thatITguy
Hi everyone, been a long time since I've visited the forums. Hoping I can get some pointers on where to look. I've got a '97 E36 M3. While at idle, the exhaust sounds like it's gently popping. You can feel it in the seat of your pants and hear it as well. It's not loud about the same volume as the exhaust.
The idle is not rough - the rpms stay steady.
I'm wondering if this could be an exhaust or vaccuum leak, or emissions equipment issue.
Any suggestions on where to start greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Member
Get a vacuum guage and watch youtube vids on the various conditions.
I've fixed mine but I've fixed so much on the car I don't know what did the trick. But if your ignition coils are original, consider replacing them.
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Member
if read alot about replacing coils because of similar symptoms. from my experience on other cars i always assumed they're more like functioning or completely not working. but do e36 coils behave in a way that they can cause these different symptoms? i've got some symptoms that could be related to the coils. replacing them is a little expensive since they're still functioning.
Member
No they are not simple working or not working, they can provide a poor spark because of either shorting internally or jumping externally to ground.
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Click the search button, select "search single content type", select the "e36 sub forum" specifically, try the "search titles" then try the "search entire posts".
Member
makes sense to me. is there a way to definitely test them ?
thatITguy
I did spark plugs last year (I probably put 500 miles a year on the car, if that. Car has around 158k total so it's time ....), but not the coil packs. Ordered a set along with a new valve cover gasket...should be arriving Friday. Anyway, pulled the engine cover and valve cover off in preparation and noticed one of the grounds was extremely loose and the valve cover gasket was disintegrating as I pulled it off. Easy fixes so we'll see if that clears things up. I had an OBDII scanner lying around somewhere..would be nice to monitor the car while its running to see exactly where the issues lie. Not a fan of trial and error troubleshooting. It seems I have every other freaking tool known to man except a vaccuum tester/gauge.
Is there a port on the manifold for testing? I'm assuming there is.....
Member
My car is doing the same noise that you are referring too. Did you end up finding out what was the problem?
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