Possible Head gasket?? 328i PLEASE HELP!

[WANAM5 5]

HI guys/gals your advices needed please

So after raising my 328i from the dead literally! Poor old girl now seems to have developed a small misfire upon initial startup? runs on 5 for roughly 5-10sec then fires on all 6, no oil in water, no white smoke, no overheating nothing? was running perfect 8months ago then was moth balled.  Wifey gave me stick about it collect cobwebs and getting in her way( IN MY GARAGE!! HOW DOES THAT WORK??) so decided to get her up and going...now this!!! AAARRRGHH. just the ammo needs for wifey to kill my project! I threw new plugs in and still same fault ONLY when starting in morning! otherwise fine I'm hoping not a head gasket?? water seeping into the bore after shutdown? 

Or am i missing several steps here and jumping to conclusions? ( I'm good at that so I'm told)

Cheers everyone

Oh and if it was a head gasket how much are they to fix i think that job is too big for me to undertake ( i say holding head in shame )

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by WANAM5

[Gabe79 410]

Check out this thread, lots of useful info here. 

 

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=897616

 

simplest check is swapping offending ignition cool around with a cylinder that isn't misfiring and watching to see if the misfire moves with the coil or not. 

Edit: I misread. I don't know how much a head gasket service would be. Check everything else first. ?

Edited September 7, 2017 by Gabe79
Fixed link.

[WANAM5 5]

Gabe how do i know or check which coil misfires it only lasts about 5-10sec then the engine runs on all 6 perfectly?

Edited September 7, 2017 by WANAM5

[Gabe79 410]

11 minutes ago, WANAM5 said:

Gabe how do i know or check which coil misfires it only lasts about 5-10sec then the engine runs on all 6 perfectly?

Your ecu records which cylinder misfired. You said it happens at start up. Find someone with BMW scanner and scan your computer. Note the cylinder that misfired. Swap its cool with another cylinder that hasn't misfired. If the misfire follows the coil, replace the coil. If the misfire stays in place, follows that link above for more advice than I can write on my dinky phone keyboard. ?

Edited September 7, 2017 by Gabe79
Typo.

[WANAM5 5]

AARRR got ya! Yes! Ok one step forward, The old girl will live god dammit!! 

Thanks Gabe champion!

[zero 1162]

Or buy one of those cheap bluetooth things that plug into the obd2 port, and then use the free "torque" app on your smart phone. That will also tell you which cylinder is giving you grief.

[WANAM5 5]

6 hours ago, zero said:

Or buy one of those cheap bluetooth things that plug into the obd2 port, and then use the free "torque" app on your smart phone. That will also tell you which cylinder is giving you grief.

hey zero where does one get one of those bluetooth thingys from? Repco? 

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

trademe, they are known as an ELM327

[WANAM5 5]

8 hours ago, Young Thrash Driver said:

trademe, they are known as an ELM327

Awesome thanks man.

[Gabe79 410]

The price for an elm adapter won't be a lot cheaper than BMW scanner. The benefit is the elm will work on most cars with obd2 ports. The benefit of the BMW scanner is it'll give you a lot more BMW specific info. Every module and such, in detail, which the generic ones won't do. 

Edited September 8, 2017 by Gabe79

[WANAM5 5]

3 hours ago, Gabe79 said:

He price for an elm adapter won't be a lot cheaper than BMW scanner. The benefit is the elm will work on most cars with obd2 ports. The benefit of the BMW scanner is it'll give you a lot more BMW specific info. Every module and such, in detail, which the generic ones won't do. 

Problem is I'm technology illiterate! I can barely work my I phone let alone one of those scanners!, my kids could probably work it out faster then me! but thats the beauty of having a forum like this with the wealth of knowledge you all have and are willing to share! It gives me the confidence to give anything a go! Much appreciated all! 

[polley 916]

You might be better off taking it to a mechanic that specializes in bmws. Might cost you less in the long run..

[WANAM5 5]

6 hours ago, polley said:

You might be better off taking it to a mechanic that specializes in bmws. Might cost you less in the long run..

Yes, but that just gives wifey the excuse she needs to try and get me to get rid of it as i have other wee projects on the go also (Turbo 87 GSXR1100) id like to try nut it out and fix it myself as its getting harder to secret squirrel cash past the mrs ha! 

[hotwire 352]

Seriously, without proper scanning first - you/we are simply guessing.

It may be a seeping head gasket/water into a cylinder

It may be an ign coil

It may (likely} be a sticking lifter

[WANAM5 5]

22 hours ago, hotwire said:

Seriously, without proper scanning first - you/we are simply guessing.

It may be a seeping head gasket/water into a cylinder

It may be an ign coil

It may (likely} be a sticking lifter

Thanks for your input Grant i was thinking about a sticking lifter for the fact that the car has been sitting for 6-7months and maybe just needs a good hot run? it was running PERFECT before i pulled it off the road It ONLY misfires upon morning cold start then 5sec later runs perfect?? If it was a coil wouldn't just run on x5 under load and/ or continuously on x5? my mate is bringing his scanner over this weekend to scan it hopefully get to the bottom of this.

 

Cheers

[hotwire 352]

Failing coils - not necessarily, They can cause many different symptoms.

Have an E39 in at work atm with two intermittent failing coils. The owner swore he had a driveline issue...

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

I have two spare engines here if needed