Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 26 to 33 of 33

Thread: Lost a bank of cylinders

  1. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,774
    My Cars
    Supercharged 850ci
    Quote Originally Posted by PabloRock View Post
    Was going to take it up to my mechanic to do a quick test, but he is tied up until Tuesday. He lent me his, but didn't have a T to lend me, so I will need to find one of those. Hopefully another friend has one.
    No need for a T, disconnect one line at a time and test.

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Del Mar, CA
    Posts
    856
    My Cars
    91 850i, 01 740i, 06 760
    Harbor freight has a very inexpensive kit with all the fittings you need. 25% off this weekend I believe.

  3. #28
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Stamford, CT
    Posts
    840
    My Cars
    1991 BMW 850i

    Problem Solved!

    After a whole bunch of tests and a bunch of help from Dragon, I finally figured it out. I did get a pressure tester and everything was good, checked the crank sensors and all good (not to mention a bunch of other tests and swaps). It turned out to be a simple issue. One of my rotors went bad! It was the one thing I didn't swap (a bolt stripped and they only had about 1500 miles so I figured they were good). Now all I need is a good detailing and she is ready to show at Sunday's C & C in Greenwich CT. Thanks everyone's help!

    (on another note, is there a way to changed the title of the thread? I have seen "solved" in titles of some threads, and wanted to add that to the title for future searches).
    Last edited by PabloRock; 06-14-2017 at 03:43 PM.
    My Cars - 1991 BMW 850i - mine for fun, 1993 Saab 900c - mine for fun, 2008 Lexus is250 - my daily driver, 2003 Dodge Durango - my wife's, 1994 Acura Legend - gave it to kid

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Del Mar, CA
    Posts
    856
    My Cars
    91 850i, 01 740i, 06 760
    Glad to hear that you resolved this. Do you know what was wrong with the rotor? Could you see any damage or was it the graphite plug worn away?

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Western Coastal CT
    Posts
    138
    My Cars
    E31s
    Paul, That's good news! Maybe I'll see you Sunday and we can catch up.
    SteveCT
    E31s
    F30 daily driver

  6. #31
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Stamford, CT
    Posts
    840
    My Cars
    1991 BMW 850i
    Quote Originally Posted by BMSman View Post
    Glad to hear that you resolved this. Do you know what was wrong with the rotor? Could you see any damage or was it the graphite plug worn away?
    It actually looked as new as when I put it in when I took off the distributor (one reason I didn't work to hard to try and remove it at first). But when I did take it out, there was a burn on the bottom. Hopefully it's not the sign of another issue (but so far so good).


    Quote Originally Posted by SteveCT View Post
    Paul, That's good news! Maybe I'll see you Sunday and we can catch up.
    Yes, let's catch up. I only went to the one they had last Nov, so I don't know how it's laid out now. I got a "VIP" parking ticket, so I should be on the main drag somewhere.
    My Cars - 1991 BMW 850i - mine for fun, 1993 Saab 900c - mine for fun, 2008 Lexus is250 - my daily driver, 2003 Dodge Durango - my wife's, 1994 Acura Legend - gave it to kid

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Del Mar, CA
    Posts
    856
    My Cars
    91 850i, 01 740i, 06 760
    Quote Originally Posted by PabloRock View Post
    It actually looked as new as when I put it in when I took off the distributor (one reason I didn't work to hard to try and remove it at first). But when I did take it out, there was a burn on the bottom. Hopefully it's not the sign of another issue (but so far so good).
    Please post a pic if you can.

    My car has not been running as well as I think it should (lacks pickup when I press the pedal). I recently removed the distributors and plug leads to ohm them all out and had difficulty measuring continuity. I found that the contacts on the inside of the distributor had a light coat of varnish on them (Bremi parts I believe). I took some fine sand paper and cleaned off some of it. I was then able to measure continuity and got the expected results. I swapped the plugs out as well but they only had about 6000 miles on them and looked ok. I noticed a dramatic improvement in engine performance and MPG immediately increased by 2. I got 17MPG on a recent trip up to LA which I think is pretty reasonable. But still I think there is room for improvement ....

  8. #33
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Stamford, CT
    Posts
    840
    My Cars
    1991 BMW 850i
    Not sure if you're going to get much better millage than that (especially with the age of the car). The 91 automatic was only estimated at 12 / 18 MPG. Here's a shot of the bad rotor. It was a Bosch. You can see a nice burn. The contacts were pretty dirty there, so I cleaned itup the best I can (that could have been the issue).
    Burnt Rotor.JPG
    My Cars - 1991 BMW 850i - mine for fun, 1993 Saab 900c - mine for fun, 2008 Lexus is250 - my daily driver, 2003 Dodge Durango - my wife's, 1994 Acura Legend - gave it to kid

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 14
    Last Post: 05-30-2013, 07:11 PM
  2. Lost a Bank of Cylinders
    By PabloRock in forum 8 Series (E31)
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 05-20-2013, 07:59 AM
  3. synchronisation of banks of M70 engine cylinders
    By shogun in forum 1988 - 1994 (E32)
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-06-2010, 10:08 AM
  4. synchronisation of banks of M70 engine cylinders
    By shogun in forum 1988 - 1994 (E32)
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 07-21-2009, 12:09 AM
  5. Results of Cylinder Head Work
    By M3TurboCa in forum Forced Induction
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 09-24-2002, 09:22 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •