98 318ti - Engine Has No Power and Sounds like a Diesel!

[Chris2Four]

Hey Guys,

I recently purchased a 1998 BMW 318ti, the car is in great shape but unfortunately the the head had a hole in it. I sent the head off to a very good local machine shop to have it fixed along with doing a valve job.

The head has now been reinstalled but the damn thing sounds like a Diesel when it's running and it has no power! It can be driven it's just got no get up and go and sometimes it will barely make it up a slight incline. I have noticed that if it gets really bad that cutting the car off and starting it back up makes and improvement but it's still not right.

As I said it sounds like a Diesel when idling and driving or I guess you could say that it sounds like a tapping coming from the top end of the motor.

The car does have a code for the knock sensor but I have replaced this with a brand new one and the code still came back.

I've been told it could be the lifters that need to be replaced but this is a very costly repair and I'd much rather do a little research to see if anyone on this forum has come across this problem before and what the solution was?

Thanks a bunch in advance for any help given.

Chris

[slow_ti]

How'd they fix a hole in the head? I would have just gotten a new head..


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[Chris2Four]

A good machine shop or cylinder head specialist has the tools and expertise to address most issues. I'm not 100% sure on how they did it but I would imagine that it involved welding the whole up followed by a complete valve job.

[98318tibmw]

no way around it man... your going to have to replace the head and lifters if anything but it could be a lot of things.

[urbanmisfit]

Go back to basics; compression & leakdown test, etc. pull the plugs to see if there's a wet one (not firing).
Got the plug wires on right?
If you had a complete head rebuild done by a competent shop you should be able to rule out any damage/faulty head issues but mistakes do happen.
Pulling the head again would be my last move.....
ps: cyl. heads cracked due to overheating are usually repaired by welding or 'stiching'

[9644]

Who re-installed the head? Are the cams timed correctly?
What made the hole in the head?

[jerseydevi1]

I have the same issue on my son's '96 ti. Just got it back from the local dealership after spending $900 to have them get it started again. They want $2000.00 to replace the timing chain and check the valves. Needless to say, we brought it home to be able to consider our options. Here is what I have so far:

We know the oil needs to be changed, after the head gasket blew, and it is very old and has some antifreeze still mixed in from when the head gasket went. I know they are completely different motors and all, but I had a 2000 Xterra that would make a similar rattling noise when the oil needed to be changed. Is it possible that the old oil with anti-freeze "additive" is causing some of these issues? We only drove it back from the dealership and it hasn't been run since.

Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions?

I have my firesuit on so go ahead and flame me for running the motor with that oil in it, just needed it to get home and we are looking for help.

[familytruckster]

if it was run for any period of time with the blown gasket and contaminated oil the bearings are wasted.

Stupid question, but you did change the oil and filter after replacing the head right?

What did the pistons look like? Any pieces missing? cylinder walls scarred?