Anyone have a bimmer blow up on them?

[Bim Shap]

Hey guys, pretty new to the forum. this might be a tad lengthy but I would appreciate the input! :help:help:help:help I have an E36 that I just took over from my dad, planning on a full restoration and modding it cleanly. Problem is two of the cylinders are misfiring. I'm presuming the coils just went out, the 323is is no 4 banger. I already had to replace one of the coils recently which did the trick, but (i'm "hoping") two more went out. I know that when you're not running on all cylinders gas still gets pumped in without burning, which is rough on the cat. I've heard cases of cars catching fire, but not E36's. New coils are coming in by friday, and I have no choice but to drive it! I'm babying the hell out of it, but I wanted some input to see if I can have some peace of mind for this week of hell on my poor car. :(

[BMWdriverwanted]

Might have to kiss your cat goodbye, not good for the internal seals and change your oil for sure but your not gonna go doe the road in a ball of flames.

[sluggo]

mine blew up my credit card balance. does that count?

[Bim Shap]

Might have to kiss your cat goodbye, not good for the internal seals and change your oil for sure but your not gonna go doe the road in a ball of flames.

thanks man, i'm thinking if the cat goes i'll just save up for a whole new exhaust system. car is due for a service so i'll get that done as well, trying to do everything myself but in a situation like this i don't want anything to go wrong

[DJCarbine]

I would find a way to unplug the injectors from the dead cylinders, which is hard considering the connectors are on the same plastic harness

[Bim Shap]

mine blew up my credit card balance. does that count?

:lol:lol:lol:lol

i've had it for 3 weeks, and i'm already broke hahaha


I would find a way to unplug the injectors from the dead cylinders, which is hard considering the connectors are on the same plastic harness

i see what you're talking about.. maybe there's a way to unplug each one from the harness then get that bad boy back in, that's gonna be my plan for now to at least save the cat a bit of strain

[BMWdriverwanted]

Yea, cats are like $300+ installed, so you better plan good. :embarrasm

[SmokyJay]

delete the freakin cats and put a borla at the end..

[strad]

You should not be driving the car with cylinders that are not firing. Unburned fuel will dilute the oil, and if you get enough of it you'll be doing harm to cylinder walls and bearings and bearing surfaces.

No amount of philosophizing is going to make it a good idea.

[Campagnaj]

Rent the CHEAPEST car you can. It will cost you less than a new cat. E36s like to be taken care of. If you cant rent a car cause you're too young, then borrow you father's car or something.

I do not recommend driving it.

[bav 325i]

ran my car with a bad maf and clogged cats im lucky the car still runs. dont do it. the oil was full of gas

[Bim Shap]

ah, guess it's time for an oil change after this. really appreciate the input guys, I do always take care of my cars, me and my family are just in a real sticky situation. i just wish i didn't have to order the parts online. cat will probably be deleted in the next year anyway when i do an exhaust system! :redspot

respray and fixing up the dents are next in order once she's back in full running order :buttrock

[DJCarbine]

:lol:lol:lol:lol

i've had it for 3 weeks, and i'm already broke hahaha



i see what you're talking about.. maybe there's a way to unplug each one from the harness then get that bad boy back in, that's gonna be my plan for now to at least save the cat a bit of strain

You could simply pull the injector harness and rotate the injectors 180* if there is room, so the injectors won't plug into the harness.

This seems like a bad idea though, you should get all cylinders firing before you drive the car more

[BMWdriverwanted]

How are you going to delete a cat in Cali? They will bury you up to your head next to an ant hill and pour honey on you.

[Bim Shap]

yeah, especially where i live, the cops literally have nothing to do but cite people for random stuff, my buddy got a ticket for having a stock exhaust on his 2012 mini cooper JCW.. my other friend said he'll let me use his car for the week, so I'm set!

i'll probably be posting a thread on my project shortly, as soon as some real stuff starts going down, always like to hear what BMW enthusiasts have to say about the car as opposed to the kids i hang out with

[rllynch1]

Why are you "hoping" that its the coils? There is a very simple test to see if it is. Simply crank the car and then remove the wires from each coil. If you notice a change than everything is working properly. However if you don't, than something is wrong.

If you don't notice a change, it is most likely either the coil or the spark plug. Easy test is once you disconnect the wire and find no change, take that coil out and switch it with another that was having no problems. If when you do this, the misfire follows the coil you switched, than its probably the coil. If the misfire stays in the same spot when you disconnect the wires again, than I'd bet it's your plug. I would then pull the plug just to check it out and go from there.

Sent from my DROID X2 using BF.com

[Bim Shap]

Why are you "hoping" that its the coils? There is a very simple test to see if it is. Simply crank the car and then remove the wires from each coil. If you notice a change than everything is working properly. However if you don't, than something is wrong.

If you don't notice a change, it is most likely either the coil or the spark plug. Easy test is once you disconnect the wire and find no change, take that coil out and switch it with another that was having no problems. If when you do this, the misfire follows the coil you switched, than its probably the coil. If the misfire stays in the same spot when you disconnect the wires again, than I'd bet it's your plug. I would then pull the plug just to check it out and go from there.

Sent from my DROID X2 using BF.com

Yes, I did exactly that. It's lost a coil before and i did the same and it worked, i'm just saying i'm hoping it's just the coil, never know if there's something a little more complicated you know? thanks for the input though, I appreciate it!