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1995 E36 328i coupe- Diagnostic, loss of power and running rough

3K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  ontheball247 
#1 ·
Hi guys, I know this is a bit of a long post, but im stuck in a bit of a dilemma right now. Ive posted about this problem before, but my situation makes things complicated.
Just to recap, my car's feeling very underpowered plus drinkin just a little too much and mis firing when at idle. Also, very rarely while driving, when i change gear then get back on the throttle, it starts jerking which is now much worse when it happens (although its still very rarely).
Here's the dilemma though. ive finally got the time to sort it out, but the diagnostic doesnt come cheap. BMW are asking £110 plus VAT, and a BMW/Merc specialist a friend recommended said it'll cost £45, but if they need to do a further test (cant remember what he called the two parts), it'll be £90. Now if i get the diagnostic done, ive got little money left to solve the problem. So im troubleshooting myself for now.
Ive put a seal around any faint cracks i could see in the intake boot, plus sprayed brake cleaner all around the intake area, to see if revs change. but no result. so im led to believe its not an air leak.
The idle isnt usually noticeably poor, but when I disconnected the MAF i did notice a slightly smooother idle for about a minute, but then the idle went noticeably rough, so i plugged that back in and the funny idle went away. So im guessing the MAF is ok (am i right in presuming this?).

Does anyone know where I could get a cheap diagnostic done around SW London (I live next to Wimbledon), or have any certain ideas of what to change without spending a fair bit of the little funds i have at the moment on a diagnostic? I know it's not wise to troubleshoot these things, but like i said. Unless I can get a cheap diagnostic, im stuffed on affording the actual part/s to change.

Any help much appreciated :thumbsup
Thanks,
Baz.
 
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#3 ·
thanks for the note mark, but i think it looks like i thought. there's no simple answer to this when dealing with sensors and stuff. its either diagnostic, or replace hundreds of pounds worth of parts, with my fingers crossed each time i change something. makes me wanna polish up my 1990 prelude and start using that as my daily driver again...not half as many sensors, no cat, no egr, etc.lol....although i would miss that bottom end torque :sarcastic
thanks again,
baz.
 
#8 ·
yh, i had a guy do it for free before, but it was on some little hand held thing that he plugged into the socket in the engine bay. back then, it didnt throw a single fault code. which is why i thought i'd get the proper print out from someone. but as mentioned, for a diagnostic, i cant justify spending £90. Its not as if the sensors come cheap either.
and another thing. i was under the impression they plug it in, it tells you any fault codes stored in the ecu, and it prints it out. am i not right in saying this? cos if i am, then first of all £90 is outragous, and secondly why was i told by bmw it could take a while (which they charge £110 plus VAT for), and told by the other guy he'll try do one bit for £45, but may need to do a second, further diagnostic for £90?
Baz.
 
#9 ·
It really would pay to befriend somone with a good diagnostic steup:hihi
I bought a peake for £110 and now can check and reset my own problems,
Great little bit of kit and easy to check anytime you suspect problems
Which is better than paying for the priveledge of finding no codes stored :thumbsup
 
#15 ·
Well, quick update...got the codes read today. Came up with one fault, being the MAF.
Cleared the code, gonna check again in couple days to make sure its not an old code, since it's possible that this code came up a long time ago and the MAF was changed since, but the code wasn't cleared. But if it shows the MAF again, then new MAF it is.
Also, aparently the earlier E36s' diagnostics wont show if i have a faulty coil pack. And my neighbour (top bloke) rekons i have a nackered coil pack too. I'll get round to checking those soon too. Aparently all u need is a multimeter, which i have, so shouldnt be too difficult.
 
#16 ·
alright, got round to spending some time on the car today. cleaned the MAF with electrical contact cleaner, then cleaned the ICV and throttle body with brake cleaner. finished off with a new air filter.
Car idles smoother, with no burps coming from the exhaust (so far...fingers crossed).
I also noticed in the last couple of days that i had to give it a bit more gas while the clutch is at biting point (when im pulling away from stand-still), to keep the engine from stalling. This problem has also gone away. Car now pulls away from stationary with ease. Plus the car seems to be pulling noticably stronger and smoother throughout the rev range (not by alot, but its a decent noticable difference).
I haven't experinced the hesitating/juddering when applying the throttle after engaging a gear so far, but that was only occasionally, so time will tell with that.
Hope this helps someone else too.
If any one needs help on any of what i've mentioned, just ask.
Baz.
 
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