M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Swaps, Turbos, Buildups => Topic started by: Birdman16 on August 19, 2008, 01:16:56 PM
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Guys, and Girls, I really need your help on this one. I have a 91 318is with 137,500 on the clock. I took it into the shop yesterday with an idle problem. It has to be reved when cold and when it levels out the revs slowly creep back up to 1200 rpms and a check engine light comes on.
Inside the bay, the car makes a loud hissing sound. I have replaced all coolent and vacuumm lines and can't think of what it is.:confused: I just got a call back from the shop saying it is possibly a blown injector o ring or, dare I say, a blown head gasket!!! I can't afford a head job at 17 and my parents will make me sell my baby if it is a blown head gasket because I can't afford it. :eek:
Please, Please! send input on what the problem could be. I can't afford to lose this car!!!
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Guys, and Girls, I really need your help on this one. I have a 91 318is with 137,500 on the clock. I took it into the shop yesterday with an idle problem. It has to be reved when cold and when it levels out the revs slowly creep back up to 1200 rpms and a check engine light comes on.
Inside the bay, the car makes a loud hissing sound. I have replaced all coolent and vacuumm lines and can't think of what it is.:confused: I just got a call back from the shop saying it is possibly a blown injector o ring or, dare I say, a blown head gasket!!! I can't afford a head job at 17 and my parents will make me sell my baby if it is a blown head gasket because I can't afford it. :eek:
Please, Please! send input on what the problem could be. I can't afford to lose this car!!!
Check ur fuel pressure, check your fuel rail for leaks. Pull the intake and replace those gaskets.
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Already done. Ruled out. Thanks though!
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Already done. Ruled out. Thanks though!
Is your coolant going away? Is your oil looks like sludge? When i pulled my fuel rail both of the fuel hoses were so badly damaged i had to replace them. I doubt a stumble could be a head gasket (you would get more obvious things like milkshake oil). I'd go back through everything you have fixed and ask urself what else could it be? I am still having idle issues and ive replaced basically everything. i still have to try coolant sensors and cam sensor. ive replaced everything with new OEM parts from BMW. Even the lead tech at BMW has had a hard time figuring out my problem
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The car had a coolant leak but that has been taken care of. Oil was replaced two weeks ago but that did not improve the idle. I have also put two cans of techron and gumout fuel injection cleaner. The oil came out like dirty oil and not like a milkshake.
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Just got another call... Shop owner said that it may be a blown injector gasket, good call EN318isPDX. I'm not sure if that is the complete problem, but it must be a help....
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That would function as a vacuum leak and could present all of the symptoms. If you hear a hissing sound it's most likely a vacuum leak somewhere. A smoke machine is very handy for testing that unless your problem is in the brake booster. A smoke machine will not help find a problem there, but it's worth checking if the o-ring does not solve your problem. As far as repair costs go, you won't find a cheaper part than an injector o-ring!
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That would function as a vacuum leak and could present all of the symptoms. If you hear a hissing sound it's most likely a vacuum leak somewhere. A smoke machine is very handy for testing that unless your problem is in the brake booster. A smoke machine will not help find a problem there, but it's worth checking if the o-ring does not solve your problem. As far as repair costs go, you won't find a cheaper part than an injector o-ring!
My girlfriend's dad who owned a 2002 said the problem could be in the booster but I doubt that. The sound is underneath the plenum but I can't tell exactly.
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I have a vacuum leak sound as well and replaced all lines, injectors/o rings, and smoke tested the engine. No leaks found. My brakes are a bit weak though, so I'm guessing problem may be my booster? Any opinions? I thought the sound was coming from the front of the engine as well, but no leaks detected with smoke test???
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I have a vacuum leak sound as well and replaced all lines, injectors/o rings, and smoke tested the engine. No leaks found. My brakes are a bit weak though, so I'm guessing problem may be my booster? Any opinions? I thought the sound was coming from the front of the engine as well, but no leaks detected with smoke test???
Is the idle fast or above normal?
Sounds like you may have identified the problem. One test you can do (but I don't think it's definitive) is to step on the brake pedal while starting the engine. The pedal should move more once the engine is running and applying vacuum to the booster.
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Is the idel fast or above normal?
Sounds like you may have identified the problem. One test you can do (but I don't think it's definitive) is to step on the brake pedal while starting the engine. The pedal should move more once the engine is running and applying vacuum to the booster.
It idles fine once it's warmed up for a minute or two. Brakes still feel a bit weak though. Before it's warmed up it sputters and stalls sometimes, and idles erratically.
I will try the pedal test you suggested though I think I remember the pedal feeling stiffer with engine off and then going down more with engine on.
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It idles fine once it's warmed up for a minute or two. Brakes still feel a bit weak though. Before it's warmed up it sputters and stalls sometimes, and idles erratically.
I will try the pedal test you suggested though I think I remember the pedal feeling stiffer with engine off and then going down more with engine on.
Sounds more like a bad Idle Air Control valve or Coolant Temp Sensor. One thing a vacuum leak will do is cause your car to idle faster and perhaps set a check engine light as you have unmetered air in the intake.
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Have you checked the boot from the MAF to the throttle body for cracks very common or how about your intake manifold gaskets them selfs maybe they are dried up??
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It was a miscalculation on the shop's part. It turned out to be the air intake gasket sucking in on the fourth cylinder. THANK GOD!! Car will be home tomorrow. 1 day before school starts!!!
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Sounds more like a bad Idle Air Control valve or Coolant Temp Sensor. One thing a vacuum leak will do is cause your car to idle faster and perhaps set a check engine light as you have unmetered air in the intake.
Replaced ICV, CTS, TPS, injectors, vacuum lines, AFM, Intake plenum elbow, upper/lower gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets (still sounds like an exhaust leak though), ECU, Plugs, wires, checked coils. Car runs better than it did before all the work... but it still does the hesitation/stalling on initial startup. Even my local shop is stumped (taken Bmw's there for 10+ years) and they've never been unable to diagnose a problem.
LOL I'm flabbergasted. Rebuilt motor only has 34,000 miles on it. Previous owner of said motor said it didn't do that in the car it was in. I drove said car before it was removed. It was originally installed in that car by BMW dealership in 2003. Soooo... solution to me has to be something external to the motor itself, like the booster...? Possibly wiring harness, but I don't know why it would ALWAYS run perfect after about 2 minutes.
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A slight problem now. The owner said that I had a leaking injector when I left the shop. But when he started it when the engine was cold, it had no problem. After driving it for a little more than a week, the car seems to have a studdering problem upon startup and during the first few seconds of driving. I can rev it to get rid of the problem, but I don't feel like losing my parking permit/ senior privs. at school. Could a leaking injector be this problem. If so what is best to replace, the whole injector/ just the o-ring?
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A slight problem now. The owner said that I had a leaking injector when I left the shop. But when he started it when the engine was cold, it had no problem. After driving it for a little more than a week, the car seems to have a studdering problem upon startup and during the first few seconds of driving. I can rev it to get rid of the problem, but I don't feel like losing my parking permit/ senior privs. at school. Could a leaking injector be this problem. If so what is best to replace, the whole injector/ just the o-ring?
Hey another member of the club... sorry to hear you have been afflicted with this issue as no one has been able to figure out the problem. Leaking injector would be highly unlikely... I replaced all injectors/o rings and still have this issue. There are a couple threads in other sections to check out. There are 5-10 ppl working on solving this problem now...
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Thanks....I think. Looking on threads tonight for help and info on this problem. Funny, car actually ran amazing today, without a spudder. Twenty bucks says it won't start in the school parking lot tomorrow. By the way, smoke comes from the exhaust and check engine light flickers on and off everytime the car has this "injector problem".
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ICV can also cause all kinds of idle problems.
Expensive(ish) to replace new but pull the old one and give it a bloody good clean with Carb Cleaner or electrical contact spray.
Becomes clogged and gives you all crappy idle and and can stall too.
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Thanks will do.
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This did not work!!! Also on the way to school today, the car was really puffing out white puffy smoke. It was like a cloud coming out of the exhaust. My friend could not see on the way into the school parking lot. My dad thinks I really did blow a head gasket, but the shop believes it is a faulty/ leaking fuel injector. What do you think the problem is?
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white smoke is MOS DEF a head gasket. billowing out the exhaust.
get a bentley and some tools and do it yourself. you can tell your dad it'll be a good bonding project.
or LMK what you want for your car and ill swing up and grab it from you....
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Replaced ICV, CTS, TPS, injectors, vacuum lines, AFM, Intake plenum elbow, upper/lower gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets (still sounds like an exhaust leak though), ECU, Plugs, wires, checked coils. Car runs better than it did before all the work... but it still does the hesitation/stalling on initial startup. Even my local shop is stumped (taken Bmw's there for 10+ years) and they've never been unable to diagnose a problem.
LOL I'm flabbergasted. Rebuilt motor only has 34,000 miles on it. Previous owner of said motor said it didn't do that in the car it was in. I drove said car before it was removed. It was originally installed in that car by BMW dealership in 2003. Soooo... solution to me has to be something external to the motor itself, like the booster...? Possibly wiring harness, but I don't know why it would ALWAYS run perfect after about 2 minutes.
My car was doing this on crappy ethanol blend fuel that I bought trying to be a cheapskate.
When I changed to "normal low octane" regular unleaded (95RON) it was better.
Since then, I changed to 98RON for all my fill-ups and it hasn't missed a beat on startup this winter. The stumbling, missing, etc was worse last year when it was cold (-2 to 5 in the am).
This year it has been colder for longer and no issues at all.:)
Cristian
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vagrent mugen: do they make a Bently manual for an e30 318is. I have the one for the 318. Different engine though...
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you have to get the bently for the 326. it sounds to me like the charcoal canister might be clogged. could happen from shitty gas, make sure you run at least mid grade in it.
if the shop says its not a head gasket, and its not the injector seal, then it is more than likely the charcoal canister, as that sounds like the only other thing you havnt checked, and it has the symtoms.
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Well, the easiest way to check for a head gasket failure is by looking for milky-ness in the oil and coolant, it might not be a bad idea to drain a sample of coolant after the engine has run. Pour the oil into a glass or clear bottle and wait for the oil and coolant to seperate. Besides the obvious visual signs of the failure, the next step should be a compression test and/or a leakdown test. However, I cannot imagine that any competent shop would overlook milky oil, and its just too easy to hook up a compressor tester for them not to.
About the charcoal canister, it is just an emissions tool and should have nothing to do with tons of white smoke billowing out of the exhaust, and what would it get clogged by, gas fumes?
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the charcoal canister gets carbon buildup if the car isnt drivin right or not maintained properly. the canister is also designed to hold excess fuel and burn it when it is needed. if the canister is full of carbon buildup then when it is supposed to use whats stored in the canister, it will act like a clogged vacuum line, causing a rough idle.
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Jimmy Lewis hit the mark! When checking my oil the other day before your post, I noticed it looked all wrong. My dad thought the car was leaking antifreeze and said we would check it in the morning. Yesterday, when we checked the anti freeze, I happened to notice smoke coming out the side of the engine....
I have officially found the problem, a blown head gasket. It is getting antifreeze into the engine and blowing the white puffy smoke out the back..
I fortunately have scrapped together enough money to pay for the service and am happy to report that this 17 year old is keeping his e30! The car is going into the shop for this fix on tuesday and I will also be replacing the rest of the hoses and all of the injectors.
I wish to thank everyone who gave their insight on this post and can't wait to get the car back soon. I have learned a lot about my car through this experience, and again wish to thank everyone who contributed.
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Just a quick update for all those who care (not many).. going to check out the car tonight. The shop has the engine disassembled down to the head and they are taking it out to look for leaks, cracks or warping... Hope this car doesn't have any problems....