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    #1

    Car runs rough, cuts out.

    Hey guys, so I have a sort of interesting problem going on with my 88 325i. It ran and drove pretty fine before, but I recently crashed into a deer going about 50.. Bent things in up front pretty well. I've replaced the engine fan and clutch, and straightened out the radiator fins so it works fine. Disconnected the belt to the A/C.

    The car hardly runs with the airflow sensor plugged in, it fouls plugs and covers them with a thick black soot. It surges at idle but I'm sure there's not an intake vac leak. Smells rich too. dives like ****. If I unplug the airflow sensor it will idle better, and accelerate fine if I give it 1/4-3/4 throttle, then if I stomp the pedal it cuts out, and spits and sputters. It will also jerk if I'm just barely giving it gas in a high gear to maintain speed. This all leads me to think it's the TPS, but I don't see how an accident could have changed how it works.

    I should also note that the deer bent the actual engine fan pulley, so that it was rubbing the gear which the crank sensor uses. I corrected for this by spacing the fan outwards, since it was hardly angled. It barely, and I mean BARELY touches that gear now, and the car runs no different.

    I've already replaced the crank sensor, and tried a couple different airflow sensors to no avail.

    Any help would be appreciated, I've been at this for a couple days now. Anything else the deer could have damaged?
    Tags: None
    #2
    The symptoms are consistent with intake leaks, which the shock of the collision could have caused. A smoke test will tell where they are.

    The fan won't bend, because it is plastic, so something else is damaged. I' suggest a new water pump and fan clutch as a fix.
    The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
    Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

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      #3
      I've put on a new fan clutch, and the water pump was new before the accident. The fan itself was not bent the pulley was. I will check for intake leaks again. Thanks.

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        #4
        The only sure way of checking for intake leaks is via a smoke test. Anything less is not going to find all the leaks.
        The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
        Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

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          #5
          ok so I have no way of doing a smoke test without taking it to a shop. I've checked for intake leaks again with both water and carb cleaner and it still looks alright. The intake boot was new before the crash. Anything else I should be checking for?

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            #6
            It is pointless to look at any other possibilities until you have proof that there are no intake leaks. While there are some locations that carb cleaner will work on if the leak is big enough, there are more places where that simply doesn't work. And since several small leaks that carb cleaner won't find add to a major leak you have to have a smoke test. There is no substitute.
            The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
            Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

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              #7
              Originally posted by dubrooks View Post
              ok so I have no way of doing a smoke test without taking it to a shop. I've checked for intake leaks again with both water and carb cleaner and it still looks alright. The intake boot was new before the crash. Anything else I should be checking for?
              I second everyones opinion about the vacuum leak/smoke test. If you can get the car to a shop they will likely charge you in the neighborhood of $100.

              Check online for a DIY smoke tester, usually built from a metal canister, glow plug, power source, mineral oil and some form of compressed air.

              Good luck!
              Mishimoto Automotive

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                #8
                I had a smoke test done with no vac leaks found. After that I tested the MAF it seems to be working fine, then tested the coolant temp sensors, and swapped them with known good ones. The crank sensor has been replaced as well. I noticed the round connector on the drivers side of the engine was corroded so I cleaned it and reseated it with dielectric grease. I also noticed that the engine ground wire was frayed, and in taking it off to replace it I broke the point on the engine that it mounts to. I instead mounted the ground wire from the body of the car to the engine mount with a battery cable. I then replaced the computer with a known working one without any luck. I noticed one plug wire was busted on the dist. cap so I replaced the entire distributor rotor, button, etc, and also tried a different coil pack just incase it wasn't building enough spark. Still no luck.

                The car is running very rich, all plugs are carbon fouled and the smoke out of the exhaust is slightly white-ish. Even smells very rich. Without the MAF plugged in the car runs until you give it half throttle or more at which time it just cuts out completely, as if it is shutting off, until you let back off on the throttle, except occasionally when I stomp it to the floor it roars to life. With the MAF plugged in it sounds like it's on 3 cylinders. Both scenarios smell rich.

                I still think it's something the deer could have pushed in on the front of the car, I'm just running out of ideas. Anyone?

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                  #9
                  Anyone?

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