Car struggles going uphill normal?

[surechap]

Ever since I purchased my 318ti I've notice the car has a hard time going uphill is this normal? I have to press down the gas completely just to get the car going 40 mph merging onto the highway. Once it's on level surface going to higher speeds are fine.

[jca]

May just need a tune up which is new spark plugs and new fuel filter. Easy and cheap. Good luck.

[BimmerBum]

Time for a 6 cyl swap...

On a more serious note it sounds like you may have a clogged catalytic converter.

[M-technik-3]

Originally Posted by BimmerBum

Time for a 6 cyl swap...

On a more serious note it sounds like you may have a clogged catalytic converter.

BMW sure screwed us on the Catalytic converters here. Those should have all been recalled and had a more efficient one installed.

My old one was clogged and the car was a wheezer to I swapped it out.

[surechap]

This doesn't sound too good, I really hope it's not the catalytic converter. Would a loose throttle cable also explain my symptoms?

The previous owner did drive the car with a busted air pump. The vacuum hose connected to the exhaust was busted as well, might have popped off due to back pressure caused by a clogged catalytic converter . From paperwork provided by the previous owner has changed the spark plugs and fuel filter less than 10K miles ago. I'm also getting no fault codes except from the air pump which I fixed.

[trikzta]

I had the vacuum hose pop numerous times until
The catalytic converter clogged completely swapped it out and car ran like a champ but still kinda struggled
Going uphill I think is just the 4cyl but yours sounds like your cat is about to go

[cooljess76]

BMW did have a recall on the cats, but it's expired now. The secondary air pump is there to help keep the catalytic converter from getting clogged. I never understood why people remove them. Depending on what year your car is, you may be able to get away with an aftermarket cat(assuming that your cat is bad). If it's a '95, aftermarket cats will work and not throw a code since '95's are OBDI and do not have a post cat o2 sensor. If it's '96 or newer, it's OBDII, has a post cat o2 sensor and will throw a code iand fail inspection if you install an aftermarket cat. OEM cats are pretty expensive, so if your car is '96 or newer, get ready to bend over. Otherwise you might be able to find a used one in one of the part-out threads, but keep in mind it'll probably have 150k miles on it. No chance in getting one from the junkyard though, as it's illegal for them to sell used cats and they usually get cut off for scrap before the car even makes it onto the lot.

I'd start with a good tune up(oil, plugs, wires, air & oil filters, fuel filter, CCV etc). Maybe run seafoam about 100 miles before you plan on doing the oil change. 1 can in the gas, 1/2 a can in the oil and the other half through the brake booster line going into the intake manifold. If that in combination with new plugs and maybe wires doesn't help, replace your oxygen sensor(pre-cat and post-cat if your car is '96 or newer). And finally if that doesn't help, then perhaps it's time to start looking for a cat. How's the car idle? Is it rough? Do you hear a his in the engine compartment? If so you may consider replacing the CCV. Is your car auto or manual? If it's an auto, is it not kicking down to the lower gear?

[98318ti]

Anybody ever try this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5icTmYItwiE

I'm scared to.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by 98318ti

Anybody ever try this?


I'm scared to.

I seen that video before and I think I recommended it to someone who was getting ready to replace their cat. It would be pretty difficult to do with our cats because the plumbing is so long and it'll only work on a cat that is clogged, not on one that has become delaminated. Inside of a cat, you have what's called a monolith. The monolith looks like a honeycomb and is coated in platinum(which is why they're so freakin expensive) that heats up to over 1000 degrees and attracts any unburned hydrocarbons and burns them off before releasing them into the environment. In most cases on these cars, the catalytic converters fail because this monolith breaks up or delaminates from the housing. Sometimes this can be diagnosed by excessive rattling noise coming from the cat. Other times, the broken pieces of monolith bounce and spin around, obstructing airflow. Another tell tale symptom of a bad cat will be the smell of rotten eggs coming from the exhaust.

But going back to that video, I don't recommend doing anything to your cat unless you're absolutely positive it's bad. They cost about 1800 for a refurbished one, and like I said previously, aftermarket cats won't work on your car if it's '96 or newer.

[98318ti]

Thanks for the explanation. So basically they can stop working in a number of ways, being clogged is only one of them.