HELP!!! Head Gasket Gone!!!

[Birdman16]

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?

[AcSchnitzer318is]

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...

[Birdman16]

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".

[Royalratch]

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.

[Birdman16]

Thanks will do.

[Birdman16]

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?

[vagrant_mugen]

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....

[Cristian G in Oz]

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

[Birdman16]

vagrent mugen: do they make a Bently manual for an e30 318is.  I have the one for the 318.  Different engine though...

[E30nate]

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.

[Jimmy Lewis]

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?

[E30nate]

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.

[Birdman16]

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.

[Birdman16]

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....