316i won't idle, runs rough and is driving me mad! Help!

[BochumBass]

I'm at the end of my tether with a car I recently bought, just wondering if anyone has any ideas? Sorry if this is a bit long winded but there's quite a lot of info...

It's a 1990 H reg 316i, I bought it around 2 months ago and it seemed ok at first, it drove brilliantly on the motorway and generally ok everywhere, the only problem which developed was a dodgy idle. The seller had told me about this and said he'd fixed the mixture and it seemed ok so I'm not attaching any blame to him (or naming him as he uses this forum and I don't want to tarnish his reputation unfairly).

Anyway, I didn't use the car much for 2-3 weeks as I was using my other E30 until the MOT ran out. Once I started using it it was fine again for a couple of days, smooth idle, everything as it should be. I then filled the tank up, started the car and it wouldn't idle, the revs just dropped and it stalled as soon as I took my foot off the gas. It drove ok (not great but ok) and I got it home. Next day it wouldn't start. After 2 weeks of not starting my regular mechanic had a go, failed and phoned a Auto-elecrician, who got it running but again it wouldn't idle.

They took it in, spent a week checking it (big bill!), replaced the plugs and Blue temp sender as they reconned it was over-fueling. It still won't idle (but starts and drives), just stalls but will re-start ok.

The mechanic told me he reckons cylinders 1 and 2 are barelly contributing, but after doing a compression test the readings were all fine. He mentioned possibly valve/cam wear but that's way beyond me (I'm no mechanic)...does this sound reasonable? Does anyone have any other ideas? All the electrical side was (apparently) checked last week, cap and rotor ok, leads ok and new plugs...

The cars done 90000 miles, and from the history I have, has always been serviced on time and looked after generally...

Someone please help...my patience has run out and my bank balance will do soon at this rate too!

[jbee]

Check for air leaks around the inlet manufold and all the pips

[DaveD]

check this thread out.. and do a search .as you will see its a common problem

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=

[bmwe30mtech]

Hi,

I know just how you feel, my 318i did this for over a year, it cut out at every traffic lights, gear change, you name it!

I replaced the ICV, AFM, gaskets, LOADS of time spent trying to sort it 'air leaks' etc etc. I also had a big bill.

And the way to cure it is to move the little bolt on top of the bulk head. It has a lock nut on it, undo that, and screw the bolt in further to move the 'revving arm!' arround a bit. This will raise the idle speed.

Everybody told me not to change that bolt, but i tried it in the end, and it now idles smooth as any car and at 800rpm.

Let me know how it goes, i know your exact position, i had it for a year like i say, drove me CRAZY.

HTH

Paul

[bmwe30mtech]

Where abouts are you mate, i can do it for you if you like, look it over also...

[BochumBass]

Where abouts are you mate, i can do it for you if you like, look it over also...

Cheers for the help Paul, much appreciated, I'll have a go at this tomorrow, daylight permitting after work.
I'm in Sheffield so maybe a bit of a treck for you!

I'm just wondering whether this would have anything to do with cylinders 1 and 2 not doing their job though, it seems to me that because the car isn't firing properly it's unable to idle...although I'm no expert and my heads spinning so I don't really know what I'm on about!

[bmwe30mtech]

That would make sense if they arnt fireing, there is more for the other 2 to 'pull along' , slowing the idle down. I would be surprised if 2 cylinders arnt fireing, how does it respond to you putting your foot down?!

Try the bolt i recon, at the end of the day if it sorts it, then its good .

Yes sheffield a bit far!

Paul

[BochumBass]

It was the auto-electrician who had the car last week who told me the 2 cylinders wern't doing much...he said he had the car running (idled for an hour and a half apparently), but it was rough, and when he pulled the leads off the plugs there was very little difference to how it was running when he pulled 1 and 2 off.

It drives ok, but definately not spot on, to be honest I've not driven it since I got it home of Friday as it scares the sh*t out of me when it cuts out on gear changes!

The auto-electrician reccommnded getting the cam/valves looked at, but he didn't seem to know really what to do.

[bmwe30mtech]

It drives ok, but definately not spot on, to be honest I've not driven it since I got it home of Friday as it scares the sh*t out of me when it cuts out on gear changes!

I used to just bump start mine through the gears, and at the traffic lights i would shift down through the gears, then use the handbrake once it was at a low speed! Sitting in traffic and doing small movements was always so so hard. Looking back i cant see how i managed!

I had to learn to drive on my car like this, and for the first half year after passing!!

I cant ehlp you on the cylinder problem really, i dont know much about that! Good luck with trying the bolt on the bulk head.

Oh, i dont think the cam will be the problem. They tapp a lot on a lot of M40 engines, but its noting to worry about. Just sounds cr*p!!

Paul

[Brianmoooore]

And the way to cure it is to move the little bolt on top of the bulk head. It has a lock nut on it, undo that, and screw the bolt in further to move the 'revving arm!' arround a bit. This will raise the idle speed.
Paul

DON'T TOUCH THIS BOLT!!!. Causing another fault to mask the original fault is not the way to solve the problem! Your engine will almost certainy use more fuel and produce less power with an approach like this.
Difficult to say what the problem is from here as it's been messed about so much by now, but I'm cetain that I, and several others on this forum, could sort this out, or at least tell you what the problem is exactly, in a couple of hours.

[bmwe30mtech]

And the way to cure it is to move the little bolt on top of the bulk head. It has a lock nut on it, undo that, and screw the bolt in further to move the 'revving arm!' arround a bit. This will raise the idle speed.
Paul

DON'T TOUCH THIS BOLT!!!. Causing another fault to mask the original fault is not the way to solve the problem! Your engine will almost certainy use more fuel and produce less power with an approach like this.
Difficult to say what the problem is from here as it's been messed about so much by now, but I'm cetain that I, and several others on this forum, could sort this out, or at least tell you what the problem is exactly, in a couple of hours.

Brian, why not?! It simply treats the engine like you have your foot on the accelerator a tiny bit the whole time (surely? i know you know a hell of a lot more than me though). How can this be a problem or make it loose performance? My car was always a little faster than other 1.8's, and still is. It doesnt seem to have affected the performance at all, and i dont see how it can use much if any more petrol?

I get 300 miles of heavy foot driving to a tank!

Other zoners have driven my car and commented on how fast it is, and even how smooth my idle is when warm!

Sorted mine anyway

Paul

[Brianmoooore]

Because it bu**ers up the operation of the TPS and the ICV. The performance loss/MPG increase is caused by the fault that you are masking. If your car won't idle properly, then it's not working as it was designed to.
Also, there are few things worse than trying to fault find on cars (or anything else!) if someone's "had a go"!
You don't know what they've been up to and messed up, so logical fault tracing is impossible.

[bmwe30mtech]

Because it bu**ers up the operation of the TPS and the ICV. The performance loss/MPG increase is caused by the fault that you are masking. If your car won't idle properly, then it's not working as it was designed to.
Also, there are few things worse than trying to fault find on cars (or anything else!) if someone's "had a go"!
You don't know what they've been up to and messed up, so logical fault tracing is impossible.

Oh, ok, well i will leave it seing as it does the job.

I even took my car to BMW, and they could not fix it, thats when i just moved the bolt along a bit, at the end of the day it was either that or have a dangerous constantly cutting out car!!

[Brianmoooore]

[.

I even took my car to BMW, and they could not fix it,

You need to take it to a competent mechanic.

[BochumBass]

I think I'll leave the bolt alone, especially as I don't really know what Im doing, I'll keep it in mind though as a last resort, just so I can drive the bloody thing!

Has anyone in the Sheffield area used Quarry Motors? Im thinking of giving them a try next, if anyone can recommend them? As far as I know they're a BMW specialist/breakers, without the Main Dealer prices.

[Brianmoooore]

I think I'll leave the bolt alone, especially as I don't really know what Im doing, I'll keep it in mind though as a last resort, just so I can drive the bloody thing!

Has anyone in the Sheffield area used Quarry Motors? Im thinking of giving them a try next, if anyone can recommend them? As far as I know they're a BMW specialist/breakers, without the Main Dealer prices.

Don't know anything about them, other than I think that they don't seem to think the layer of gold on second hand parts is quite as thick as FAB Direct do. (Not a fan of FAB at the mo - they outbid me on a touring a week or two ago!).
They could be a good idea though, as, being breakers, they should be able to swap in parts wholesale to quickly find the fault. Nothing beats having a fully working example of what you're working on to hand, that you can swap bits with. Ultimate proof is when you transfer the fault to the other vehicle.

[Martinaston]

Wasn't there something about the M40 not reving over 4k rpm if the cams worn ?
But i suppose that depends how worn the cam is and not something i'd try with a cold engine.

[Brianmoooore]

Wasn't there something about the M40 not reving over 4k rpm if the cams worn ?
.

Common fault, but it's easy to see if a cam is worn. Nothing touches the edges of the lobe, so they won't be worn. If there's a step between this part and the shiny part, then it's clapped. Only the outer surface is hardened, so once it starts to go it wears rapidly.

[DaveD]

Has anyone in the Sheffield area used Quarry Motors? Im thinking of giving them a try next, if anyone can recommend them? As far as I know they're a BMW specialist/breakers, without the Main Dealer prices.

They are all very helpful and run at least 5 e30's round the place...i would certainly reccommend the breakers for parts..they are very helpful but i dont know anything about the servicing dept...

Try Nick Thompson off Langsett Road.

''N. THOMPSON Motor Engineers
telephone: 01142 315377 mobile: 07970 710809
6 Dutton Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, S6 2AG
â┚¬Ã‚¢ German car specialist â┚¬Ã‚¢ Service - repairs air conditioning - electrical â┚¬Ã‚¢ Latest diagnostic equipment ''


...he is an ex bmw man and fixed my cabrio top last year at a very reasonable price and a few other sheffield zoners have used him...(including a few from quarry)
d

[BochumBass]

Cheers Dave (and everyone else who has contributed), I've just dropped the car off at my usual mechanic (who is a bit of an E30 expert) for him to have a second attempt. If he's still stuck then I'll give the guy you mentioned above a try. Quarry didn't seem to think they could help when I tried their servicing dept (although I also spoke to the parts dept and they seemed helpful for future use).

Hopefully It'll be up and running before I run out of cash!