Timmy! Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Afternoon everyone, straight in and asking for help on my first thread, impressive huh? Hopefully someone can empathise with me as I'm not sure I want to try a local specialist or BMW dealer just yet! Currently we own a 2001 / 51 318i Touring (manual) with the N42 engine in it and about 92k on the clock. As soon as we bought the car, roughly 18 months ago I put 4 new ignition coils on, new spark plugs, oil and filter etc etc I'm aware of the problem they have with the coils as I had experienced it first hand where I used to work, but also read about it numerous times. At this point there always seemed to be a slight hesitancy from the engine, but nothing worth worying about. Skip forward to the present day and at times there is monumental hesitation at low revs, which seems to clear and then the car is fine throughout the mid-range. The problem seems to manifest itself when you're in a higher gear at lower speeds, pulling into junctions, low speed corners etc. If you were to go flat out from a standing start, it's barely noticeable. It's frustrating to say the least and ruins the drive of the car, something must be wrong. There is also the odd judder when bringing the clutch up, possibly driver error but combined with a squeak now and then when turning the car on I suspect possible clutch/flywheel issues but never found anything to suggest this is a widespread problem and there doesn't appear to be any clutch slip. So unless I am confusing a transmission problem with the engine, other symptoms of this hesitancy problem are noisy injectors. A little while ago I replaced both camshaft sensors and after disconnecting the battery and letting the car re-learn itself, it was the best it's been. All low rpm driveability had returned and the car was spritely and pulled well from low speeds. Then it reverted to it's old self. Working at car dealership we carry out a lot of engine ecu updates and often this improves problems such as the one we have with this car, but before I take the car to BMW and have my pants pulled down whilst they check for possible updates I wanted to see whether experience has led you lot to any other little tricks as far as this type of problem is concerned? My other thought was a contaminated/blocked fuel filter? As the problem is less noticeable under hard acceleration, I did wonder about fuel pressure/supply. Is there an interval for changing the fuel filter on these? The car has had 3 fault code reading sessions on two different machines, and nothing has ever appeared. O2 sensors seem to work normally, no codes.. nothing out of the ordinary. Car can return steady 35mpg, but was around 38mpg not so long ago. The only other thing I have done is cleaned what I presume is the plug for the VANOS unit near the oil filler cap, this seemed to have oil or residue in it quite regularly. I did even replace the rubber seal round it, in case oil was getting up the side of the plug and to the pins. I haven't tried doing this for a while or even inspecting it. I've gotten pretty quick at removing the bits and pieces to get to it now! For those that are still reading, thank you... I'd be very grateful to hear your thoughts on what is otherwise a very good car to drive with a decent engine (potentially). Cheers Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Ci Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 First ...... welcome to the Forum..... As you will know..your car is fitted with drive by-wire..which will cause flat spot's etc..even after a re-map..it hadn't solved the problem..untill i fitted a sprint booster.. Haven't had any problems with it, and money well spent..the car is alot smoother..and more responsive....worth the money in my opinion.. Link http://www.sprint-booster.co.uk/default.as...echeck=yes& Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay. Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Hi mate and welcome. I have EXACTLY the same problem with my car . 318 coupe N42. 2.0, i even started a thread simmlar to yours when i got my car. I was a bit concerned about it at first when i bought the car off my dad, i am used to being lazy and driving in higher gears at lower speeds, I've now got used to it and class it as a charicteristic (even though its not right) and just drive accordingly. Presumably if it went on a fault code reader (which it did actually last week as i had the ignition coils changed) there were no other fault codes aparts from the missfire one for the coils. So i think its one of them things i'm gonna live with, sorry i can't help you in a fault resolution, but if you do get it resolved, please post up on here what it was. Cheers Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy! Posted November 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 I saw that in an issue of Performance BMW but that doesn't explain the hesitancy/juddering under load, almost like the engine is strangled. Something you have to experience to fully understand. On Peugeot diesels you see it a lot when the fuel filter is full of muck. Cant remember the duration on the spark plugs but what did seem odd is how after some tinkering and a re-set, the problem returns. Almost like any changes are over-ridden by a default map/issue. BMW at £96 + VAT an hour would want at least that to fault code the car and check for updates, but if there is something more fundamentally wrong with it I'd like to know before taking it there. I've checked for air leaks and cant find any, but the idle is unsteady at times, though not hugely like if the idle control valve is shagged. Drive by wire is not my favourite, I know that much. Thanks for your input and the welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy! Posted November 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Jamie, I can't really live with it, even though we have done for ages. But with a little one just weeks away I cant be bothered with a car that behaves so badly at low speeds, it ruins it and makes it feel very second hand. Our other car is a Civic Type-R so not the difinitive dog/baby/family machine and I think when sorted the BMW would do the job, but not like this. Because it will be predominantly a short range vehicle and occasional trip out car it needs to run right, but in recent years I've attempted more on the car to save money and just to do it right. I might try new plugs again, just in case, it cant hurt to change the fuel filter (in line thing under the car), but after that I think I may have to bite the bullet and see about software. At full chat the car is pretty much ok, though too quick a change seemingly catches out the throttle, hence the purpose of the little sprint booster thing, but I can live with that if the low rev issues can be ironed out. If i crack it, I will let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Im expering exactly the same kind of troubble as you guys! Only difference is that im from sweden, and for the moment it seems to be that im alone with a smal group of people expering this type och problem. No fault codes. Just bogging and hesitating under 2000rpm. Runs perfeckt exept under 2000rpm. It is a really big issue for me right now.. Or getting a big issue. Becasue the whole feeling of the car is not very well with this bogging. Not perfect english, but i think you might sort it out better than swedish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil S Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Looks like i am joining this group!! I have only had the car a few weeks but noticed this problem striaght away, its as if the accelerator peddle does nothing for the first inch or so then all of a sudden the car will accelerate away and i get slight juddering when pulling away in first gear, not every time but fairly often Any help solving this would be great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 My Engine light turn on blinking for 20sec and suddenly went black again.. But it might get a faultcode to follow up. There must be a solution! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 My Engine light turn on blinking for 20sec and suddenly went black again.. But it might get a faultcode to follow up. There must be a solution! My friend has this problem on his 318 coupé, but only occasionally. His car has only ever seen a BMW dealer for servicing etc, and has never been late for a service. They couldn't find anything wrong either. My guess is that it's to do with failing valve timing (though 4-cyl engines don't have VANOS and have something else that's similar and it's that thing I'm referring to). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Well, among the regular problems is the problem with the igitioncoils.. A software upgrade for the ECU might be a good..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Sparkspluggs replaced, no sucess.. Do any of you guys hear any rattling from the timning chain ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Dave, I understood a remap will basically also cover the drive by wire as well, is this not true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 A bit to early to tell maybe.. But it seems to be that car is acctualy running mutch smoother than before! Was a litte bit better when i went to work, even better at the way home.. Took a drive to city, and on my way back it was running really god.. It might be a coincidence, never happend before (bought the car 4w ago). So for the moment it´s running better. Could it by any chance happend to be that the ecu is re-maping the engine from now, when it works fine in low rpms ? To early to guess... Time will tell ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 http://www.bmwland.co.uk/talker/viewtopic....sc&start=20 Is there a solution in that thread ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy! Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 That BMWland thread is very interesting, the descriptions of juddering, lack of power below 2k rpm seem widespread. This problem varies for me but to be honest I have given up chasing it. At one stage I was convinced that oil contamination on the pins of a plug (VANOS?), which sits near the oil filler cap was fouling something and muddling signals to the ECU. I would clean the pins, re-fit the parts and after a battery disconnect/reconnect (20 minutes) or so, the car ran like brand new. Low speed driveability was much improved, throttle response keener, almost perfect. Gradually the fault crept back and I began to think this was a software issue, that the ECU was reverting to a setting which made it run like crap. There's no outstanding 'recalls' on the car, but obviously it would need to be sat on their diag for them to know whether an ECU update was available, something I see on Peugeots all day long. Recently with the French rubbish we've seen valve timing and fuel pump issues on the BMW derived 1.6 engines and I wondered whether this is where I am heading. Talk of broken springs on camshafts and things doesn't seem too far from the mark. The nature of the fault, the juddering, misfiring etc at low speeds could be so many things. It also feels like fuel starvation, blocked fuel filter maybe? At full chat, there's a slight splutter in first, although the engine seems to want to fight you, but through the gears at 6500rpm in each it's alright. I can't believe a characteristic of the engine is to be this rubbish at a speed most of us drive at the majority of the time. The one consistent good thing is a battery re-set, whether or not this satanic ritual of cleaning plugs and things makes any different I dont know. I thought I had cracked it a year ago when I fitted two new camshaft sensors, again after disconnecting and re-connecting the battery, the car was brilliant. Not even taking a turning in 3rd gear at 10mph unsettled it. Do that now and it feels like it runs on 1 cylinder. All of my cars have run better on Shell V-Power but I want to know the route of the problem, is it fuelling or something more sinister? I also have a noisy release bearing on the clutch which I am seeing someone about tomorrow, I'll pick his brains about the running issue. I also have a squeak/screech from the engine when starting, I wondered if this was the flywheel. Not good times for the otherwise reliable BMW, it nearly made way for a Fabia VRS yesterday. I'll post back if we have any joy tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 Im starting to believe that i have a broken camspring, becasue the car is noisy on idle.. first i thougt it was the clutch/bearing, But after a while i could clearly hear the sound coming from the cylinder head.. only when the car is hot. As soon as i hear the sound the car starts to mess. Description is quite like another guys example in the thread i posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moumtzisa Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Try engine remap and the hesitancy/juddery problems will be eliminated. I also changed the air filter with KN and the last silecner. A pretty different car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy! Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 After a couple of days at my friend's garage the car has emerged with the following: New Clutch New Oil & Filter New Air Filter New Fuel Filter New Spark Plugs (BKR6EQUP) Inlet manifold removed and re-fitted after bolt found missing from under bulkhead area, seals were like rock anyway and not supple as they should be. Battery was left disconnected and then when I picked the car up we let it run for half an hour to re-learn its bits and pieces. The engine was instantly quieter, the ticky injector noise from the top end all but gone, or at least at a level I would expect from a BMW 4-pot. The drive home showed a better pick-up, smoother power delivery and improved driveability, though performance was about the same the hesitancy has almost disappeared. The judder was undoubtedly the knackered clutch, release bearing was mullered and the pressure plate was obviously sticking in places. Before now the car has reverted to its troublesome self after minutes, but sometimes days. Hopefully this time it will be different. Not saying things couldn't be improved with a re-map, they always can, but at least it feels more like the car it should. I'll let you know what happens during the next few days, as to what has made the difference.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Is the car stil working properly ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy! Posted April 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Yeah, certainly a lot better. The clutch judder has obviously gone, so it remains a slight mystery whether the excessively loud injectors and crappy low speed/gear running was down to a moody fuel filter or what looked like a leak on the inlet manifold. I still think the car would need some kind of software update to make it run 100%, but it's as good as it can be without a trip to BMW. I would have expected it to revert to its old ways by now, so I can only assume that it's probably going to be ok... the list of parts I have replaced until now is growing but none of the parts have totally failed, I've just replaced them as a matter of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 How about now.. ? Is it still runnin great ? Hope so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy! Posted April 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Still much improved but not perfect. At work the other week we encountered a problem on a 1.8 turbo petrol Octavia. Part of the fault was down to the secondary air pump (a system used to pump hot air into the exhaust so I am led to believe), apparently a cause/symptom of this fault on VAG cars is something called a combi valve. I did wonder whether the lumpy idle and hesitation from the engine was related to this in some way, searching the net shows quite a few people noting this secondary air system as a problem on BMWs, maybe there's something in it? However, Peugeot have also recently started using BMW collaborated engines and they all seem to jerk around like epileptics when doing 20mph or so in 3rd gear, I am really thinking now that the engine itself just isn't that refined. Tough as old boots yes, revs well enough yes, smooth.... nope. Either way, the engine still sounds ok, no injector madness, though the exhaust is blowing at the backbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Can you guys hear the ticking sound that sound like a lose clamp om the exhaust system ? Im 90% sure it is the camspring to the extra camshaft that make the rattlig sound! The rattling sound starts when the needle leaves the blue area. Il guess il be the first to open and check it out! Might be succseful ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///PHIL Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Can you guys hear the ticking sound that sound like a lose clamp om the exhaust system ? Im 90% sure it is the camspring to the extra camshaft that make the rattlig sound! The rattling sound starts when the needle leaves the blue area. Il guess il be the first to open and check it out! Might be succseful ? was it successfull??? i have the same problems on my car?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan mabbott Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 my car was doin this for while i thought it was my induction kit so swapped back to old air box nothing still did the same pause between 2,000 and 3,000 rpm, so luckly for me one my family members works at bmw, i got him have look he disconeted the batt and left it for 30mins then plugged back and uploaded a new file to the ecu and left it running for half hr, i came back to see how he was doing took the car out and omg does it go now it does not pause at all 2weeks on still goes well now so mite just want remapp ppl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
