Quick Questions

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

Couple of issues: 1. Weird electrical issues when ign set to on. Rev counter goes nuts even though engine not running, headlight adjusters cycling through each setting and injectors pulsing. I'm thinking faulty ign switch, but have no other symptoms. Thoughts?

2. Tried to start car before and it backfired in manifold and blew the cap for the ccv valve off. So need to replace ccv valve now. Could this be caused by issue 1? Im thinking excess fuel caused by injectors pulsing etc causing backfire?

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Unplug the crankshaft & camshaft position sensors and see if it still does it.

[twisted 45]

Thanks Glenn. It appears to be the cam sensor at fault. Have one on order, and will do it when I do the ccv tomorrow. Cheers.

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[B.M.W Ltd 950]

I suggest replacing both cam & crank sensors

[twisted 45]

Crank sensor is a new oe unit replaced 2 weeks ago.

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[B.M.W Ltd 950]

Crank sensor is a new oe unit replaced 2 weeks ago.

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Do the instruments and injectors stop playing up with the cam sensor unplugged ?

[twisted 45]

Yup.

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[Tidy30 38]

Quick question. What could be the reason for my b20 engine to get hotter and hotter? The steady state temp has been slowly going up last 2 months and I'm now at the 75-80% range when idling in hot traffic.

Causes I can think of:

Water pump

Viscous clutch for the fan

Have had the radiator flushed when I got the cab 6 months ago, so I don't think its the heat exchanger itself.

I'm losing a tiny bit of water through the disintegrating rubber seals on my headgasket. Have lost about 2 fingerwidths of fluid below the coolant level line in about 3-4 months, I check and top up with demineralised water once a week though.

What else could it be? I'm hoping its the fan clutch as it seems to be an easier fix.

Thanks team

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[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Thermostat would be the first place i would look, and would replace it anyrate if you are unsure when the last time it was replaced was. They are in expencive and seem to be the first thing to go in most cases. Otherwise, you are on the right track.

[BM WORLD 1283]

Quick question. What could be the reason for my b20 engine to get hotter and hotter? The steady state temp has been slowly going up last 2 months and I'm now at the 75-80% range when idling in hot traffic.

Causes I can think of:

Water pump

Viscous clutch for the fan

Have had the radiator flushed when I got the cab 6 months ago, so I don't think its the heat exchanger itself.

I'm losing a tiny bit of water through the disintegrating rubber seals on my headgasket. Have lost about 2 fingerwidths of fluid below the coolant level line in about 3-4 months, I check and top up with demineralised water once a week though.

What else could it be? I'm hoping its the fan clutch as it seems to be an easier fix.

Thanks team

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if in traffic then viscous , just check it , easy as

[Tidy30 38]

Yep, gonna check it when I get home. Say it turns out to be the coupling, is it something you usually buy new or do people commonly go for 2nd hand?

If its like a pump etc I don't envisage getting secondhand.

Ballpark price? I'm hoping its the fan as I've got my first weekend from work in quite a while, and would excellent timing for me to do

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[handgrenade 189]

My standard operating temp is around 90c. Hit 100c during that cruise but Josh's temps were the same and he has an aftermarket race setup

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

If your car has aircon, then assuming that fan does work then your car is much less likely to overheat if the viscous coupling is worn out, as the temp rises and the auxilary fan will kick in.

If it doesnt have aircon then could be the viscous coupling. after a long drive, open the bonnet and grab hold of a fan blade, you should be barely able to move the fan. If it spins freely like it does when its cold, there is your answer.

You should never really by maintenence parts second hand, though that viscous coupling you could probably get away with. They are about $70 new from memory for the M20 type. you will need to know if yours has three or four allen head bolts holding the fan blades to the coupling

[Tidy30 38]

Once again, cheers Andy for the relevant information.

Have checked the coupling and I am more surprised than before. I know how viscous couplings work and did some e30 specific reading tonight. Started up my car and behold the fan starts spinning at operational speed straightaway without the engine being warm at all!

Double checked after the drive home (gauge got up to halfway between the last white mark and the start of the red mark tonight...) And the fan was engaging, so unfortunately I don't think its the fan.

So back to the list its either pump, stuck-closed thermostat, or clogged internals in either the engine or the radiator.

I know my temp sensor reads slightly high (tested it at Bavarian) but seeing the gauge so high up bring a tear to my eye

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[Kepes 231]

Does anybody know if these wheels will fit my stock E30 325i http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=718475080

Seller says they are et40.

Would beat my bottlecaps for sure!

Thanks

[Etwenty1 45]

Et40 on a 14x6....no

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Have checked the coupling and I am more surprised than before. I know how viscous couplings work and did some e30 specific reading tonight. Started up my car and behold the fan starts spinning at operational speed straightaway without the engine being warm at all!

Thats normal-ish. the friction of the spinning center piece makes the whole assembly turn, but it wont be spinning at the same speed as the engine is, will be a wee bit slower. As the hub heats up, it will start to spin at the same speed as the engine and lock at that till it cools back down.

The following isnt probably the professional way to test the fan, but its all over the internet, and many people have tried it including myself.

dont try it if you dont want to,

but when the car is stone cold, you should be able to poke a rolled up news paper into the blades and it will stop the fan spinning. Conversly, when the car is hot, the fan should shred the news paper. If the opposite happens (eg news paper is shredded even when car is cold, or is able to stop the fan when the car is hot) then both indicate that the viscous hub is not working as it should, either always locked on or never locked on

edit: just put the very tip of the rolled up paper, and just use your comminity paper, not a big fat paper, or you risk snapping the blades etc

Edited April 18, 2014 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[Tidy30 38]

Correcto, I stuck a real weak roll of 3 sheets of paper and it definitely felt like the fan was engaged whilst cold.

I was glad to have found an "abnormality" but its the wrong one for my problem!

Thermostats get stuck open or closed more often? I would assume open as the cause of sticking would be friction related and at the warmest the mechanisms are more likely to bind than at cold?

What symptoms are characteristic of failing pumps? Cooling capability proportional to engine speed? Would like to see if they correlate before I pull it out to have a geeze.

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[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Correcto, I stuck a real weak roll of 3 sheets of paper and it definitely felt like the fan was engaged whilst cold.

I was glad to have found an "abnormality" but its the wrong one for my problem!

Thermostats get stuck open or closed more often? I would assume open as the cause of sticking would be friction related and at the warmest the mechanisms are more likely to bind than at cold?

What symptoms are characteristic of failing pumps? Cooling capability proportional to engine speed? Would like to see if they correlate before I pull it out to have a geeze.

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thermostats are supposed to fail to open, but my own experience i find them fail to closed more often. No idea if that is a fair sample of all BMWs, but this is about 8 or so now, all M20 M40 or M50 engines

Edited April 18, 2014 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[Kepes 231]

If it's worth anything, the thermostat in b25 was stuck open and the temp needle would sit a whisker above the blue mark on the gauge. Maybe one stuck closed and the needle will sit at the exact opposite position like yours is? Something like $30 for a new one and was simple enough to do myself. Good luck anyway

[KwS 2425]

Anyone know if you get deadlock an early E36 coupe from an aftermarket alarm (if it supports double pulse) or can the deadlocking only be done from the physical lock?

[euroriffic 607]

Why is it bmw can't make a rear door that doesn't leak on a 3 series? My e30, e36 and now e46 have all leaked and soaked the carpet something wicked. And having that super absorbent foam underlay just makes things even better! FFS!!

[zero 1162]

Anyone know if you can get aftermarket/performance valve stem seals for the bmw motors?

The bmw supplied ones seem to be inferior and fail prematurely on the N series motors.

If I'm gonna do valve seals, I dont wanna do them again in another 50k.

Edited April 20, 2014 by zero

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Why is it bmw can't make a rear door that doesn't leak on a 3 series? My e30, e36 and now e46 have all leaked and soaked the carpet something wicked. And having that super absorbent foam underlay just makes things even better! FFS!!

do all of these cars also have sunroofs?

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

The E46's usually leak because the weather membrane behind the door skin has been damaged or not fitted with the correct adhesive. The trim clips must also have the black seals on them as well and none should be missing or broken.

[allan 295]

Have you checked to see if the drain holes in the bottom of the door are clear also the condition of the rubber seal against the window glass.