Why does my M3 sound like a tractor....

Guest · Post Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:57 pm

...and the cabin stink of petrol?!!

I've been pointed in the direction of missing plugs/stoppers/grommits under the steering column but where exactly should they be? Can I just blu-tack the holes? This presumably will help with noise and smell inside the cabin but with the windows down, driving passed parked cars and walls its really noisy outside too. I supposedly had the tappets done (at Hartlake) a few weeks ago.

Back to the petrol smell, should it really smell worse than my RS Turbo did?!!

Oh, and another thing I am a little concerned about, the car runs really badly when cold (only at low revs, high revs its fine). Fine when warm.

Post Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:08 pm

Hi Ada , I've had the same problem in many M3's and finaly cracked it with my current car ! I had a strong smell of fuel that got worse if I opened a window or the sunroof , I checked everything with no luck . The smell began to make me sick and the wife wouldn't even get in the car as it make our clothes smell ! , anyway I work in power stations and have access to gas monitoring gear so one night I put it in the boot and drove and when i opened a window it went into alarm . What was happening is the boot seal wasn't touching fully and as the car causes a swirl of air behind it the exhaust gases are sucked up towards the boot area and when a window is opened it causes a flow into the car as air is drawn out of the cabin by the flow of air over the car .
I put some draft excluder around the boot seal and totally cured it . I was so sure it was fuel but it was exhaust gases . Anyway hope this helps if you want to chat about it call me on 07766660273 .
Regards steve .

Post Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:10 pm

they all sound like a bag of sh!t even the good ones

Post Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:13 pm

Ooh Simon thats hurtfull ! its true they sound a tad rattly but at full tilt the noise is lovely ! . I gave mine a push tonight on my way to work for the first time in ages and it always shocks me how well it goes ! .
Steve .

Post Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:17 pm

oh i mean at idle! at full chat they are great! it must be the M10 roots coming out in them.

Post Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:21 pm

I must say tho I had a 325i sport back in 1991 and that sounded lovely , i'll never forget the noise it made . My dog always knew I was on my way home long before I pulled into my road ! memories eh .
Steve .

Post Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:30 pm

When my car started to smell of fuel in the cabin, checked out the fuel lines going into the fuel rail on top of the engine.....to my surprise, there was a very slow trickle of fuel at the flexible hose meets the solid hose!! All it needed was to be pushed home and tightened.

I have noticed that many things do come loose in the engine bay and it could be the uneven idle and harshness of the engine loosening things....

Worth a look!

Post Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:26 pm

when mine smelt it turned out to be the littlt black gegulator thingy on the fuel rail the seal had failed so cut a small piece of pipe from a bit that was squatting on the drive made new seal and bingo smell gone better performance and improved petrol bill

might be worth checking Daz

Guest · Post Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:41 pm

In thinking about it my petrol doesn't seem to be going very far (but then that might be due to my heavy right foot!!).

So what is the first thing to check?

Post Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:46 pm

Not all M3's sound bad at idle. BMK's one was silent at idle, many ive seen at bexleys are very smooth aswell.

The tensioner can make alot of noise when worn.