refurb tank, new in tank pump, and new crossover tube should fix any possible issues.

#31

There’s no need to get a new cross over tube. The tube you have can easily be cleaned and if you use my tank it has a clean crossover tube.

#32

Not to contradict our own resident E30 Mythbuster, but on my car (5/87), the connecting tube was kinked. If I remember, it was like $8 from the dealer or wherever. Drain gas tank first. I tried to avoid that step and it turned into a DTOM/Ranger episode in my garage. Not pretty.

“While you’re in there…” = the connecting pipe

#33

It is actually $44 from Pelican Parts. If Jim’s is good then I will go with that. I will shoot you an e-mail about getting the tank Jim.

#34

I did the new tank route like the GRM guys did awhile back. New tank, new crossover, new pumps, new filter, new damper. No cutout under cornering even at less than 1/4 tank. Expensive fix, but easy and it worked.

#35

King Tut wrote:

I know that my tank is good. Send me a PM or email (jim@entrophy-free.net) and we’ll figure out how to get the tank to you.

#36

I e-mailed you again tonight. Let me know if you didn’t get it. Thanks.

#37

I haven’t seen an email. Must be getting caught be a spam filter. Send me a PM.

#38

So I did the water pump and timing belt today. Ranger your guide about the slack did help us get the belt on. I did resuse the spring on the tensioner. Next weekend is valve adjustment, and hopefully the tank will be the weekend after that.