just got a 90 325is

[larmstrong]

well i just picked up a 1990 325is, it has 218000miles on it (i put 1500 on it in the last week ) this car is solid, some of the best stuff about it is that its all stock, the original wheels including the full size spare with the original tire on it!!!!!!!! all the panel vin # match the car's vin!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this car is great, engine is super strong and very smooth...........

ok now my problems, car is running rich, you can smell it, the plugs were clean but i replaced them anyways, the idle control valve was bad(only on the high idle) i replaced that, i ran the codes and the only fualt it came up with is the coolent temp sensor.. will this make the car run rich???????
the other problem too is that the car idle bounces up and down when the car is first started, does not seem to matter if the car is warm or not, it will do it even if you drive the car for 2 hours stop to get gas and turn it back on....
after you pull away and drive it 100 yards and stop the idle is normal........the idle problem did not start until 5 days after i got the car, it was fine the whole time, but car has been running rich since the second day i had it, of course these things are not there when you test drive the car.........
so can the coolent temp sensor cause both of these problems??????????

thanks for the help

o yeah one more thing, how much oil do these cars burn???? i have gone thru about a half a quart in the 1500 miles i have driven it....this car does not have any leaks and it is not coming out of the exhaust, thanks

[lwebb12]

well my 87 saab used to do the same thing as yours...searching for idle speed. mine was caused by a vacuum leak. not sure if the same applies to your bmw.

[Fox]

the idle control valve was bad(only on the high idle)

Not to be nit picky or anything, not knowing how mechanically apt you are, if you did it by yourself or someone else but just stating that anything 87 or newer does not have ICVs(which is spring operated) but a totally non mechanical vane type system which rarely fails except to dirty up (wd40 solves this) I think the name is something like a IFCVB or something idle fuel control vane bypass. i dont know i just call it ICU.

Second of all, lol i must agree with you yes these cars are indeed sturdy as all hell. and i love mine.

As for the idle problem, could you further describe the bouncing. Is it noticable in the tach or just creates an irregular bounce in the car? I really doubt the coolant temp is anywhere related to it unless its an effect, the idle being the cause.

My 325is has 138k miles on it and it as well runs rich, though not much so and i am to believe that this is just due to age and wear of parts and loss of compression.

By the way let me emphasize strongly

these cars do NOT burn any oil.
Its most likely a small leak that you have overlooked. I know i had one for a long time that would leak about a quart every month. I would recommend that you (having 218k miles) replace the valve cover seal. and clean the sealing edges.

And last of all welcome to the forums

[larmstrong]

lol fox, as i fix one problem the next arrise as i have been speaking to you in another thread, to be honest with you my idle problems were fixed with the change of the fuel filter, still running rich but o well i can get it passed if i need to .........

as far as icv or icu, i know some bmw folks as i used to sell bmws a few years ago, and they all call it an idle control valve, so spring loaded or not the part (so i was told by bmw) is a icv.........but what ever really as long as our cars our working who really cares what its called........

thanks for the reply

[Fox]