I'm new to this whole forum thing, but i have a 1983 320i BMW, ive had it for about 4 yrs. im the 3rd owner. Lately its been lagging in acceleration. its manual, i think i might need a new clutch, but im trying to baby that for as long as i can, for i dont have a lot of $ to spend. i was thinking it might be the air intake, but im not sure how to even test it too see if thats the problem. what can i do to get the Hp back? i know some things about cars, and ive been reading up on mine, but its still confuseing. Also, i have a manual sunroof, and i need to replace the leather material how do i get the sunroof off where i can re-apolster it?
thanks ~kat

If the car hasn't been "tuned up" in a while, that could account for your symptoms. A tune up would include replacing the air filter, the spark plugs, an oil change. A clogged air filter will slow you down and worn plugs would also show up in poor fuel economy.

I had compleated the oil change myself not too long ago, as well as a new altenator, spark plugs, and an air filter. i was thinking the timeing might be off, but i dont know how to check that myself. "should i bring it in for a diagnostics?"

so many topics and so little time.
so will comment only on lagging accel.
could be simple like a clogging fuel filter-when was it last changed? this is why obtaining a complete service history is nice, but hard to obtain for a used car; or lowering fuel pressure or vacuum leak or dirty throttle body. so many maybes which is why you need to supply more symptoms to go with the lagging acceleration.

bottom line in your case i would suggest calling around for an economical electronic engine diagnosis for spark and fuel pressure. likely will point to an area of concern. take it home and study report.
granitelli tuneup centers used to do these diagnosis for $30, 15 years ago. where ever you go don't let them pressure you for immediate repairs if you don't want them to do the work.
oh, and yours is an e30 you might try that forum for more knowledge about the e-30.

thanks!
how can you tell that my car is a e-30?
lets see, more symptoms,~fule filter was replaced,with the last oil change, about november i think it was, "i have it written down, but not with me" it helped a little, sometimes when i down shift "this happend this morning on the way to work, the batteray light came on, and then it just the oil light did too, and it stalled there, so i had to restart my car before the light changed, "this happend twice in a row. " usually when its cold out, which its stiff to shift as well. i will check in to the advice you gave me and see what else i can come up with.

e30 is the internal designation that was given to your car's chassis type by BMW. A lot of people use these different designations to show what style of car they are talking about (e30, e36, e46, e90, etc).

It sounds like your engine is not getting either air or fuel - both of which are vital to the car working properly.

The stiff transmission is probably due to a long needed fluid change; when was the last time the transmission fluid was changed?

Do you notice a delay in the engine reacting after you let out on the clutch? If so, this may be due to a worn clutch and may also be the reason for your car stalling.

Larry

Why have people concluded this car is an E30? If it's a 1983 320i, it's almost definitely an E21. The earliest E30 is the 318i. An E30 320i was never offered in the US if I recall correctly...

I bet it has something to do with the fuel system. It's hard to do any remote diagnosis on hesitation problems. I'd take it into a reputable BMW shop in your area.

injectors....... clean them and yes girly ou have an e21 not an e30

Why have people concluded this car is an E30?

I think only ONE person concluded it was an e30, jamin325i.

But she may also have a grey market car. (doubtful, but possible).

valves could need adjusting....

So its either a e-30 or an e-21 gonna have to look that up as well. would it help looking up the model #? i know it came out late 1982 even though its an 83 if that helps
so much help so little time to work on it. not to mention $
i dont recall the transmission fluid being changed at least sense ive had this car. i have the records, so i'll have to look it up. even though im the 3rd owner, my friend owned it before me, the the orgional owner took great care of it. "i feel like a bad car owner" Guess im gonna get dirty this weekend. One other problem i have been working on, is my RPM's rarely go above 2000 if im in a lower gear, i can get em up to 3000 but thats not a whole lot. as well as when i fill my tank up with gas, its smells of gas fumes for a few days. thanks!

Just check here

http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw.html

And check out the two models.

If it smells like gas in the cabin only when it's full, I'd check the tank pump gasket. Also, the technical boards are a great resource, as is the search tool. Just look for terms like "fuel smell" and "bogging" and you might get some valuable leads.

its most defenitely an E21...problem solved

im thinking its an e-30, but i will post a picture when i get home.
its so hard to tell..

here you go....149403

149404

It's an e-21
but i'll still post a picture.

check out the E21 subforum as well, there are a couple regulars from az so maybe they could provide local help.

yeah, let's see it!

you can see my E21 in my sig...

FYI the search tool is disabled.....

i dont know how to get this pictures on here, i have the codes, but its not letting me do so and im frustrated with it.. any ideas???

i suppose if you go to photobucket .com and you look up yankeegal1983 it should be there 3 pictures anyway

Ya, people with too few posts can't post pictures or links. Anyway, good luck finding the root of your problem!

i suppose the only way that anyone can see my pictures is if i email them to you, or somthing. if you want to see, just PM me. "sorry bout the inconvinence"

anyway, ive been keeping track of little symptoms from my car, the other day the battery light came on right after i put on the brake, i was still in first gear, just easing up, and the car died right in the middle of the intersection. it took me 3 tries to get it started, luckly it was a green light, so just the people behind me got mad, and i didnt get in an accident. but also i cant get the RPM's above 2000.... im going to check the timeing this weekend. but i dont know what else to do?

anyway, ive been keeping track of little symptoms from my car, the other day the battery light came on right after i put on the brake, i was still in first gear, just easing up, and the car died right in the middle of the intersection. it took me 3 tries to get it started, luckly it was a green light, so just the people behind me got mad, and i didnt get in an accident. but also i cant get the RPM's above 2000.... im going to check the timeing this weekend. but i dont know what else to do?


are your lights dimmer than usual?

does the car stutter at all?

does the car try to just stall out if your idling, and you have to rev it to keep it alive?

It tries to stall when idleing, sometimes if i notice the feel of it when it happens, i can take my foot off the brake, and push the gas a little and it usually stays going that way, and then there are times, it will just stall, and its odd, expecially when your foot is on the clutch. :( the lights dont seem dimmer, but i dont usually drive too much at night. Does anyone know how to find BTDC for the timeing, even though it seemed fine, i dont want to adjust anything until i know where and how to mark it."

It seems like you have a fuel problem (not getting enough fuel). Check your fuel pressure and fuel delivery volume to see if its within specs. Also, how many miles do u have on the car?

Nice to see more people from Arizona here :D

I would bet your throttle body needs cleaning as a starting point. With a dirty throttle body, your car will starve for air at idle. When you press the accellerator, the fuel pumping in suddenly may be too much for the engine to overcome, and it stalls out. This also causes poor, stumbling idle, and a lack of power.

Your higher RPM power problems are a different isue... Possibly a bad o2 sensor. This would cause the ECU to think the engine is running too lean, and add more fuel than it can handle. Too much fuel floods the cylinders out, and the power levels drop dramatically.

Check your dipstick... Smell it. Does it smell like gas? If so, you have the above problems.

i havent yet found my VIN # report if anyone can help with this matter my VIN is WBAAG3305D8380678 if someone can help me with this, my email is 8starkat@gmail.com. i would appreciate it.

please post picture of yourself too please.;)

I'm just kidding. I want to see what your car looks like.

Ya, people with too few posts can't post pictures or links. Anyway, good luck finding the root of your problem!


Off topic: How many posts does it take to get the ability to post pics? I was trying to help someone in my thread about replacing the starter on my '88 528e. Kept getting that dang "not allowed" message.

I believe you need 25 or 30 posts before you get to start posting pictures and URLs. L Turner, get crackin! :D

Posts in the Off-Topic section don't count towards your post count either.

I believe you need 25 or 30 posts before you get to start posting pictures and URLs. L Turner, get crackin!

Posts in the Off-Topic section don't count towards your post count either.


OK, thanks a bunch. I do have some on-topic posts coming up. Just for the record, though, I can't even quote someone who HAS used smilies in their post without getting that 'not permitted' message. So, I had to delete yours just to quote and reply.

yes indeed, I will post a picture of my car as soon as im allowed to. and since today is slow at work, im working on that.
"i just got my AC working again, i felt so dumb cause it was a burned out fuse. However whenever i run it, my shifter shakes like mad." has anyone incountered that?