Hey guys,
I was hoping you could help me. I’ve got an 87 325e that idles oddly.
It wanders up and down at idle between 1000rpm and 1700 rpm. It takes
it about 2-4 seconds to go up and back down. It will do this until
it warms up, and even occasionally when it is warmed up. I’ve had it
cut out on my at stop lights, too. Ugh. It was in a _slight_ fender
bender a month ago, and has been doing this ever since. What could it
be?
WYK
–
WYK
Wes Keller
*WARNING*
Unsolicited email is not appreciated.
Please do not waste time and bandwidth.
It’s probably your idle control valve: a cylindrical device with two hoses
attached, on the right side of your motor just behind the cold start injector.
First, check the hoses for deterioration — you might have a vacuum leak.
Next, remove the cable connector, loosen the hose clamps and take the valve
off. If it’s full of schmoo, clean it out with some carburator cleaner spray
and it should work for awhile longer, but you’ll need a new before too long.
Mike Miller
Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 3:25 am
Q: My 320i is a 5-speed. The clutch feels okay and a quick
inspection hasn’t revealed any
obvious problems, but I have noticed something that concerns
me. When I put the car in neutral
while running and then release the clutch pedal, the engine
loads up just a tiny bit. I’m curious if
this might be a warning to start saving $$$ for some clutch
work.
Not to worry, unless it’s really loud. You’re just hearing the innards of the
gearbox twirling around. It’s just the normal noises in there. It would be a
good ideal to change the oil in the gearbox and differential, though —
something your American car pals never do. I’d recommend Redline Synthetic MTL
in the gearbox and 75W-90 in the diff. When you get your first issue of
Roundel, you’ll see a dozen places selling it — just call the one with the
lowest price and be sure to tell ‘em where you saw their ad.
Q: Any recommendations for brake pads and rotors? The brakes
in this machine are SHOT
and I’ve seen quite a few brake/rotor related chatter on the
newsgroups.
Again, when you get your first issue of Roundel, you’ll see lots of ads from
vendors with good prices on rotors. If you need stuff right away let me know
and I’ll send you a couple of phone numbers. For rotors, I usually stick to
the German stuff, ATE or Textar. But Brembo is very good too. For pads, I
prefer Ferodos, but most people would rather have Repco/Axxis Metal Masters.
The Ferodos are more expensive, but provide better performance. The Metal
Masters are less expensive and have less brake dust. With either, you’ll get
about two sets of pads for one set of rotors. But 320i rotors are cheap.
Mike Miller
Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 3:25 am