Help * Major Car Trouble

[vmelikRUS]

about three hours ago my car starter having engine trouble. This sort of thing happened yesterday, and stopped after I added some engine oil, but today it didn't help.

Here are my symptomps:
When car is running (stationary),
Engine idles irratically.
The RMP reachs the 1/2(500) mark then jump up to 1(1000) mark.
I start smelling gasoline inside the vehicle.
Lots of smoke from muffler.
(I have to rev the car to up to at least (1000) in order to cease the smell/smoke of gasoline.)

When I drive I notice lack of power, especially in higher gears.
My consumption suddenly went from 24.0 to 24.3.
ALSO: I am burning abount 1mile/gallon. ~(my estimate)

Please advise. I need to fix in the morning.

I know it could be several things and I don't know what exactly.
(spark plugs, fuel filter, fuel injector,...)

[Hootie361]

I had the same symptoms in my '00 328i. Replacing my intake camshaft position sensor and an oil change fixed it.

[vmelikRUS]

I think its smething more serious. I just drove it to work and something is wrong with my fuel consumption. Does anyone know what could cause them.

When engine is running "idle" I start smelling gas in the vehicle, and the engines sounds like its lacking power and may stall. The range indicator shows that I am losing gasoline fast, which I smell in the car when this happens. Drove 20 miles, and lost 100. When I keep the engine reved up above 1000rpm I notice slower decline in gas burning ratio. If I come to stop, and the engine comes back to idle, it feels like it will stall, and starts jumping to 1000 rpm when it drops back to 500 rpm.

What is wrong? Anything obvious?

I need to fix ASAP, before my engine dies on me.

I am scheduled for Oil Change (I went 3000k sharp)
This started happing 2 days ago.
I added 2 quarts of engine oil, and it stopped.
Next day it happed again, I added 1 more quart, and it stopped again.
Later that day again, I added 2 more quarts, but this time it had no effect.
I have it parked outside think ing what to do.
What do you think is wrong with it?
too much oil ? sparg plugs? which fuel parts? Any ideas?

[Gkamysz]

What do you mean you added two quarts of oil? Was it low? Or is there now 9+ quarts of oil in the engine? Too much oil will mess with the engine. Did you get a low oil warning before adding the oil? How often do you check the oil? Is the smoke black or blue?

[Avlany]

Bud, you cant just ad an oil if the oil tank is full. This is not a rice car where oil getting burned out on regular bases (all rice cars I had did that).

Possible solutions:
1. Check fuel enjectors/spark plugs (less likely)
2. Fuel Filter (possible but not likely)
3. Computer might disfunction (likely but dramatic)
4. Sometimes idles happens for the engine overheat. Check temp sensors. Check vents and coolant.

Jelau udachi.

[dutchbmw]

Here, try this: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticl...ode_Reading.htm

Good luck!

[e36surge]

Had similar problems a year ago and it happened in the spring. My revs would jump from 500 to 1500 at lights... it would go away but reappear especially when the engine got hot.

1) Check your oil level
2) Check youer Mass Airflow sensor and intake sensor (as mentioned above)
3) Check your Plugs... look for black deposits
4) Is there any oil leaking from the head cover gasket? Too much oil will blow the seal.... or worse

A tune up cleared my issues. My mechanic cleaned my airflow sensor but I eventually replaced... not cheap.... don't ever pt too much oil in such a high compression engine your asking for problems...

[RIBEMR26]

Smelling gas in the car = bad fuel pump???

[vmelikRUS]

I took the car to a mechanic, and he told me 90% of the time its gonna be the camshaft sensor, but he just called me and is saying my engine is gone. He said since my "check engine light" is not coming on its not the camshaft sensor. And he says I have white smoke coming out of my muffler, which is a signal of a bad engine. I have about 145k miles on it, but I thought the engines on Beemers were solid. Anyway what do you suggest I do. Take his word, or go to a different mechanic.

[aheath]

What makes you think adding oil will automatically solve your problems? I hope you at least checked your oil dipstick before adding 3 quarts.

Just as someone stated above you now have 8.9 - 9.1 quarts of oil in your car, just only 3 quarts too much. I honestly question the *care* you've given your car. I even wonder if you poured the oil in the right place. ( I actually watched someone pour a gallon of water in their oil tank, I tried to stop em......)

Maybe you should go purchase a KIA and practice general car care before you repair or continue to drive you bmw.

[Avlany]

Hey, aheath, go easy on the guy. He came here with question related to Bimmer (which is this place about). Most people here didnt know crap about BMW at some point, as well as I truly doubt that you were born with skrewdriver in your hand, so no need to do lame comments. Its rude and not in place, so please refrane from such.

About engine:

Ask your mechanic what exactly happened to the engine ? What makes him think that its dead ?

[vmelikRUS]

Originally posted by Avlany@May 11 2005, 05:09 PM
About engine:

Ask your mechanic what exactly happened to the engine ? What makes him think that its dead ?

[snapback]343462[/snapback]

I went to see him in person and ask exactly that. He showed me that the car was giving off white smoke from the muffler, and some gasoline was coming out. I guess you call this blue smoke? Anyway he said he will do a compression test tommorow morning. He mentioned that the head gasket could be the problem, but he is not sure. I also got another mechanic's opinion. Although the other mechanic did not see the car, he said the head gasket could be the reason. I don't know who to go to if it is the case, because most mechanics don't bother taking that job on. Has anyone replaced their head gasket? What do you think is a reasonable price for a job like that?

P.S.- Everyone jumped on me about adding extra oil. I didn't know it was bad, but now I do. He will give me an oil change as well just in case.

The weird thing is that the first time this happened. I checked the oil. It was low. I opened the oil cap, and I saw some steam. I added 2 quarts, and it fixed the problem immediately. Maybe it was wrong to do so, but it did bring the engine back to its regular operating condition.

[Avlany]

I am not as PRO as many guys out here, but based on your post, It might be the head gasket problem. If it is, then deppends on what happened to it, but I am pretty sure that you gonna have to replace it.

[legal7s]

Here are a few things to check to see if your head gasket is blown or you have other issues going on.
Does the "white" exhaust smoke smell like coolant(sweet smelling), burnt oil(stinks really bad), or just really rich on fuel?
Do you have floating brownish gray pieces in your coolant?
Does your oil level continue to drop or are you just adding oil to make it go away?
If you remove the upper vent hose for the PCV system(large pipe on front left of valve cover) is there any thick oily substance in the pipe?
Did your "mechanic" find any faults in the DME or did he just guess that the cam sensor was not bad?

Just a few thoughts.

[vmelikRUS]

The white smoke smells like its rich on fuel, and gasoline is dripping out of the exhaust. I added oil the first time because it was low, and it happened to fix the problem. He did not do a faults test because the white smoke appeared to be the obvious explanation. He will do a compression test to diagnose the root of the problem tommorow morning, but he was pretty confident it was the engine. I hope not.

A Bentley manual said the causes of white smoke could be:

failed cylinder head gasket
warped or cracked cylinder head
or cracked cylinder block (need to replace engine or short block)

He was 90% confident it was going to be the cam sensor at the beginning, but after the seeing the white smoke he was pretty sure I needed a new engine.

I sure hope he is wrong...