Problems with engine

[Woofy318i]

My engine is using up all the oil, i mean literally everything, after like 2000 miles. What could be the problem? I always have to add some oil in the engine. I am using Mobil One Fully synthetic 15W-50; the previous owner was using the same oil so i continued too.

Another thing, sometimes when I am starting, leaving, my car feels like its not accellerating fast enough. Could this be because my cat is kinda stuffed. Also sometimes I can hear like a chain like sound from the engine. Could this be the timing belt?

If anyone can help me, it would be great.

[mickd]

Where is the needle on the temp gauge once fully warmed up? The chain like sound could be slack in the timing chain, maybe have tensioner problems. Not to big a deal on this one, can do the tensioner externally. How long have you had the car? Did you check for oil leaks? Sometimes synthetic oil can leak past gaskets on higher mileage engines. If nothing else try regular 20W/50 oil. I would think if your cat was clogged bad enough your check engine light would come on. Maybe you just need a good tune up for the performance issue.

[bimmerboi318]

I'd have the car professionaly checked out. You're saying excessive oil consumption, low power, and rattling noises from the engine. I'd take it in to a shop or have someone check it out really well. I dont want to sound pessimistic, but it sounds like there might be a serious issue.

[Woofy318i]

I have the car for about 2 years now. The oil problem has been like this since I bought the car (about a month after the purchase), pretty much. When i first got it i took it to a mechanic to check everything, he then told me that the CAT was a little bit stuffed, and that the car didnt accelerate right. Other things he mentioned, is that i had to change the bushings, thats about it. I am gonna replace the exhaust in the coming week or so, the cat will be removed too, replaced with a straight pipe. I am really currious how bad it is. I will definitelly take some pictures of it and post it here.

Oh I forgot to mention that sometimes when I start the car, the engine stalls (jumps from 850 rpm to 500 rpm and back) for like 5-10 sec. Or when I turn on the air conditioning while I am driving, and when I stop at a stop sign or a traffic light the engine does the same thing but longer, sometimes i have to keep the gas pedal pressed a little bit , because i am worried the engine will stop/turn off.

You are probably asking your self why I didnt return the car... I dont know.., you know how you feel when you get your first car; I guess i just didnt want to admit that something was wrong with it. the other thing, this car was imported from Germany by a USA soldier, so it was like cool for me.

Oh well, if you guys get anymore ideas why all this is happening, tell me.

Thnx again

[Woofy318i]

anyone, any ideas??

[myblueTI]

in 95 the 1.8 liter had a head problem then in 96 the engine went from a 1.8 to a 1.9 because they redesigned the heads. So i think since you have a 95 i think it has something to do with the heads. Maybe head gasket leak , that can explain the leak and loss of compression due to the leak so you would feel like it accelerates as fast as it should be. Thats what i think but i would just ave it checked out just in case. Good luck with your car

[mickd]

Originally Posted by myblueTI

in 95 the 1.8 liter had a head problem then in 96 the engine went from a 1.8 to a 1.9 because they redesigned the heads. So i think since you have a 95 i think it has something to do with the heads. Maybe head gasket leak , that can explain the leak and loss of compression due to the leak so you would feel like it accelerates as fast as it should be. Thats what i think but i would just ave it checked out just in case. Good luck with your car

The profile gasket problem was fixed on the M42 before the ti's came to the states in '95. The problem existed on M42's built prior to 11/93, on the E30 in '91 and on the E36 from '92-'94. There are no ti's with this problem, since the first ti's in the USA are '95 models. You should do your research before posting somthing so blatantly wrong. http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/eng...asket_faq.html

[cali-ti]

for the wandering idle, i'd search on "idle control valve" and see what comes up as i know it's been discussed before.

i'm with bimmerboi, get the oil consumption professionally checked. that is NOT normal and would be quite disturbing to me personally. it has to be going somewhere ...

[Den]

Originally Posted by myblueTI

in 95 the 1.8 liter had a head problem then in 96 the engine went from a 1.8 to a 1.9 because they redesigned the heads. So i think since you have a 95 i think it has something to do with the heads. Maybe head gasket leak , that can explain the leak and loss of compression due to the leak so you would feel like it accelerates as fast as it should be. Thats what i think but i would just ave it checked out just in case. Good luck with your car

As far as I have been able to discover, the M44 is just an M42 bored and stroked to 1.9 L. Same head AFAIK. I've also read that they went to a cast crankshaft for the M44. . .no good reason for that other than cost cutting. I wonder what other 'improvements' were made in revising the M42. Sure, the forged crank may be overkill in a 140hp motor, but one of the things we like about BMW is that they usually engineer stuff to be better than juuuuuust barely sufficient.
http://www.r3vlimited.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5474

I've tried to start a thread on this, but you guys haven't really had much to say.
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6776

[aceyx]

if it's a head gasket problem, you're going to be either: leaking oil into the coolant, or leaking coolant into the oil. either way, this is a bad situation.

if leaking oil into the coolant, it will show up in your radiator as a chunky, white/cloudy substance in the otherwise green coolant.

if leaking coolant into the oil, the exhaust coming from your pipe will be white, and smell "sweet."


if you're just burning the oil, exhaust gas will be blue.

[Stimpy]

I have a '95 ti with 112,000 miles on it and I have the same issues as far as using oil and stalling.
I've been told that the M42 is known for burning oil. If you're driving high rpm's you'll notice you have to add oil sooner.
There is some smoke coming out of the exhaust when going >5000rpm. I think it is blue smoke and it does not smell.
I am using synthetic oil as well and I do see some oil residue near the transmission, but not enough to drip on the floor.

The car jumps in rpm's when the fan comes on. It is an electric fan and it seems the alternator has trouble to keep up with the demand. After a few seconds it will level out.
It might be the fan or alternator is old and needs to be replaced.

[DeadpaN]

an easy way to tell if you're burning coolant or oil:

coolant--usually starting it up for the 1st time of the day, you'll get clouds of white smoke from the coolant which has leaked into the head overnight. this usually burns off, and then "everything is ok"

oil--after the car is warmed up, get on the highway, drive at 90mph for a mile or 2 or just at a consistantly higher end rpm. let foot off gas, when you begin to "decelerate" a bluish smoke should be visible from the tailpipe. i find its much easier to see at night in the headlites of trailing cars....then go to a mechanic.


erratic idle while running power things like fan, a/c etc.----->ICV