BMW M3 evo e36 problem
Discussion
Hi, hope this isnt in the wrong place. Wanted some advice from the engine gurus as I'm fairly clueless.
Long story short. Friend has one of said cars. Has put into a "specialist" for repair as it seemed down on power.
Specialist has said that 2 of the cylinders are blocked?? and he needs to take the head off. The BM forum guys reckoned a VANOS problem. The specialist is adamant its notn this but some kind of blockage in the cylinders. The guy said due to very low oil level lots of crap has got in.
Does this sound like Bull***t to you guys?
>>> Edited by craigw on Thursday 6th November 14:02
Long story short. Friend has one of said cars. Has put into a "specialist" for repair as it seemed down on power.
Specialist has said that 2 of the cylinders are blocked?? and he needs to take the head off. The BM forum guys reckoned a VANOS problem. The specialist is adamant its notn this but some kind of blockage in the cylinders. The guy said due to very low oil level lots of crap has got in.
Does this sound like Bull***t to you guys?
>>> Edited by craigw on Thursday 6th November 14:02
It dosen't even make enough sense to accuse it of being BS!
A cylinder cannot be "blocked" per se. If it was, the pistons would be unable to move and the engine would not turn over. Technicaly the ports in the cylinder head could somehow be blocked, but unless something very large has been sucked in whilst running without an air filter that is pretty much impossible.
VANOS problems aren't unknown in the E36 M3, but it's just not possible to make a diagnosis on the information available.
A cylinder cannot be "blocked" per se. If it was, the pistons would be unable to move and the engine would not turn over. Technicaly the ports in the cylinder head could somehow be blocked, but unless something very large has been sucked in whilst running without an air filter that is pretty much impossible.
VANOS problems aren't unknown in the E36 M3, but it's just not possible to make a diagnosis on the information available.
is the problem a lumpy idle coupled to low engine speed loss of power but high engine speed feels fine?
sort of like driving a car with a race cam crappy low end but great at the top.
if yes then its a vanos unit.
after three failures of them in 18 months on an e36(under waranty)i sold the car.
as for cylinders blocked thats garage speak for we dont know what it is so we will bs and charge you for our learning time
sort of like driving a car with a race cam crappy low end but great at the top.
if yes then its a vanos unit.
after three failures of them in 18 months on an e36(under waranty)i sold the car.
as for cylinders blocked thats garage speak for we dont know what it is so we will bs and charge you for our learning time
Before he goes spending serious money what about trying to fix the problem with an oil change? Not as stupid as it sounds. You can get an additive to use that dissolves varnish and other deposits etc, use that and it may provide sufficient flow to get the system working again. And then repeat to improve the effect.
When he refills I'd use a cheap DIESEL oil, these have more detergents than normal oil and won't harm the engine.
It could save some serious money, and even if he does end up having the engine "fixed" will at lease ensure it is clean to avoid other potential oil starvation problems - bearings etc.
When he refills I'd use a cheap DIESEL oil, these have more detergents than normal oil and won't harm the engine.
It could save some serious money, and even if he does end up having the engine "fixed" will at lease ensure it is clean to avoid other potential oil starvation problems - bearings etc.
The trouble with putting cleaning additives and the like into a dirty engine is that they can dislodge wodges of crud from within the oilways which then ball up and completely block oilways further on, so you can end up with eg. a nice clean engine with one totally knackered cam bearing.
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