1998 540i Slow Acceleration and Noise

[chrisbenejam]

Hi! I've had my 540i for about a year now and since I've bought it I've had this problem. Overall, I feel that the acceleration is weak. Regardless of the gear, there seems to be a real lack of power. Also, after accelerating to 4000 rpm, the car does not change gear and does not increase power at all. Continued driving at that rpm for more than a couple seconds results in a loud clicking noise coming from the engine. After doing this, the car becomes very jerky at low speeds has has even stalled. Leaving the car parked for awhile eliminates the jerking. Opening the hood, I notice what appears to be oil leaking. I've attached pictures of the engine after doing what I mentioned above. I just got an oil change today and have previously replaced the MAF sensor without improvement. There are no check engine lights or other warnings on the dash. Driving under 4000 rpm is totally fine, but acceleration is slow.

When parked and revving the engine, the loud clicks are also audible when coming down to a lower rpm, but to a lessor degree than while driving.

Can anyone help? I'm a relative car newbie. Any help is appreciated!

[edjack]

So, let me guess: you didn't get a pre-purchase inspection.

How many miles on the car?

Check for stored codes, and report back.

[chrisbenejam]

I bought it from a dealership, though not a BMW one. I'm not sure what inspection they did before.

I don't know of any stored codes, but I don't have the reader. I'm currently living in the Caymans. Obviously, I'll try to find someone that does, but my schedule is pretty hectic right now, so I'll have to wait until next week.

There is only 66000 miles on the car.