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Thread: Cylinder 4 misfire. New injector, new spark plug, swapped coils

  1. #1
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    Cylinder 4 misfire. New injector, new spark plug, swapped coils

    Hello guys. i have a 328i with a misfire in cylinder 4. I have a new injector and have swapped the coils between cylinder but the misfire still persists in cylinder 4.

    Anyone have seen this previously?

    I am about to do a compression test on cylinder 4.

  2. #2
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    edit: no compression in cylinder 4. problem found. on to determine why.

  3. #3
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    Cylinder 4 misfire. New injector, new spark plug, swapped coils

    Leak down test…


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    Last edited by bluptgm3; 05-21-2018 at 07:33 PM.

  4. #4
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    i will have to open engine up no matter what so I will do that. This will give me the best idea of what is wrong.

  5. #5
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    Not necessarily.. In some cases, with the M50/M52/M54 family of engines, the compression rings get stuck due to carbon buildup and all compression is gone. Cleaning it with injector cleaner can revive the cylinder and compression.
    See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vo4fm0JDPY .. I think the chances of it being this are not that great, but if it is this, then you can fix it for $10.. So worth a check I'd say..
    Quite some people replied to the youtube movie and some say they fixed their engine this way..

    Good luck!

  6. #6
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    Yeah don't tear it down just yet. Remove the plastic cover to the injector rail, check that all the terminals are pushed in and locked in place.
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by ed323i View Post
    Not necessarily.. In some cases, with the M50/M52/M54 family of engines, the compression rings get stuck due to carbon buildup and all compression is gone. Cleaning it with injector cleaner can revive the cylinder and compression.
    See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vo4fm0JDPY .. I think the chances of it being this are not that great, but if it is this, then you can fix it for $10.. So worth a check I'd say..
    Quite some people replied to the youtube movie and some say they fixed their engine this way..

    Good luck!
    Going to look at the video. Would i have zero compression with stuck rings as opposed to low compression? when i say 0 i mean zero lol. Can rings bypass that much pressure?

    Quote Originally Posted by Eric93se View Post
    Yeah don't tear it down just yet. Remove the plastic cover to the injector rail, check that all the terminals are pushed in and locked in place.
    The injector is working perfectly. I can hear it ticking and i see fuel on spark plug. I also swapped to another injector. I tested coilpack too and saw it sparking so i know injector and spark plug are perfect. I will look into what the above person said.

  8. #8
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    I ordered a leak down test to check where the compression loss will be before i tear it apart. If it's at crankcase through piston rings then i will attempt toe chemical in the video. If it's at valves then i have to take head off.

  9. #9
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    I think it's good to do the leak down test first. If a valve has a hole or the head gasket is toast then no injector cleaner will bring back the compression, and you can then take the head off.

    The guy in the video said that the M54 engine he was testing had zero compression, and it was solved by cleaning the rings.. I think with the low-revs at which the test is done (using only starter), a stuck compression ring can cause sufficient air to pass by the rings, resulting in zero compression. So, you have a (slim) chance that you can fix the engine with a bottle of injector cleaner. Fingers crossed. Good luck!

    P.S. One of the guys commenting on the Youtube video wrote that cylinders 3 and 4 are most susceptible to stuck compression rings, because, with a defective CCV valve, most of the oil gets sucked in those cylinders, hence the most carbon buildup in those cylinders #3 and #4. Not sure if that's true, but it makes sense. And since you're having the issue with cylinder 4, this might mean you're in luck. I really hope so!
    Last edited by ed323i; 05-22-2018 at 05:47 PM.

  10. #10
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    Just watched that video. Well yeah compression will go up, he was comparing a fully cold engine, to one that's been running, he didn't wait 24hrs to do a real comparison.

    If you think you could have gummed up cylinders, then changing your oil may help, like switching to Rotella T6 which has a lot of detergents.

    Would be cool if cheap inspection cameras had the ability to go down into the cylinder and then be able to turn upward to do a valve inspection.
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  11. #11
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    thanks for the feedback fellas.

    I did a leakdown test today but need to re-do it. When I added pressure to cylinder 4, i was having cylinder 6 expel air. I think the exhaust valve may have opened up as i didn't get a chance to monitor for engine movement. I need to check that in a couple hours and report back.

    I could see cylinder 4 and 5 having a problem next to each other where HG had blown and allows air, but seeing cylinder 6 having air expelled was strange. i am hoping it was wrong way i did it.

  12. #12
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    Slightly bad news. Confirmed leakdown test was performed right. Heard air leaking out of exhaust so looks like exhaust valve may be bent.
    Cylinder 6 was at beginning or exhaust stroke so that's why I felt air coming out of it.

    I have to open the head up. I was hoping the valves would be good and it was just piston ? But appears that is not the case.

  13. #13
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    That's a shame.. Good luck getting it all repaired.. I hope the head itself is okay.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bluptgm3 View Post
    Leak down test…



    How do you leak down zero?

  15. #15
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    he was hoping it was piston rings, doing the test you squirt some oil into the cylinder to see if that stops the air leak.
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  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by JDStrickland View Post
    How do you leak down zero?
    By determining if the gross leak is in the head or crank case.


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  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by JDStrickland View Post
    How do you leak down zero?
    can you rephrase your question?

  18. #18
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    I think he means to ask what sense a leak-down test has when you already know that the compression is zero. You would normally add compressed air into the cylinder, and then wait and see how fast or slow the compression drops.. If it's already at zero, then that part of the test makes no sense.. But the other part of the test is that you can hear/feel where the compressed air escapes.. In this case through the exhaust valve, but it can also escape by the head or head gasket or go past the rings of the piston and go into the crank case (which is what we hoped would happen)..

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by ed323i View Post
    I think he means to ask what sense a leak-down test has when you already know that the compression is zero. You would normally add compressed air into the cylinder, and then wait and see how fast or slow the compression drops.. If it's already at zero, then that part of the test makes no sense.. But the other part of the test is that you can hear/feel where the compressed air escapes.. In this case through the exhaust valve, but it can also escape by the head or head gasket or go past the rings of the piston and go into the crank case (which is what we hoped would happen)..
    Okay. yes that would be a good question to pose and your answer is correct. it was to track down what was broken so i know ahead of time.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by DubNub View Post
    can you rephrase your question?

    If there is no compression, how do you test for the compression to leak down? It's already at zero, what's to leak?

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by JDStrickland View Post
    If there is no compression, how do you test for the compression to leak down? It's already at zero, what's to leak?
    the m52b28 engine, from what i am told, is prone to having cylinder 3 and 4 exhibit stuck piston rings, causing low/no compression. I wanted to perform a leak down test to determine where the leak was coming from.

    The test tells me what leaks. You can use it to determine if it's headgasket, intake valve, exhaust, etc. Gets you an idea without tearing apart engine. This was i know what i am up against when i take the head off.

  22. #22
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    Took the head off and found the problem. One exhaust valve has chipped.

    Also found my chain guide broken so need to remove timing cover.
    Also found light scoring inside #4 cylinder wall. I can feel it with nail but very lightly. Not sure what to do but probably going to reuse everything.
    I have a valve to order.


  23. #23
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    Updating this thread.

    Problems with original head: burnt valves on 4 and coolant passage crack that is common

    I attempted to source a head from local junkyard, after 2 hours of work i determined the head has a crack in the same location

    I located a used head from S50 without cams for$165 shipped. I installed new chain guides, new front crank seal, head with original cams/lifters.

    The car fired right up and ran well. Original oil had coolant in it, so i ran some cheap oil through the system and then replaced with synthetic. Oil change showed very fine grains of some metal so we will see how long the vehicle lasts.

    Purchased car with 4 newish tires, but two of them exploded on the interstate 3 hours outside our home and we had to replace all of them.

    Then car began to have hiccups during idle and on the way back from trip it started to hiccup during cruising. I cleaned out the maf the next morning and the car began to start then die. Picked up two additional mafs from scrap yards and the last one made the car idle, but it still had idle hiccup.

    Turned out to be the spark plugs. Popped in some BKR6E coppers and it is idling so smooth.

    IN the end we replaced all cooling components including radiator, CCV, spark plugs, head, ICV, maf.

  24. #24
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    Great work and outcome! Another E36 saved. Hope the car and engine last a long time and you can enjoy driving it.
    Thanks for the update.
    Last edited by ed323i; 07-17-2018 at 08:29 PM.


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