rough power pickup

[USMCroadrunner]

just bought a 90 325i. the car is sputtering a little and then seems to have a "burst" of power above 3000rpm i usually feel in 3rd-5th. this "burst" feels like power i should be having in lower rpm but the engine is hesitating. im thinking ignition, fuel injectors or a blown head gasket, but if there are any more common problems let me know before i start throwing hundreds. thanks

[Sagaris]

If your issue is the same one I had on my car when I first bought it, (it sounds like it is), then replacing the distributor cap, rotor, plugs, and wires will fix it.

My car would have a good 1 second of stumbling and hesitation then would continue on cleanly like nothing was ever amiss.

Get a matching brand for the cap and rotor (bosch and bosch, or bremi and bremi etc.). Go for the recommended Bosch or NGK spark plugs, not the platinum, iridium or multiple prong deals. Do not get "high performance" spark plug wires. They almost always fit like crap on top of the spark plug, very loose and not very confidence inspiring. Get something OE-equivalent. Everything should be less than $200, make sure to buy spark plug wires with the impulse sensor (inductive sensor on one of the wires) if you car uses it. If your engine has cosmoline all over it (the yellow crust on wires and the intake manifold) then you might be able to see some of that on the plug wires to gauge whether they are the original wires or not.

[StereoInstaller1]

And one of your "Semper Fi" bretheren sells OE stuff, and provides extraordinary service.

His site is www.blunttech.com, you can get whatever you need from him (and yes, Marine, that is an order)

Welcome to R3V.

Luke

[Kershaw]

+1 for blunt.

Semper Fi.

[USMCroadrunner]

thanks, will do when i get some time. should be a quickie. Semper Fi brothers