E39 CONSUMPTION? FINAL DIAGNOSTIC! UPDATE! HELPED!! SORTED!!!

[Truvalu]

Help!!!!

Had to park against steep incline this afternoon.

Whilst doing a parralell parking, I suddenly realise a lot of smoke, like something was sort of on fire!
A friend of mine was in his car next to me and he said it is my E39, smoking from the exhaust and the smoke smells lke feul!!!

This is now while standing still and getting ready to park in reverse at an incline.

I drove around a bit later and there was absolutely no sign of any smoke at all.

Could all this have to do wit my consumption of abot 20L/100km average in town?

Can't wait to hear from you guys!

 

[P1000]

Yes. Sounds like she is overfuelling. I'm guessing oxygen sensors.

 

[Beast_Power]

20L/100km is very high, not even my car is that thirsty !

 

[andrewbuch]

I had similar yesterday, was moving my dads E60 525i out the garage, got to end of driveway & went into the "drain" Between the driveway & road, then the car would not get any further, and then started smoking.. Turns out the rear wheels were spinning even though I was just gently pressing the accelerator


Sorry my post is not useful.. Had nothing useful to say

 

[Coisman]

:excited: mine smokes all the time,
till I put the DSC back on. :thumb:

 

[rick540]

I think I have a good working theory for you.

Most BMW's tend to collect a bit of engine oil in the intake manifold plenum, and this is perfectly normal, it's just the way the fancy regulated crankcase ventilation systems on these cars are designed. (As nice and clever as BMW engineers are, they seem to make very kak oil separators, the little cyclonic device that separates the air oil vapour from the crankcase before the blowby gasses are sent to the intake).

They are "supposed" to remove ALL the oil mist that happens inside a crankcase, and send it back there as liquid oil, but some of this mist gets past the device and settles in the intake manifold.

Normally this bit of oil (A few tablespoons) sits there and minds it's own business during normal daily driving.

BUT:

Every now and then when one is doing moves on a really steep incline or hill or going around a corner real fast, this little bit of oil will get sucked into the cylinders and burn making a lot of smoke, scaring the wits out of the driver.

Dude, don't worry about it if the smoke goes away afterwards, every single post 1992 production BMW I've owned has done this, it happens rarely and it's not a problem.

 

[Coisman]

:clap: Thank you Dr. Rick

---

There goes my DSC theory

 

[zaleonardz]

Yehp rick,

And its that dumb PCV that means my entire intake on the E34 is coming off, that and a vacuum leak + general inspection...

Its a crap job from what I have read... but its coming

 

[rick540]

Yehp rick,

And its that dumb PCV that means my entire intake on the E34 is coming off, that and a vacuum leak + general inspection...

Its a crap job from what I have read... but its coming

Leaonard, make sure to check the front and back (Throttle valve and PCV valve) gaskets whilst you are in there, they always leak and cause untold problem symptoms. Very easy to forget they are there, about R60 each so change em.

Also the M60 got an updated intake manifold gasket with steel in it, the old ones are two pieces total and no steel inside, if yours is like that chuck it, they obviously had problems with it. The updated one is supplied in four pieces (2 cyl each) and has steel reinforcing inside the rubber, they seal much better.

I don't mean to sound like a know it all, but I've worked on M60/62 engines for too long lol.

 

[zaleonardz]

well dude, very few ppl know the M60/2 like you do, so I trust ya on that one.

I am however planning the whole lot, intake, tb, pcv, sump gasket (fscking idiots and silicone), waterpump and gasket, pipes in the valley pan.. the whole frikken lot, but first a compression test, if i am going to strip all that down, I may as well check the HG as well.

Research shows that these V8's are notorious for leaks, so if ur going to do that work, you may as well do it properly i think.

Besides the nose needs to come off as well so that I can fix that broken headlight adjuster. put in HID's, I have a slight leak on the radiator, i need to realign that nose, I need to sort out that moaning bearing, so figured just pull off the nose, pulley assembly (to check), then there is more or less plenty space to get to everything easily, but will pick your pip when I get there.

Before this thread gets totally jacked though, Truvalu. tell us more about your driving style, what is town driving, how long do you sit in it, have you reset'd your consumption indicator lately, your M62 does it have Vanos or not... that consumption is harsh.

When last did you have your codes read ?

 

[Budleigh]

His car is a 528i. Which is what makes that consumption so disturbing.

 

[zaleonardz]

damm, i thought is was a 540....

That is horrid consumption then, i would seriously get that car onto a diagnostics machine as soon as possible man.

 

[Hellas]

(As nice and clever as BMW engineers are, they seem to make very kak oil separators, the little cyclonic device that separates the air oil vapour from the crankcase before the blowby gasses are sent to the intake).

On a Kia they call the cyclone separator the TURBONATOR!! lmfao

 

[Truvalu]

damm, i thought is was a 540....

That is horrid consumption then, i would seriously get that car onto a diagnostics machine as soon as possible man.

Had my 528i on a diagnostics for over an hour:

Picked up VANOS mechanichal error, LAMBDA SENSOR BANK1 and Airbag sensor on pass seat.

Reset all and AB sensor cleared, Vanos cleared, Lambda clear for about 40 seconds and then it's back! CODE 202

Tried that over and over and the error just comes back all the time.

Now I take that is what needs to be replaced first?

Anyone any idea of a thread here showing the diy and what cost?

Should I decat first?

Supa Quick will charge R300 but they claim that they have experienced problems with "engine management lights" etc with 528i BMW's

Please help!!!

 

[P1000]

How many lambdas does your car have? does it have lambdas before and after the cat? If so, you need to use a potential divider in place of the second lambda set to around 0.45V. That should make the ECU think that the cat is working.

 

[Truvalu]

How many lambdas does your car have? does it have lambdas before and after the cat? If so, you need to use a potential divider in place of the second lambda set to around 0.45V. That should make the ECU think that the cat is working.

Thanx for the feedback

Apparently it has.... where do I get the potential divider and cost? what about the Lambda (Bank1) that gives a code 202?

 

[P1000]

What is the exact fault description? Wikipedia for potential divider.

I suggest getting the fault sorted out first. If the first lambda is the problem, then it might cost a couple of thousand to fix. It should be a wideband sensor (5-wire) and that would explain your consumption. As soon as that is fixed, you can remove the cats. Narrowband sensors are generally more robust than wideband.


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DD52&mospid=47544&btnr=18_0242&hg=18&fg=10

part 9 is the one you should replace. I see it is a siemens part. the one in the cat looks like a temperature probe. Maybe hollow out the cats and leave all the probes in place (and replace part 9).

 

[E39 Ian]

Until you got the part or the bucks, disconnect it.

The computer will pick it its not connected and immediately substitute a value of 0.45 which is close to perfect

You will see the comsumption improve immediately :thumbsup:

 

[Truvalu]

What is the exact fault description? Wikipedia for potential divider.

I suggest getting the fault sorted out first. If the first lambda is the problem, then it might cost a couple of thousand to fix. It should be a wideband sensor (5-wire) and that would explain your consumption. As soon as that is fixed, you can remove the cats. Narrowband sensors are generally more robust than wideband.


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DD52&mospid=47544&btnr=18_0242&hg=18&fg=10

part 9 is the one you should replace. I see it is a siemens part. the one in the cat looks like a temperature probe. Maybe hollow out the cats and leave all the probes in place (and replace part 9).

If memory serves me right something like
"Error Lambda sensor Bank1"

The guy then looked underneath the car and said the sensors (two of them) have 3 wires?

Eish..... I wanted to go on the run tomorrow, but I am feeling sick because of this.

 

[rick540]

Three wires is good ole narrowband sensors.

Two sensors before and after cat is OBDII system. (Your car has either three or four sensors depending on whether it has one or two cats).

As far as the before cat sensors are concerned

Bank I is cylinders 1-3

Bank II is cylinders 4-6

Carefull here! An O2 sensor error does not specifically mean the sensor is stuffed, it means the sensor is giving an out of specification fuel/air reading either because it is stuffed or something else in the injection system is not working correctly.

O2 sensor errors can be caused by:

Intake air leaks

Stuck injectors

Engine temparature sensor faults

A blocked catalytic converter

Bad or leaking fuel pressure regulator

A faulty engine ECU

A blocked air filter

A blocked fuel filter

and finally a fsked sensor

____________________________________

O2 sensor test

Remove the offending sensor/s

Get a multimeter, set it on volts so it can read between 0 and 1 V

White wires are the heater, ignore these.

Black wire is O2 output, connect to +ve of multimeter

Grey wire is ground, connect to -ve of multimeter

Stick a pin in the wires if you have to to get a connection.

Under no circumstances short the sensor or apply a voltage to it, both will kill it. Do NOT try to measure it's resistance Only measure it's voltage

Get a blowtorch

Gently heat the sensor tip (The part that's usually inside the exhaust) with the blowtorch till cherry red and watch the voltage.

____________________________

Diagnose sensor

No voltage or very low voltages or a very slow response (voltage change) if you remove the flame indicate it's stuffed

- voltages mean it's contaminated with silicone or antifreeze

A maximum of 0.9V with the blowtorch on the sensor tip dropping quick if you remove the torch means the sensor is working 100%

A maximum voltage of 0.7 to 0.9 is the useable range, any maximum below this, replace sensor

When the engine is running the voltage it wants is 0.45 (stochiometric lambda is 14.7 air to 1 part fuel, the perfect mix to burn everything) and it swings up and down just around this point.

Less than 0.45 is mixture too lean

More than 0.45 is mixture too rich

_______________________

Narrow band sensors are available in 1,2,3 and 4 wire versions heated and non heated and floating ground or grounded, 12watt or 19 watt heaters.

As long as you get the same type, you can fit any damn sensor from any car as a substitute and it will work just fine. I'll risk being flamed and go as far as to say, you can chuck any damn narrow band sensor in there, even a 1 wire one and it will at least work.

You do not have to spend like 10K at the dealers to sort this O2 sensor issue out, it is possible to make a plan


Hope this helps