kormak Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Hi Guys, Looking for a last ditch opinion on a BMW E46 320D that I own. Some months back, it began to smoke (black) quite heavily when accelerating at startup. It also looses a severe amount of power and would go in to limp mode. If driving off on a hill it would be an embarrasement.... plumes of black smoke everyhwre and a Beemer going nowhere fast! anyway, I looked at a lot of forums and the main culprit for this issue appeared to be the EGR valve. I decided to clean this out thoroughly and it didn 't really relieve the problem. A friend had advised me it may need to be replaced. I then decided to let my cousin who's a decent mechanic take a look at it. He reckons the it's not worth fixing given it's a 12 yr old car. He reckons the EGR vavle is caked and the turbo on it is also seizing/engaging which is caused by the EGR problem. His advice... cut my losses and get rid of it. I have tried to sell it but not much luck. Now I'm having a change of heart and thinking if I could try resurract it, I would. Since my cousin last had it, he opened up some air intake?? (not quite sure) which has allowed it to drive a lot better but now it really sounds like a screaming ewok anytime the accelerator is prssed!! + it's still smokey as hell and not much power. If I was to get a 2nd hand EGR and replace it, do you think this might fix most of the pwer/smoke issues? or is this mechanic right... should I be saying goodbye to this wonderful beast? Would appreciate any final thoughts on this from you guys..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammo Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 I can't see a new egr fixing the issue. Looks like it's already played it's part in damaging your turbo and it sounds like the turbo has blown. You could try a egr bypass first if you really think it may help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bungers Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Doesn't sound like EGR to me either. I'd pull the vac pipe off the EGR; thus disabling it. What year is the car? Sounds like you've got either major overfuelling issues caused by a boost leak, faulty injector(s), or a knackered turbo. It'd be worth checking the crankcase breather isn't blocked. Where are you based? momo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 Could it be a split inlet pipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasa Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 i would deffo check the pcv filter,this in turn could of forced oil through the turbo,but get it checked as these are easy to do yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kormak Posted June 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Hi Folks, thanks for your responses... as with a lot these issues, I'm given a multitude of opinions of what "it could be..." The turbo is ceasing/engaging on it. It might be under pressure but it definitely still functions, allbeit with a huge puff of black smoke when it engages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammo Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Boost leak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kvasi Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Its quite common that the spring in the EGR gets worn and cant hold it closed when its supposed to. Happend to me and it felt like engine produced 50hp. Cut out 35mm from the centre of a beer/soda-can and blank the EGR inlet, will cost 15 min of work and i bet it will run fine when ur done.. Not mutch EGR going on on mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kormak Posted July 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Hi folks, I'm back with another post. After leaving my 320D sitting idle for the last few weeks, I decided to drop it in to another local mechanic (who of course came recommended). He had a look and what he found was a cracked inlet manifold. He also mentioned that a lot of the hoses around it were frayed, but believed the manifold itself may be the main culprit. So I picked up a 2nd hand inlet manifold (one with the flaps removed). Anyway, he put it on and says it has made no differenece whatsoever! €100 down the drain... the airflow meter had already been detached to make it run better but as soon as he reattaches it, it crawls!! and when airflow is removed again, it drives a little better but still has power problems and plumes of smoke. It's also worth noting that the EGR valve wasn't as dirty as I expected it to be, so he was happy to rule this out. he's now pointing the finger at possible faulty injectors, blaming dodgy diesel, which I admit is entirely possble. what are people's thoughts on this? Would faulty injectors cause the following symptons: loss of power. more diesel being used. plumes of black smoke when accelerating (especially on hills!) whiney noise (possibly the turbo under pressue) he has said that the turbo is still boosting so potentially it's just under strain... now I think I have 2 options: 1: take the car to an indie-BMW specialist, who will have all the correct BMW diagnostics software and should be able to pinpoint the problem exactly. 2: have the injectors tested and if they are faulty, have them reconditioned. I would be interested to hear people's opinions on this. I like this car and would like to hold on to it if at all possible... having said that it's 12 years old and I don't wanna be throwing money at it needlessly!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Have you had it hooked up to diagnostics at any point? That's the 1st thing you should do (and should have done) really. Check the diagnostics section of the forum for a thread with a list of people with diagnostic equipment near you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kormak Posted July 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Have you had it hooked up to diagnostics at any point? That's the 1st thing you should do (and should have done) really. Check the diagnostics section of the forum for a thread with a list of people with diagnostic equipment near you. Yes, it's been hooked up to standard diagnostics in the mechanics, but not specfically to BMW specialist software. this is what I mean by my point: 1: take the car to an indie-BMW specialist, who will have all the correct BMW diagnostics software and should be able to pinpoint the problem exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 I'd try to find someone local 1st tbh as i'm sure they'd be cheaper than a BMW specialist to put through diagnostics.. But if you can't or would rather get it diagnosed professionally then absolutely Option 1! A diagnostic will be what, £60 at the most? How much will it cost to remove the injectors and have them tested? It's a no-brainer! StuBeeDoo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregc Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 I've skim re-read your topic (and I've had a few glasses of wine) so I apologise if it's already been mentioned but it's a cheap thing to try and might work. Have you cleaned your pressure convertor filters? Also replace all of you vacuum hoses, these are cheap enough all they will cost you is time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 As Greg said. I only had boost for some of the rev range and MASSIVE smoke when not on boost - was a worn vacuum pipe to the turbo actuator. If yours in eletronic, not vacuum, they can play up too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kormak Posted July 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Thanks for your replies... it's food for thought. BTW These are indie-BMW specialists, not BMW but independants who specialize in BMW. I could get my mechanic to check/replace the vacuam hoses and have a look at the pressure converter filters. There's so many variables as to what might be the problem, it's quite frustrating trying to find the source of it!! If the Indie-BMW specialists are pricey, I may just get the actual injectors tested themselves and make a call from there pending the results. reconditioning inejctors I believe is a costly exercise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bungers Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 They should have the necessary diag equipment then but I'd still see if there's anyone local on here that can do it, where are you based? Definitely wouldn't start swapping parts without a diagnostics though. StuBeeDoo and momo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kormak Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 They should have the necessary diag equipment then but I'd still see if there's anyone local on here that can do it, where are you based? Definitely wouldn't start swapping parts without a diagnostics though. I'm based outside Dublin... phoned one crowd and he wouldn't give me a set price for an overall diagnostics, saying each part would have to be done individually before a price would be known??! can't understand how it can be so difficult to source the bloody problm!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 That's a joke! I think BMW themselves charge half an hours labour (I think their smallest unit) so around £60. You can buy the diagnostic kit of eBay for £50!! lol. You can do a test for the injectors on INPA. It's just if you're not comfortable with computers it can be a bit of a ball ache to set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
