Help what do i do with my 325i engine

[BMRBOI 8]

hey guys im new to this website, my e36 bmw engine has done alot of ks its running a little underpowered. what do i do? a rebuild? new engine? could it possible be the head rings? thanks if i can get some help

[Carl 3]

Need to give some more specifics, what makes you think it is running underpowered, have you been looking after it properly?

[BMRBOI 8]

well its using a bit of oil now, also smokes a bit when u brake hard. i got told my 4th cylinder coil pack was a bit shot but it seems to run fine. just wondering because of the high ks would there be a big build up of gunk in the motor

[bumpstop325 0]

condition of the oil and water?

does the oil look like ice cream on the dipstick?

does the coolant look brown not green?

What is the purpose of this car? track, drag, street racer, long distance cruzer?

I have included street racer because focus of engine power should shift to suspension setup. Make sure your engine is fully maintained. Remember the more you kane it the more you have to maintian it. instead of increasing just power, install alloy suspension, better brakes, drivetrain, weight reduction.

[BMRBOI 8]

its a long distance driver car but yeah i will hook the os when i feel the need. its running magnatect which was changed about 4k ago, new coolant and antifreeze. also new sparks and visous fan hub. teh colours are fine really, im not really worried to much about the performance of the car just keeping the engine running sweet.

[bmwsparkle 3]

chuck some thicker oil through it if the engines getting a bit old, might run better, castrol gtx is mint oil.

[Hartage 0]

The clue is in tha spark pack. Probably not running on that cylinder, over fueling and caysing the smoke. try replacing it!

[BMRBOI 8]

spark pack is were? and what kind of price am i looking at for one of them? ok so about the oil, is the castrol magnatec to thin? i got told it was very good in the bmws

[bmwsparkle 3]

what sort of kms has your engine done? Does it use much oil at the moment?

[BMRBOI 8]

300k umm it had a oil change about 4 months back last week i toped 1l up just 2 get in on the dip stick, but sayn that lots of diving 300kms a week

[bmwsparkle 3]

yuh, doing a change and chucking some thicker oil in wont hurt it, go for some gtx 20/50

[BMRBOI 8]

alright will try thanks mate

[Bullitt 0]

Also dont ever deliberately run a car with the oil that low its off the dipstick. Try to never let it go below minimum. Oil is there for a purpose and if its below minimum it cant do its job properly no matter what brand it is

[325GRANT 0]

Also dont ever deliberately run a car with the oil that low its off the dipstick. Try to never let it go below minimum. Oil is there for a purpose and if its below minimum it cant do its job properly no matter what brand it is

word

[BMRBOI 8]

yep understood thanks

[ducatiss 1]

Definately look at the spark pack as that could cause the symptoms you are describing - is it a little weak, very weak ie causing a misfire, or not firing at all? Probably best to have this checked asap by the service agent. Magnatec is a good oil no doubt about it -BUT if your engine is getting a bit loose with km's, you could look at an oil around the 5w/50 mark. If its not going to get near freezing where you live then the lower no could be raised to a bit but no higher than 15w/50.

Your first step though before worrying about oil grade is to sort the first issue out.