Terrible emission Trouble Please Help !!!

[Conrod C]

I have a 1995 318is and i cannot get to the bottom of its emission trouble ! It is hard to start from cold, sluggish performance , idles @ 1100rpm and the only fault code i can get is the lambda regulator but yet the check light is not on. There is some white/grey smoke when cold which smells petrolly and steamy but tends to clear away as the engine warms up. The car went in for the test and the emission results came back as follows:

Low idle: CO 8.56 vol% Limit: above 0.50%
(880rpm) HC 504 ppm Limit: above 0 ppm

High idle: Lambda 0.72 Limit: not between 0.97 & 1.03
(2750 rpm) CO 10.89 vol% Limit: above 0.30%
HC 423 ppm Limit: above 200ppm

So as you can see it failed on everything it could ...i have a spare lambda sensor but it doesn't seem to be making any difference. Also there is no oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil....I don't have the car too long so i'm not too familiar with their characteristics. Any help would be greatly appreciated ! !

[Jack Dabsy]

First impression - coolant is getting into a cylinder...
Initially from a cold start the tail-pipe fumes will be rich but shouldn't be steamy !

[Conrod C]

Thanks for the reply dabsy, just to add the guy at the test centre was saying it was probably something electrical like a coolant temp sensor or lambda because of the stupidly high results i got that they couldn't be the actual emissions of the car. I pulled the plugs out and none of them seem to be wet. What would be the easiest way of checking the head or head gasket to see is it leaking ?

[Jack Dabsy]

A compression test is the best option my friend... This will tell you which cylinder has issues.
I recommend an interim fix... I had an overheat problem in Spring and suspected my head gasket had failed. But as funds were tight I bought a bottle of K-Seal and since then the temp has NEVER gone beyond half-way !!! This might work for you but if the gasket/head is terminal then it won't, still worth a shot matey...

[Conrod C]

Thanks Dabsy, i may try something like that alright. I'll let ya know how i get on !