My car just died

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:27 pm

I was driving along just pulled out the gym, pulled out the junction then...........nothing! I though it was dodgy fuel so tried to give it some juice. That didnt work, clutch down and the engine was dead.

Phoned the AA, the guy was useless! took him ages to find the street i was on! lol

My bro turns up to give me my AA card. I let him listen as i try to start it, the starter whirrs away then a backfire noise.

Then when the AA man turns up he was just as useless! lol

He said he thought it was the cambelt. So he takes the oil cap off and asks me to turn the engine over so he can see if the valves are moving. They were. He said the cam might have broken or something.

Anyone got any suggestions what it could be?

Oh its a 325i SE

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:29 pm

is there fuel gettin there

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:31 pm

Not sure, the AA man was happy with his diagnosis and towed me to my mates garage. Need to wait till the morning for him to look at it.

It did feel a bit like the way my 205 felt when its fuel got cut off(pump lost its connect). But in the 205 i was going at 80mph. I was just moving at 10mph in the BMW i would have thought it would splutter and stuff.

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:33 pm

na bm's dont splutter they just die. its a quality motor not a pug

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:34 pm

Sudden failure like that sounds like electrics.
First check is to see whether there is 12V + on the + terminal of the ignition coil.
It it passes that, take a spark plug out, smell it to see if it has fuel on it, then lay it on the rocker cover with the lead reattached. Crank the engine over and see if it sparks.

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:34 pm

but it did sound like it backfired later on when i tried to start it when my bro was there.

Hey my 205 GTI 1.9 was a great wee car!!!

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:36 pm

its still french

Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:47 pm

don't forget to check the fuel pump to.

Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:58 pm

Ok my garage said theres no compression with any pistons. So either the timing belt jumped a tooth or the piston rings went. Either way its a gonner.

Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:07 pm

AndyMack wrote:Ok my garage said theres no compression with any pistons. So either the timing belt jumped a tooth or the piston rings went. Either way its a gonner.

Does sound like cam belt jumping a couple of teeth....

Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:12 pm

i'm now no longer a bmw owner

I'm going to have top use my wit and charm to pull the girls now!

lol

Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:16 pm

sad to hear that mate

Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:08 pm

you will find your way mate, there are still plenty of beasts around to go for, good luck ! (beasts as in E30's that is)

Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:16 pm

would it be worth me trying to sell the car?

sorry to hear about it skipping a few teeth mate

car is gonna be worth more in parts than as a whole though, as the head and pistons are probably scrap by now

being an se there are probably a few tasty morsels on it that should raise a pretty penny-eg leather interior,mtech kit?

Thu Oct 27, 2005 7:14 pm

Pull the head off and have a look. Might have got away with just a few bent valves.