Not clutch or fluid leak, something must have got wet.

Post Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:00 pm

Driving around this evening the car drove fine for a few miles, then I could feel when 'giving it the beans' that there was a slight delay before power delivery.

Then after a couple of 'enthusiastic' downward changes, the feells like it has lost power in 1st & 2nd gear.
I'm having to pull off in 3rd & also the car randomly starts 'juddering' along.

Managed to limp it home in 4th, (reverse gear was working for the few seconds I used it), quick look under the bonnet, the only obvious thing I could see was the brake fluid was just at minimum, but no apparent leak anywhere.
But really it was too dark to see anything properly.

1990 325i manual

All advise greatly appreciated.

Post Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:25 am

Mine went over the course of a day. But yes check your fluid.

Post Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:52 am

Doesn't sound like clutch failure to me.there's one way to tell if your clutch is knackered to rule it out.its in the wiki.

Post Thu Mar 14, 2013 5:54 pm

milescook wrote:Doesn't sound like clutch failure to me.there's one way to tell if your clutch is knackered to rule it out.its in the wiki.

Finished work early so I can check out the car in daylight.

Its not the clutch & no fluids seem to be leaking.

For a few minutes the car was hunting like it wasn't firing on all cylinders, but after a short while revving the throttle cable it cleared right up & seems to running sweet again (woo hoo).

So it must have been something getting wet or damp causing the car to behave so rough.
I remember having a similar issue a couple of months ago after driving through a puddle. Also cleared up itself after a few minutes.

What can get wet/damp to cause the car to run like sh*t?

Post Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:13 pm

The only things likely to cause anything like this, and be triggered by damp, are the HT ignition components. Check the coil for damage or tracking, the distributor cap, and the rotor arm. It may be instructional to view the ignition components in darkness with the engine running.
Do you have aftermarket ignition leads?

Post Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:24 pm

Genuine leads on the car.
Will go back out in a bit & check the cables again.

Post Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:42 pm

Car has fixed itself, had a spin in it tonight.....all good.
Give it a proper good look over at the weekend.