help- car wants to bounce

[mwarrior]

got a small problem with my 325 sport at the moment, its a right pain to start, it ticks over at 500 rpm and at around 2000 rmp it sounds like its not firing on all cylinders and and the car jolts like go stop go stop etc, i changed the spark plugs yesterday and the problem is still there, imdoing the ht leads aswell today, can any body shed somelight on the subject, or has anyone had the same problem, cheers edd

[ajm-e30]

possibly cam timing, change the rotor arm and dizzy cap while your there and may as well do the air filter to

[ShineOn]

Coil breaking down? Does it get worse when its hot?

[Steve-E30]

If not electrical possibly Inlet manifold ??
Had a similar problem on aa mates 325 and we swapped everything , plugs , leads , cap , arm , coil , then realised it was the i.m.
Process of elimination , Anyone local to you who wont mind you swapping a few bits to find your problem

[mwarrior]

right, just got in from a brain bending few hours, i changed the plugs and leads and still had the same problem, exept lead 6, could someone tell me why it has a t in the lead that goes to the bottom of the engine ive asked loads of mechanicly minded people and they havent a clue. also theres a large split in the big rubber pipe that goes from my airfilter to the manifold, could this be causing most of my engine problems i described at the top. and where can i get a new one from and how much, i need to get this sorted soon as work may catch on that the fuel bill for my van has recently trippled.
thanks edd

[Brianmoooore]

Split in the air pipe is almost certainly the cause of all your problems. Air is bypassing the AFM, fooling the ECU into thinking the engine is not under load when it is.
About £12 from BMW.
The "tee" on lead six is the E30s equivalent of a cam position sensor. On early 325s it only connects to the diagnostic socket, but on later versions the signal is used by the ECU to determine which of each pair of cylinders is on the compression stroke and which is on the exhaust stroke.

[mwarrior]

fantastic! will gsf or europarts keep them in because it,ll be easier than going to my nearest dealers. if they do whats the official name of the part.

[Brianmoooore]

Don't know what the official name is, but there are two versions for a 325. Earlier cars had a branch to a complicated vacuum valve arrangement for the brake servo. Later cars don't have this branch, and the servo is fed by a simple valve and pipe from the inlet manifold only.
Early system can be converted to the later with no ill effects.

[mwarrior]

mines a 91 325 sport, ill have to ring bmw tomorrow, do i need to go in or will they do it over the phone.

[Brianmoooore]

Give them the last seven digits of your VIN, which will ensure you get the right part, (as long as the engine's not been changed.)

[E30Steve]

aswell dont go to euro or gsf they are cheap gash parts that are made of the worst possible material known to man....they are 14 pound from BMW and 1 days wait if your dealers any good....if you wanna save bout a fiver and miss having that BMW logo on the rubber then go right ahead

[mwarrior]

got the part today took 2 min to put on and it struck up and ran like a dream, problem solved just need a new battery now and ill be on my way again, thanks for all your help. bmw at lincoln gave brilliant service.