Work in progress
lately my car has been nothing but a pita. had to remove the oil pan a few times diagnosing opn, gear, oil pres switch... running carquest op switch now, jsut installed new drive shaft, csb, agk diff bushings as well freshened the diff up, rebuilt everything i could externally on transmission, new chromemoly 16.5 flywheel, clutchnet red PP, and 6 puck clutch, new front subframe, basically the whole car is rebuilt from drive train to suspensions components, and now this crap happens. a few threads below so that you dont need to ask me questions.
2 weeks ago i was rear ended at liek 10 mph, scratched my bumper a bit but nothing to bad, at least i dont think so but i h ave not had time to check the underneath of the car. this incident is my only other thought of what can be causing this stuff to my car, is it possible my motor mounts tore or maybe trany mounts from being rear ended?
though it was opn gear but once removed oil pan everything was intact, turned out the teeth were stripped
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1562325
finally figured out it was the gear after 3rd oil pan removal
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1563325
csb drive shaft
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1437339
broken subframe motor mount
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1434838
make along story short driving on the highway. get off exit, get to light , stop notice the oil light flickering like it used to in my sisters car, give it gas it goes away. next light same thing but now stays on, go get a oil put a full quart in, same shit. no weird noises. figure its my op switch. go mile down road, park car, stay at buddies for hour. we are getting ready to leave start the car all of a sudden its making noises like its knocking........ i am almost crap my self, give it gas it goes away. so at this point i figure the motor is toast, decide to drive the car home, while driving i noticed the car is not smooth upon accel and vibrates, get home and park it in garage.
Next day, start the car everything is fine. oil light is off, no noises other than what sounds like either a pulley bearing, or my alt is starting to fail, possibly pwr steering pump not sure yet, but as of today upon start up something is def making noise for the 1st second upon start. i did notice my resavoir for the clutch was tilted way up and the lights were triggered for it, ended up being popped up a bit and popped it back in.
today decided i was going to drive to work, car starts normal, sounds fine minus the weird noise upon start, no ticking no nothing. start to drive car is still vibrating under accel, feels fine power wise though but is making funky noises. not knocking or ticking something ive never heard before. so i brought it back home
have not done a comp test yet will do so today, have not checked if my motor mounts or trans mounts are torn either.
my question is does this sound like a failing motor or an issue with torn motor/trany mounts?
ßMW///MµrÐêr§þðr†
You have described the issues with some scattered, ill-chosen words.
Sometimes knocking, then no knocking.
Oil pressure?
Any FI installed?
Any codes thrown?
Polish Pride
First check that your oil pressure sensor is working properly, good connections and all. It could be that the vibrations/engine shaking causes the connection to break and the oil light flicker...
If that's not it then the relief valve on oil pump is stuck, pump is failing or you have something significant leaking oil. Pull the pan, check rod bearings, put a new pump on it...
Oil is thicker when cold hence why your oil light might be off now, my first dual pickup sump had oil flickering issues when the throttle was blipped. I swapped the pump and everything was ok but the cams got beat up a bit...
Last edited by bmwperson; 01-04-2011 at 11:14 AM.
Work in progress
the night this happened i could of swore it was knocking that was my first thought. but when i got the car home it as fine. oil light would come on as soon as it was at idle but zero noise. i drove the car almost 25 miles from when i heard the knocking. since then i have no engine internal related noises .
No FI installed at the moment. was going to begin but now i am not sure if the engine needs a rebuild. waiting for my buddy to drop off my compression guage while i am at work. car has never been over heated, or money shifted in the 8 years ive had it.40k-95K now.
i will install my oem op switch, and check oil pressure with my gauge i jsut bought , what is it to read at idle and whit climbing rpms?
the vibrations are from the motor only while accelerating. at idle it is smooth, as soon as i rev the motor i can feel it vibrate. no hesitation, just vibration.
as or CEL its always on due to evap tank, heater circuit, and post cat o2. i haven checked since.
Polish Pride
heater circuit on what? post cat or pre cat?
What's the compression test going to do for you?
The compression could be perfect and you could be missing oil pressure to half the gallery. You could have washed the rings out with fuel and the compression would be shit and the engine still be perfect...
You could do it to feel better but I wouldn't use it as your only data point. The oil pressure gauge is your best bet, idle when cold should be around 20psi, driving goes up almost to 60psi... on a warm engine i think it's around 10psi at idle... Oil light switch is set to 7psi
Member
the oil light should NEVER come on. any rationalization you are doing is only exacerbating the problem. quit driving the car until you establish that you have good oil pressure. a compression test is a waste of time. you need to know if you have good oil pressure. listening for noises or trying to track down vibrations are a waste of time, you need to know if you have good oil pressure. once you know what your oil pressure is, then you'll know how to proceed. with the amount of driving that it sounds like you have done, if you find you don't have acceptable OP, you're looking at a bottom end rebuild (at least)
NASA GTS5 #945
NASA GTS5 Midwest Regional Champion ('09,'11,'12 & '14)
Work in progress
will skip comp test and do oil pressure test. the car does not knock or tick at all since it did it the first night. only reason i decided to drive it is because everytime i started the car since that day i could not get the oil light to come back on, nor did the motor make any noises, car has been sitting in my garage for two weeks ( 60*) got a mile maybe 2 down the road ( got gas let car run) got to the light and bam theres the light.
my sisters old 328 had a bad op switch and it would flicker the same way mine did, and go away with a touch of gas, she drove the car that way for 30-40k miles.
Last edited by 96bmwcosmosm3; 01-04-2011 at 01:43 PM.
Member
1. Check oil filter...make sure it's not collapsed.
2. Check harmonic balancer.
3. Remove serpentine belt, start car, see if noise(s)are still there.
Report back for stage 2
Don
Work in progress
well the noises ive been hearing are clutch related. depressed it makes noise, released everything sounds fine. i quit working on the car after i realized i didnt have the proper adapter to attach the oil pressure guage.... figures all 3 would be incorrect. can someone tell me what thread size i need?
Senior Moment Member
BMW E36 M3 Expert
When you dropped the oil pan, did you install a new pump?
Did you check the pickup tube for cracks?
What else did you replace when you did the clutch and flywheel? TO bearing?, Pivot pin? release fork? I've seen wear on the contact point of the pin and fork cause problems after installing a new clutch.
The sender is M12x1.5, banjo bolt for the Vanos is m14x1.5 Probably a better idea to get an oil distribution block and put in a real gauge...
No matter where you go, there you are...
Work in progress
yes new pump was installed, drilled the nut and shaft of pump as well as loctite added to nut, pick up looked perfect zero cracks, removed pick up tube and thoroughly inspected it.
the noise seems to be coming from the engine bay not transmission. almost sound like power steering pump would low on fluid. my brake reservoir is at the low mark need to add some brake fluid and see if it changes anything.
thanks for the info on the fitting. i have a spa dist block somewhere in my box of turbo stuff will report back later tonight with oil pressure. what i dont understand is why the motor sounds fine now, and that night when i started the car on a semi warm motor the motor sounded like it was knocking.
not looking forward to dropping the oil pan for a 4th? 5th ? time..
new TO bearing, new clutch flywheel, PP, pivot pin, fork, only thing that i did not do was the slave.
Work in progress
alright now i am even more confused........ but have a new theory . so i installed my oil dist block and the pressure gauge. started car shot up to 60 psi on gauge, then slowly started to drop to 40 psi, as the car idled, after a few minutes sat at 25 psi, reved the car by the throttle body a little, jumped as high as 65 psi instantly, maybe 4k rpms, put my hand on the motor as reved it , still feel a vibration. my only other thought at the moment is that my f1 16.5 lb flywheel has become out of balance? thoughts, any other ideas?
Member
Pressure sounds fine. 25psi at cold idle makes sense.
Have you checked the harmonic balancer?
Did you do any of the steps Don suggested?
Jimmy
Technique Tuning Stage 2 on 9:1 built motor(SOLD)
Boost Addiction Support Group Member
Official "My Wife is Awesome" Club Member
Just an idiot with a wrench...
Still Workin' Still Broke
Last time the oil light flickered on my dash for a week, then the engine ceased to run. One shop took the equivalent of a stethoscope to the engine and said it was the rod bearings. Rod bearings were oil starved. Check to see if your tech has one of these instruments to detect where the noise is emanating from.
Work in progress
only tech is me lol. i replaced the crank pulley with a uri one 60K miles ago, and seem to look ok to the eye. i did not check oil filter housing.
the car no longer makes any noises, one of the accessory pulley bearings is shot though as i can hear it failing. think its the one closest to the alt. regardless i have all new pulleys that were to be installed.
Work in progress
checked oil filter housing everything looks normal
Member
Remind me not to buy this car in the future
1997 M3 (SOLD) :o 2000 528i Sport (SOLD)
Work in progress
your a tool, and my car is meticulously maintained. i would like to hear what leads you to your opinion. who said anything about selling this car either?
Last edited by 96bmwcosmosm3; 01-13-2011 at 02:33 PM.
Member
Just scary. Driving it with the oil pressure light on for a significant amount of time, etc. Could be anything. Running the crank pulley known to cause problems.. possibly janky flywheel..
http://www.dtmpower.net/forum/e36-3-...g-up-10hp.htmlThe uri pulley set replaces the crank pulley and removes the harmonic balancer in that upgrade. So the dampening (from the harmonic dampener) doesnt prevent dangerous vibrations on the crank. the dual mass flywheel is another way dangerous virations gets dampened so if you remove both its bad.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=306804I notice many people in the E36 BMW community debate over a lightened flywheel vs. an underdrive crank pulley. And it seams - as a rule, you cannot do both. The reasoning is because with the crank is lightened up from the lightweight flywheel it requires the harmonic balancer in the stock crank pulley to absorb damaging vibrations. I understand this reasoning, and agree.
Does the engine shake with the clutch out, or is it in the drivetrain? Can you feel it in the steering wheel, or your butt? Does the shifter vibrate? I remember reading about the URI crank pulley a long time ago and I recall that a lightweight flyhweel AND no harmonic balancer are basically taking away both of the ways our engine keeps itself balanced. So if you are getting vibrations from the engine and not the drivetrain... ANY you have run low on oil, I really fear for your bearings. I would decide which one you want to uninstall first.
Can anyone else provide any input on this? That's all I've got.. FWIW I didn't say crap about the maintenance on the car, I am suggesting you have made decisions that affect the longevity of the motor/etc that it would suck to purchase and not know about someday if someone ever bought the car. That's all I was saying..
Last edited by EricP; 01-17-2011 at 02:18 PM.
1997 M3 (SOLD) :o 2000 528i Sport (SOLD)
Work in progress
oil pressure light came on only at idle, as soon as throttle was given it went away. figured it was a faulty non oem op switch, like in my sisters 328.. checked oil pressure and its within spec. motor vibrates regardless if in gear or neutral. motor no longer makes the noise it made the night all this happened. so whats the consensus? crank bearings failing? after market flywheel out of whack? i will look for my stock crank pulley and belts. i have maybe 400 miles with the crank pulley and 16.5 lb fly, would it really all of a sudden cause the crank to become out of whack that quickly?
Last edited by 96bmwcosmosm3; 01-17-2011 at 02:24 PM.
Member
u didn't mention new pilot bearing when talking about clutch noise.
radiator fan isn't broken is it?
Work in progress
new pilot bearing, fan is fine
Work in progress
update.... installed stock crank pulley, all new belts, installed oil dist block where pressure switch goes,oem oil pressure sensor, and mechanical oil gauge, start car, reads 45 psi, as it warms drops to 20-25 psi and eventually sits at 15 psi. take the car for a drive, seems fine, get a mile down road, starts to tick...... awesome, then oil light starts flickering.... pull car ove pop hod check oil guage shows 0 pressure, give it a little gas jumps up to 15 psi, more throttle more pressure, as well as light turns off. so i shut the car down and tow it home.
so now i fear that the vibration in the motor is due to lack of oil pressure on idle, when ever i gave it throttle it rises back to normal and then back to 0 at idle though. the oil pump is new,so not sure why it would be doing this. before re installing it i checked out feed tube it looked perfect with no cracks as well. the car ran flawlessly for the most part for about 600 miles and randomly had this non sense happen.
i am going to pull the oil pan back out, and check everything out but fear i now have damage to my internals. what should i look for, etc etc?
is my crank going to be shot? should i try a comp test?
Senior Moment Member
BMW E36 M3 Expert
Pull the pan, I bet you find the pickup is cracked. Install new pump and pick up...
No matter where you go, there you are...
Work in progress
thats what i will do. the messed up part is that i had the pick up out 500 miles ago while doing the oil pump, checked it out thoroughly saw nothing wrong. oil pump internals looked mint as well. any way enough of my pointless venting lol. will pull the oil pan and check everything out and report back.
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