M10 Driveability issue

[318inNC]

Greetings, all. Was gifted a 1985 318i with untold miles by, and she's started to give me some problems. Was hoping someone might be able to chime in with something silly that i've missed so far.

Issue started a week or two ago, when i started noticing a "bobble" at highway speeds (~55 mph/2500 rpm). Just a little mis/no-fire under constant throttle, not significant enough to make me feel unsafe or like she was going to die. Wasn't happening at idle initially, but started to a couple days later.

Decided to start with checking distributor, etc. Got a nasty shock from the ignition coil lead, so replaced plugs/wires/dist. cap/rotor. As soon as i replaced those parts, poor Betsy (yes, that's been her name for 26 years or so) was running very poorly. Starts perfectly, revs to about 1200 rpm, drops to 800, then to 600. Extremely rough idle, very little power, smells like it's running ultra-rich. Limped home from the parts store, broke out the Bentley manual that was fortunately included and started troubleshooting.

As far as I can tell, the weak link in my ignition circuit is the distributor. It's a Bosch 0 237 002 096, and everything SEEMS ok with it, except for the fact that there is considerable vertical play in the distributor shaft. I'm thinking that removing the old rotor may have shifted things around just enough to destroy whatever happens to be left of the shaft bushings. I've tested most of the other electrical components with the exception of the injectors, as well as verifying that all ground points are intact and functional.

After speaking with the local BMW specialist, he recommended starting with another distributor and going from there. Had a bit of sticker shock when i started pricing them, and don't like just throwing parts at problems, so if anyone has any wisdom they'd care to share with me, it'd be much appreciated.

1985 318i
date of mfg 10/84
L-Jetronic ECU w/Bosch ignition module
Bosch 0 237 002 096 distributor

[Jaxx_]

first, make sure you have the firing order correct. My distributor had a lot of vertical play but it was only an issue when launching the car hard, not regular driving. I would not be concerned too much about the vertical play for simple driveability issue.


Does the wobble go away? Does the steering feel a little loose when going around sweepers and hitting bumps? My FCABs were worn and had similar feeling, at 55mph it would shake just slightly even with balanced tires and then it would go away at 70mph. the only other thing I noticed was shake and looseness feeling when going around a curve and hitting a bump with the inside wheel.


What part of NC?

[318inNC]

Jaxx, you win the prize! Thanks for pointing out the obvious. Had firing order reversed, didn't pay attention to the directional arrow on the distributor. Works much better with 1-3-4-2 rather than 1-2-4-3. I knew it was me being an idiot somehow, this car's been too good to me. :::hangs head in newbie-style shame:::

As far as the front end goes, that's a whole other battle i'll be having later. I know there are some bent parts in there (vehicle struck a full-size truck tire at 70 some years back), just haven't had the resources to address that issue yet. Still works fairly well, considering the p/s has been empty for who knows how long. I know, sacrilege, but I'm working with free stuff here.

I'm in Asheville. Love these mountains, been here about 11 years now.

Thanks again, Jaxx, for reminding me to double-, triple-, and quadruple-check the "simple" things first. I feel like an ASSumption now. Appreciate the help, brother.

[Jaxx_]

Jaxx, you win the prize! Thanks for pointing out the obvious. Had firing order reversed, didn't pay attention to the directional arrow on the distributor. Works much better with 1-3-4-2 rather than 1-2-4-3. I knew it was me being an idiot somehow, this car's been too good to me. :::hangs head in newbie-style shame:::

As far as the front end goes, that's a whole other battle i'll be having later. I know there are some bent parts in there (vehicle struck a full-size truck tire at 70 some years back), just haven't had the resources to address that issue yet. Still works fairly well, considering the p/s has been empty for who knows how long. I know, sacrilege, but I'm working with free stuff here.

I'm in Asheville. Love these mountains, been here about 11 years now.

Thanks again, Jaxx, for reminding me to double-, triple-, and quadruple-check the "simple" things first. I feel like an ASSumption now. Appreciate the help, brother.

No problem! at one time it took me about 30 minutes to realize I needed to push in and turn a light bulb to get it out.

you can cap the powersteering by taking off the lines, draining the rack and sealing it up. You'll lose some weight and parasitic drag by removing the pump/lines/etc

We're having the Fall Rally --sometimes called the "brodeo" in october. Hope to see you there! We'll be right on the line of TN and NC. The topic is in the southeast section.

[matt0300]

Damn jaxx if he comes there will be 3 318i's there lol