To describe what happens; the starter whines and the engine cranks without turning over. It's a '93 318is manual w/ 135k miles. . Anyone that has had this problem, please help me out. It's been sitting for a week now while i've been troubleshooting. I need it working for school in jan.

I've already checked fuses, took the dme apart and checked for water damage, read the non-exhistant codes (1444), and checked each spark plug and spark. Fuel pump is working, haven't checked the pressure yet though since there's fuel on the spark plugs. Tested main dme relay and fuel pump relay, camshaft sensor and crankshaft sensor. any other ideas? Timing chain maybe? i didn't hear anything like metal on metal scraping?

I found an ecu for a 94 318is, would this work since i can't find someone in richmond/midlo to let me borrow theirs to test. :mad

did you do anything to the car prior to tyhis happening? Did you take it for an oil change or a tire change...?

How sure are you that the fuel pump is good? Are you sure the battery is good?

Use a voltmeter to see if the battery has power, you need alot of amps to get the to start. Also, Keep in mind that although your fuel pump may be good thejv fuel sending unit may be bad. Causing the fuel pump not to work. When was the last time the fuel filter was changed?

ALso , you say the starter whines? Starter s do not just whine, if it is whining then it may be dead.

Haven't done a thing to it, other than drive...been driving wonderful too I might add. Wait, I put a new uuc exhaust on it. Thanks for the input, i'll clarify myself.

Have yet to check pressure in the fuel system, but there's fuel pumping, checked return line. pressure reg. might be bad? I'd have to check the pressure. How would i be getting fuel in the c.chamber w/out a working pump? baffle on the reg. maybe, but all seems ok.

Batt. is perfect, also have new one that when i put in does same thing as now...so i have the old one in w/a charger on while i crank trying to troubleshoot. i'm almost positive it's not the battery, starter, or alternator. The engine cranks at normal speed but has not ignition. The whining sound isn't whining, it's a starters typical noise when you crank on it and the engine doesn't ignite.

timing is the last thing to check( ie chain and tensioner)?

were you at a car wash/ or bad rain/snow storm recently, like just before this happened? Check the forum archives about this, may have floodd the dme.

All fuses and relays are checked right?
good luck

He said he checked the DME so I think he would have seen water had there been any.

You need a meter to check that stuff, if you haven't already done so.
Check for intake leaks. Replace fuel filter if pressure low.

Coolant temp sensor?

You checked the big three. Even went further and checked the ECM and any associated sensors. It should turn over, sputter at least. It's not throwing any codes? Rare, BUT it could be the timing chain. You can crank the engine all day long with good spark, fuel and air but with a bad chain you're just burning amps.
Only way to know for sure is to pull the valve cover and take a look.

Since you just replaced the exhaust, could it possibly be a blocked exhaust? That's about the only other thing I could think of, but my money says it's the timing chain from your description.

Good Luck!

definately check fuel. filter. the works.


dme may be fried.

is this exhuast new?

I'm definately taking the valve cover off, need to replace seals and gaskets on everything anyways, leaking a bit from timing cover. Hopefully it's just the main chain and not both. Weird thing is that I wait a day then try to start up in the morning and it almost fires! lol, maybe i'm imagining it. :D

Yes, exhaust is brand new, so can't be that. Didn't get to work on it today, so I still need to check fuel pressure. Snowing here bad, so I took her off the trailer and put her on the lift in the garage :stickoutt

Kmwheel: I'm a little confused here. You stated "To describe what happens; the starter whines and the engine cranks without turning over." Usually they turn over but don't crank. If the starter is turning but the engine isn't turning over, then you have a starter drive (bendix) problem. Replace the starter. If the engine is turning over with the starter but not cranking (starting), then follow above replys and troubleshoot. Let me know what you mean.

bobstersr--sorry, i'm not getting much sleep. the engine turns over and doesn't crank. Have troubleshooted everything but the timing, which only leaves the chain since i've checked everything else.

How many people have had their timing primary or secondary chain snap?

ok everyone, this is bad...metal on the timing chain.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/IMG_0569.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/IMG_0568.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/a118da0e.jpg

has anyone ever had this happen or seen it? any advice before i take the whole timing cover off?

Yep, you're right!! This ain't good!!! I wonder how far through the engine this stuff has scattered? Is it aluminum or steel/iron?

I'm pretty sure that it's only in the timing cover region, there wasn't any compression in the cylinders indicating that it's something to do w/the timing chain. maybe sproket teeth?

Pictures say it all

What should I do? I can get parts and rebuild, but there's one guide bolt that started it and snapped it's base off so it wouldn't be able to be replaced. There were two bolts loose, one in upper and one in lower case(see pics). OR, should I buy a used m42 somewhere?

How much would this cost me and which is the cheapest? Does the valves and pistons occupy the same space? if so, those are probably gone too :(

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/IMG_0585.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/IMG_0583.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/IMG_0582.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/IMG_0581.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/kmwheel/IMG_0580.jpg

:( :(

its an s52 obdI time man. hope all w3orks out for u good luck

Oh man, that's all bad. The teeth from your crankshaft gear are all sheared off. Something in the top end either locked up or a gear tooth just went. Since your engine was cranking, your engine isn't siezed. The metal shavings could be be localized in your timing cover, which wouldn't be that bad. You can clean that out. With any luck the failure of the crankshaft gear was a catastrophic event that happened suddenly when you started the car. That would mean the metal shavings should only be inside the timing chain cover. Good news, because your engine would be repairable. However, if the gear lost a tooth or deteriorated while running and shavings found their way into your cylinders, crank, or pistons, its time to do a S52 swap. Another possibility is that something in the top end siezed, VANOS, camshaft, etc. Since it couldn't turn, something had to give and that was your camshaft sprocket. Whatever siezed will have to be replaced.

You must chase down the metal shavings. You will have to pull your oil pan and look for evidence of metal there. If there is any, your engine is likely shot. If not, I would thoroughly inspect your crankshaft and lower cylinder walls for scratches, metal particles, or shavings. Inspect your camshafts and the head. Any metal in that area can mean a top end rebuild. If your valve seals are good, no metal SHOULD have made it into the cylinder from the top. Inspect your VANOS unit, it'll need replacement if metal made it into the gears and shafts. If it were me, I would pull the head to inspect the upper cylinder walls and piston heads for damage. I would also send the head out for a chemical bath to make sure no metal, no matter how small, could tear up my valves. The timing chain will need replaced.

You may not be looking at a total engine replacement, but you are in for a lengthy period of downtime. Of course, you could do all of this work and 5K miles down the road the engine give out because you missed some little piece of metal that got into something important. I've seen it happen before. An engine swap is the safest route in this case, but it is certainly the most expensive.

Good Luck I hope you get it resolved without an engine swap!