questions and answers asked/sought for some mech probs

[beemeup]

Just wondering about a few probs my car may have. I am pretty picky so I'll say straight away that the car is basically sound, but I just seek to allay some fears of future mechanically related nasty suprises.

I think a bearing is on the way out, I suspect its the prop shaft bearing, and wondered,

a. how easy is it to do yourself? (special tools etc?

b. How much for someone to do it for me (average price inclusive parts and labour etc)

c. Anyone know any trusted mechanics near richmond/surrey that might be worth a visit?

d. Is it the kind of thing that just lets go all of a sudden or does it tend to get noisier and noiser untill its screamingly obvious that you better get it done.


next question relates to that clattery tappet noise (only) when cold.
How much to fix it incl parts and labour? Is it just worth ignoring it and waiting till it really sounds like it needs it and using thinner oil in the meantime? Once warmed up it's completely silent.


Final question. For a 316i touring k reg, with no mods, what kind of mpg should I be getting? It sometimes seems like when left over night, the fuel guage moves significantly. To add to this I quite often smell an strong smell of unburnt fuel when i start it up. I thought maybe leaky fuel tank or lines, but not sure how to check this. Any thoughts or ways to check would be appreciated. The fuel gauge doesnt seem to flicker or anything like that so I assume it's working ok. When I lift the bonnet the smell is pretty strong too, so maybe not a leaking tank come to think of it.

I thought these 316's were supposed to be economical, but my experience is that they are only very averagely so. How much less economical is a 318i than a 316i?

How much is a tidy one of these worth with mot and tax? midnight blue, no rust, good body, fsh and 113000 k's?? I MAY need to sell it soon (if i get a job overseas)

thanks..

beemeup

[thesaint]

whats "below average fuel consumption"

[tomson]

more likely the prop needs balancing mate......

[Templ8e30]

Final question. For a 316i touring k reg, with no mods, what kind of mpg should I be getting? It sometimes seems like when left over night, the fuel guage moves significantly. To add to this I quite often smell an strong smell of unburnt fuel when i start it up. I thought maybe leaky fuel tank or lines, but not sure how to check this. Any thoughts or ways to check would be appreciated. The fuel gauge doesnt seem to flicker or anything like that so I assume it's working ok. When I lift the bonnet the smell is pretty strong too, so maybe not a leaking tank come to think of it.

Get this sorted ASAP !, in my experience of the M40 engine there are 2 short rubber fuel hoses on the fuel injector rail that perish and piss petrol over the engine and also onto the starter motor (sparks).

To get to them you have to take the top half of the inlet manifold off (loosen 2 10mm bolts on the top and 6 10mm nuts half way down the manifold) good idea to get 2 new gaskets for refitting (BMW part number 11611721346).

Once removed you'll see 2 short hoses about 2 inches long, they are a bit of a pig to remove as they will be hard and un-flexible. Cut them off carefully with a stanley knife.

Replace them with new fuel injection hose, it must be injection hose as it needs to withstand about 48 PSI of fuel pressure and standard canvas covered hose will not take it. Halfords do the correct stuff.

It might be a good idea to change the rest of the hoses too, although these are the first to go as they get all the heat off the engine.

Get these changed immediately before you end up with a fire !.

Your MPG should improve too, having said that my wifes 316i only averaged 31Mpg.

Cheers,

Iain T

[Jhonno]

i tend to average between 28 and 35 mpg in my 316i auto, dependin on the sort of weeks driving i've had

i think the original road tests only got 26mpg outta the 316i iirc

[beemeup]

Thanks for your replies guys.

Templ8e30, You have me a bit worried now about an engine fire etc. It makes sense what you are saying, but I dont really want to do the pipe job unnecessarily, Is there any way of telling if the pipes are leaking without opening it all up?
How long should this job take and how much for the job to be done by a mechanic do you think?

Tomson, how much do you think to get the shaft balanced? I think it is the bearings of some sort though because of a kind of slight kind of the type of sound and lack of vibration.

Saint, I get approximately 250 miles from a tank of very calm driving in 50/50 city country driving, Havent worked out the mpg, though. Not sure of the tank size either. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations. The fuel guage's overnight movements are what made me first suspicious of a leak or something..

[Brianmoooore]

Unless someone has taken the two halves of your prop apart at some time and reassembled them incorrectly, then your prop does not need balancing.
You don't give details of what makes you think a bearing is failing. What are the syptoms?
Main things that fail on the propshaft are the rubber coupling (guibo) between the gearbox and the prop, and the mounting for the prop centre bearing.
Regards the fuel smell under yhe bonnet. High pressure fuel squirting around under the bonnet is not good. I would change those hoses ASAP.

[Ziggy]

Replace them with new fuel injection hose, it must be injection hose as it needs to withstand about 48 PSI of fuel pressure and standard canvas covered hose will not take it. Halfords do the correct stuff.

Do halfords sell it as "injection hose" or is it just the normal (not canvas covered) fuel hose that they sell? Need to do my bro's car (he'll never get round to it) & I've got normal hose lying around at home...
Any idea what size it is otherwise? Cheers

[beemeup]

I'm not that much of a grease monkey so I was just wanting some confirmation that what im about to do to replace these rubber pipes is correct. I've taken a photo and wanted some clarification from those of you in here that are knoledgeable, that Im doing it right. See attached photo.

Will seperating the inlet manifold destroy the gaskets or can i use them again if they look ok? How much are the gaskets?

are the bits that i have marked the correct ones that templ8e30 is talking about?

Will i need any special tools or bits? is there anything to look out for?

What is this the thing that has a lot of oil on it? does that oil indicate a problem? or is that normal?

Hopefully this is the site for the pic..

dam.. tried to put the pic on yahoo photos, but it didnt work too well.. how do you post it directly to this site?

I'll have to repost later.. sorry..

thanks in advance for your advice..

beemeup
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