BMW 318i 1996 strange behaviour >?< hmm

[benny]

Ok here goes, i recently got a good deal on a 318i 1996, BUT ... im having a few problems and wonder if anyone might have experienced similar things, firstly, the steering wheel sometimes sticks, have to turn quite hard to loosen it up and steer, which at speed can be quite scary , seems to come from the steering column near the steering wheel, i say this as there is a squeeking also behind the wheel, but heres my main problem, in first gear and to some extent in second the car 'judders' while pulling away, thru the rev range in 1st gear there are maybe 3 points at which the car jerks forward meaning that i have to rev very hard just to pull away at all, i have a manual gearbox with a reasonably recent clutch change, new spark plugs and leads. Im fearing an expensive trip to the car shop... .. hoping someone might know a little of this. cheers in advance.

[Autotechnica]

If it jerks after you release the clutch it could be that you're not giving it enough gas after the clutch is engaged. The 318's both M42/M44 don't really have much low end torque. You have to rev it up a little and then give it a little gas while letting go of the clutch. I haven't driven a stock 318 in a really long time and mine doesn't do this. However, when my car was stock I remember I stalled it quite frequently because of the lack of low end torque. You'll notice this is the reason the 1st gear is so short. What's the meaning of the word "judder", sorry just trying to understand the problem.

What do you mean the steering wheel sticks? Like you turn and it takes a while for the wheels to react? Or you just mean it's not smooth when you turn the wheel? Check PS fluid and belt. Maybe you lost the power steering completely?

Bry

[benny]

Hmm, you might be right about the power steering, it does feel as tho it is lost, although it only happens when turning the wheel to the left, which id odd.. the wheels react well its more of a rough sticking in the steering wheel, as though the steering rack is stuck.. By judder i mean a kind of jerking motion, its not caused by lack of power whilst pulling away, i have to put a lot, 4-5k rpm to pull away, compared to my previous 318i, in which i only had to push a reasonable amount of power 2-3krpm 'thru the clutch' to get a smooth take off. The jerking itself is quite bad, the weight of the car shifts backwards and then forwards when it hapens and i have to shift into second quickly between the weight shift.

[benny]

tis a 1996 e36 btw .. 85k miles on the clock

[El Presidente]

was the clutch seated propperly when it was installed? It sounds a lot like an engagement issue more than an engine issue, or else I would think it would do regardless of gear..

[gasper11]

I drive a 97 328ic with 150000 miles on her. My steering wheels is actimg the same way. I have detirmined that it is probably a bearing in the steering column. The bearing is dry and binding. If you have any additional info, please let me know...

Ken Gasper

[bitcore]

you replaced the sparkplug leads? Why?