BMW 320cd Sport issues - help needed

Geoff1978

I have a 2004 BMW 320cd sport (diesel) and have noticed an issue. I sent it to Joe Duffy Motors and they didnt fix the issue. Two days on the BMW diags machine found nothing, they changed the Air Flow meter (600euro) but issue still remains. The sympthoms are similar to as if the car is running out of fuel but its not. At certain points in the rev bands and when kept at constant pace the car will begin to do slight stuttering. Any ideas what might be causing this issue?

Ferris

Geoff1978 wrote: »

I have a 2004 BMW 320cd sport (diesel) and have noticed an issue. I sent it to Joe Duffy Motors and they didnt fix the issue. Two days on the BMW diags machine found nothing, they changed the Air Flow meter (600euro) but issue still remains. The sympthoms are similar to as if the car is running out of fuel but its not. At certain points in the rev bands and when kept at constant pace the car will begin to do slight stuttering. Any ideas what might be causing this issue?

Just looked up http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=36&
and read the following. Honest John has to be taken with a pinch of salt though, as it lists all failures, not just common ones.

320d M47 150bhp models gained a reputation for repeated turbo failure, possibly due to extended oil service intervals. After replacing turbo, ECU needs to be reprogrammed. Also instances of injector failure. BMW says that only EU3 320d engines built before October 2003 are affected by the turbo problem. EU4s not affected. NOTE that losing power on hills and burning oil (blue smoke) may not be a symptom of turbo bearing or turbo bearing oil seal failure. One reader was charged £575 to rectify this by replacement of air mass meter (£252), fuel filter (£76), oil separator (£64) and replacement of intake pipe (£47), remainder VAT and investigation.

Is the car using oil?

Also might be an idea to get the EGR valve cleaned out or removed alogether as these can clog up with carbon.

Geoff1978

The car is not burning oil. No issues on that front. I have not cleaned the EGR valve though so will try that. Do you know if its a big job to do this?

mkdon05

possiby a slight crack in one of the air intake hoses which can cause a splutter???

Geoff1978

It only happens when the car is at lowish speeds. On motorways the car is fine and there is no sign of any issues with it. So if the hose was cracked i should see it at all speed ranges shouldnt I? .I see the issue when driving in traffic a lot eg. if the car is in 3rd and bout 2k revs and doing 35mph at a constant pace for a while it will begin to stutter faintly. It feels like the accelerator pedal falls away from my foot sometimes... (if that makes sence)... appreciate the feedback gang...

Ferris

Geoff1978 wrote: »

The car is not burning oil. No issues on that front. I have not cleaned the EGR valve though so will try that. Do you know if its a big job to do this?

Thats good that its not using oil.

Cleaning the EGR valve is recommended by a lot of people. Its not a normal service task so it won't have been done on your car. Its also been blamed for a lot of the turbo and inlet manifold failures suffered by e46 320d's (and other cars) as lumps of carbon can detach and be sucked into the engine. I don't think its a difficult job though.

CharlieCroker

had a 320d saloon and that happened to mine. It was a split in the hose behind the airflow meter so check that

Geoff1978

thanks a million for the help... ill get those items checked. Ill let you know how i get on. Any more ideas let me know... cheers.

Imperator

you should also post your question up on bimmerfest, the guys there will be able to help you long before joe duffy ever will.

Mr.Diagnostic

The answer to this will most likely be in live data. By this I mean the processed data from the ECU. The problem is that the data will probably need to be viewed while the fault is actually occuring. Injectors are a possibility, as is Turbo, fuel supply, intake manifold, etc.
If they had a reason to fit a MAF then it is likely that there is either an air flow or percieved airflow issue. Aside from the injectors any of the above can cause symptoms similar to a MAF.

Do you know if they updated the software in the engine management ECU?
Would this car have approx 80k miles on it by any chance?

Problems like these are better left to a specialist. Someone who has the right equipment and a good knowledge of the system.

As a matter of interest, how did they justify the new MAF since it didnt improve matters.

Ferris

Mr.Diagnostic wrote: »

The answer to this will most likely be in live data. By this I mean the processed data from the ECU. The problem is that the data will probably need to be viewed while the fault is actually occuring. Injectors are a possibility, as is Turbo, fuel supply, intake manifold, etc.
If they had a reason to fit a MAF then it is likely that there is either an air flow or percieved airflow issue. Aside from the injectors any of the above can cause symptoms similar to a MAF.

Do you know if they updated the software in the engine management ECU?
Would this car have approx 80k miles on it by any chance?

Problems like these are better left to a specialist. Someone who has the right equipment and a good knowledge of the system.

As a matter of interest, how did they justify the new MAF since it didnt improve matters.

Good advice here, also you should ask for your old MAF back. It'd fetch a good price on ebay.

Geoff1978

Duffys put the car on their diagnostics software for 2 days and found nothing, one of the mechanics then took the car home with them and they felt the symptoms were that of an air flow meter going to fail. So they changed the air flow meter (well i paid for it so i presume they did!) but soon after leaving the garage i felt the stuttering on my way down the M50. So it didnt fix it. I didnt get the part they took from the car (my mistake). I dont know if teh ECU software has been updated and the car has 50K on the clock. I was hoping that Duffys were the specialists i needed to fix the issue as they are the main dealers but you gang seem to have more ideas than them about fixing my problem.

DublinDilbert

Geoff1978 wrote: »

Duffys put the car on their diagnostics software for 2 days and found nothing, one of the mechanics then took the car home with them and they felt the symptoms were that of an air flow meter going to fail. So they changed the air flow meter (well i paid for it so i presume they did!) but soon after leaving the garage i felt the stuttering on my way down the M50. So it didnt fix it. I didnt get the part they took from the car (my mistake). I dont know if teh ECU software has been updated and the car has 50K on the clock. I was hoping that Duffys were the specialists i needed to fix the issue as they are the main dealers but you gang seem to have more ideas than them about fixing my problem.

To be honest that's a disgrace.... I seriously doubt the car was hooked up to a diagnostic machine for 2 days, although i'm sure that's what they told you when you called to pay the bill. Also the diagnostic machine is only as good as the person using it, the diagnostic machine will not find a leak in your intake letting un-metered air get in.

"Feeling" like a MAF is about to fail, based on just driving it, is no reason to replace it. Mr.D above has given a list of potential other causes which would have similar effects.

Imperator

Hey Op.
There are a couple of things that could be wrong with your car, It could be the CPS sensor going bad, although they tend to just go and not go bad. equally so it could be the rubber boot that goes between the throuttle body and the idel control valve. Also changing all your vacuum hoses. A vac leak will deffintily cause the problems your describing and will always be misdiagnosed by joe Duffy's. The fact that they charged you for an MAF sensor that did not fix the problem is a disgrace and i think you would be well within your rights to ask for your money back. I hope you get it sorted. I know exactly what its like to have that problem and not know what the hell is wrong with it. SES will show up if its kicked in the arse for things like this. Usually when you unplug and replug a censor or something will it show up a code.

SDunne4

Hey OP,

Here is a link to a site i used to get information on how to clean my EGR.
Note you may need to sign up to view the page.

http://www.bmwland.co.uk/talker/viewtopic.php?t=51711

byrne 1

i was just wondering did you get the car fixed and what was wrong with it .did duffy fix it in the end

fullfatphil

Hey there,

My 320d 04 55k on the clock has just started this shuddering lark. To be honnest i'm getting married in 3 weeks and i'm totally smashed so dont want to end up in Joe Duffy's getting screwed! Did you ever get to the bottom of problem with your car?
It came on suddenly coming down the M50, just lost power. When i listen to the engine idling under the bonnet it sounds like its running on 3 cylinders so i dont think its a turbo issue as it wouldn't be kicking in at such low rev's. I must check the hoses mentioned in a previous thread.

If anyone has any advice i would greatly appriciate it!

Phil

Geoff1978

hi got the EGR cleaned and still issue is there. - living with it now is my best bet i think.. apologies for not getting back on this before. If i ever do find the fix ill let you all know as i see more folks have the issue.

beachlife

Sounds like a leak in the intake to me if the car is going all right at higher speeds and is only hesitant at low revs when given a bit of throttle then i would go for a smoke test to verify the intake system is air tight.

listermint

Could be intake mine had the same problem after service. Hoses were not inserted fully and correctly.

Also had problem come back some time later.

Ended up being camshaft sensor clogged with oil. Cleaned that and Presto happy laughin driving. :cool::D


Additional information

Here are some of the things to notice to see if your intake camshaft sensor or possibly your intake camshaft sensor is going out.

1) your car doesn't feel like it has much power.
*now depending on the car and the severity of the sensor, some cars
would not have that much of a noticable decrease in power while
others do.

2) your car has stalled on acceleration or deceleration. how hard you accelerate or decelerate does not matter, usually under 40mph this would happen.

3) your car does not want to start the first time, or, the car hesitates for a bit and then starts. when i say hesitate, i don't mean to say that the battery is weak and thus your starter motor doesn't have the "kick" to turn your car over. I mean that you have full "kick" of the starter motor but the car won't turn on.

Geoff1978

How and where would someone get a smoke test done on a car?

beachlife wrote: »

Sounds like a leak in the intake to me if the car is going all right at higher speeds and is only hesitant at low revs when given a bit of throttle then i would go for a smoke test to verify the intake system is air tight.

pred racer

I hope you went back and asked for your money back???

Healyc

Geoff1978 wrote: »

How and where would someone get a smoke test done on a car?

Geoff, i'd recommend putting up your query on www.bmw-driver.net/forum as it's an Irish forum who give great advise!

Bearcat

I had a similar prob with a 04 530d.....i changed the inlet breather filter, cleaned the egr valve and inlet manifold to no avail, next on my list was to be the air mass meter....i just got feed up with it and moved it on.....and likewise the swirl flaps on the the 03-04 models like to snap off and head south into the cylinders......PMW in the uk do blanking kits.....i would'nt touch JD with a barge pole re this snag but look up the irish bm forums and theres loads of info there.