E91 Straight Six Bearding

[MajorMantra]

Swervin_Mervin said:

What have you done/checked so far?

I assume you've checked the DME - I can't recall sorry.

Funnily enough, no I haven't. That's a good point. I was convinced for a while it was a vacuum leak but neither the garage nor I could find one.

Over the last couple of years it's thrown various codes but the 2C7F has been persistent, and the problem (or problems) has got worse in the last month or so, previously it wasn't affecting drivability.

So in 2ish years it's had the following engine bits:

- both DISA valves
- all four oxygen sensors
- MAF
- vanos solenoids (and filters cleaned too)
- CCV (or PCV, I still get mixed up with this terminology)
- water pump and stat (obvs not related)

I'm not set up with INPA/ISTA which no doubt would help.

Oh and the spark plugs have done about 48k miles so not too far off needing replacement again.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Ok. I mean it's likely not the DME but those symptoms are a lot like I had so it's definitely worth a look to check it's not swimming about.

It's a bugger chasing stuff like this though. My Indy couldn't find my DME problem at first. It was only when they gave it beans on full lock, as a last ditch effort, that it repeated the fault and that set them looking

[JakeT]

That is a mega pain. You could try and unplug the valvetronic motor, so it defaults to regular running?

I am probably wrong but not sure if that valvetronic issue is causing the mixture issues.

[AmirGSXR]

MajorMantra said:

I think I'm about ready to throw in the towel and admit I need a specialist to look at my N52 running issues, which seem to be getting worse...



Symptoms are a choppy idle and occasionally real jerkiness when driving slowly. The worst instance was after a prolonged period of idling in hot weather, suggesting heat soak might have exacerbated a failing sensor.

Waiting for a call back from a garage, but thought I might as well moan here. I've heard the eccentric shaft sensor can cause similar issues, any other likely culprits? I'm a bit tired of playing parts darts as it's had a lot over the last couple of years. (Including all the oxygen sensors, MAF, vanos solenoids, and more...)

Edited to add: last year I paid a different specialist a load of cash and he fitted a new oil separator, which as far as I can tell made absolutely no difference. He also couldn't find a vacuum leak.

Edited by MajorMantra on Thursday 1st August 15:52

I had the 2A38 code when I had my battery issue recently. My battery was engulfed in water that had leaked into the battery compartment which caused corrosion on two of the battery wires in the chassis (one of which controls the electrics such as the valvetronic motor). Check your battery compartment for water and that all battery wires are free of any kind of damage. It may not be related to your issue, but thought I would throw my two pence into the mix. Hope you manage to get it sorted.

[MajorMantra]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll have a poke around.

Given I've still got tailgate wiring to fix as well, I'm feeling slightly fed up with the car just now. It's still great when everything works but the niggles are infuriating and I just don't have the bandwidth to sort everything right now.

[JakeT]

That’s fair enough. Mine is out of action for a rear wheel bearing. I’d usually do it myself but we’ve moved house so I’ve farmed it out. Hopefully it’s back to full speed soon though.

[Court_S]

Court_S said:

The shift throw on my wife’s 330i seems really, really long compared to my Z4.

The official 330i SSK is no longer available. Does the E60 545i shifter fit in the E90? It appears to be a popular option on things like the E39 and E46.

I can confirm that the E60 545 shifter not only fits bit have a massive improvement on the length of the shift. It’s a massive improvement.

Compared to theZ3 shifter that I’d previously fitted.



And in

[zippyonline]

MajorMantra said:

Swervin_Mervin said:

What have you done/checked so far?

I assume you've checked the DME - I can't recall sorry.

Funnily enough, no I haven't. That's a good point. I was convinced for a while it was a vacuum leak but neither the garage nor I could find one.

Over the last couple of years it's thrown various codes but the 2C7F has been persistent, and the problem (or problems) has got worse in the last month or so, previously it wasn't affecting drivability.

So in 2ish years it's had the following engine bits:

- both DISA valves
- all four oxygen sensors
- MAF
- vanos solenoids (and filters cleaned too)
- CCV (or PCV, I still get mixed up with this terminology)
- water pump and stat (obvs not related)

I'm not set up with INPA/ISTA which no doubt would help.

Oh and the spark plugs have done about 48k miles so not too far off needing replacement again.

Sorry, I've lost track of my thread so don't know the full back story. That's a lot of parts - has there been any change in how the car behaves with them?,In fairness I've had one failed VANOS solenoid (and changed the other simply chasing the camshaft sensor faulty connector) - this showed an actual CEL, I changed my eccentric shaft sensor as a "whilst I'm there" when changing the rocker cover gasket (allegedly these fail through oil ingestion and you can see the oil come through to the plug afaik) - but mine was fine. My large DISA valve failed - that was a rough idle, weird noises and a bit of hesitation - i found the DISA flap sitting in the inlet ports for cylinders 1 & 2! That did show a shadow code, but no CEL - this was the point I realised the merits of the proper BMW software to scan the car! I've changed a camshaft sensor - but it was actually fine and it was the connector that was the issue.

Otherwise, sensor wise, I've not had anything really fail so far (oh wait, there was the wheel speed sensor, and I know it's had them in the past too), and I'm on 245k miles. If you have INPA/ISTA, you can dive into the fault code and see exactly what mileage the error pinged up, how many times, and running conditions of the car (temperatures, revs etc.) which can help you pinpoint a bit more exactly, or certainly help with theories etc. INPA also gives "test plans" and how to go about fault finding individual error codes (although I rarely use this feature...but having the info doesn't hurt).

If the "2C7F has been persistent" - which a quick google says it lambda probe related, and just one (which is say more believable than when I had a code which said both my post cat sensors had either failed, or both cats, at exactly the same time...and an Italian tune up cleared it!) - that's probably the best one to start at (I know that as this is your problem, you'll have way more thought/insight and knowledge than me...so sorry if this sucking eggs and you've already been through all this!) - if you can read the live data whilst running, you'll get a good idea on if it's the sensor giving odd readings, the wiring being dicky between it etc. Internet also suggest an exhaust blowing...but I expect you've checked that?

I hate electrical.computer issues, they can be such a PITA to trace and diagnose.

Edited by zippyonline on Friday 2nd August 13:08

[zippyonline]

Court_S said:

Court_S said:

The shift throw on my wife’s 330i seems really, really long compared to my Z4.

The official 330i SSK is no longer available. Does the E60 545i shifter fit in the E90? It appears to be a popular option on things like the E39 and E46.

I can confirm that the E60 545 shifter not only fits bit have a massive improvement on the length of the shift. It’s a massive improvement.

Compared to theZ3 shifter that I’d previously fitted.



And in

Cool - thanks for the info. I may consider this when I have an opportune moment. I've got all the gubbins sitting in a box to replace all the wear components on the shift linkage, but was in a bit of a rush when I last had easy access to change them all, so next time that opportunity arrives, I may do this too! I don't think I really noticed the throw, I've got a lot of slop, so maybe if I fix the slop I'd notice then...

[zippyonline]

MajorMantra said:

Another thought - I think the wiring for them are all about the same sort of place in the engine bay? But if it's intermittent, that'll be tricky because you'd likely still get continuity on wires... but might be worth a dive about to check for chafed/burnt wires round there?

[daver1184]

Hi. Please can you share the part number of that 545i shifter and how much it set you back? Thanks

[Court_S]

zippyonline said:

Cool - thanks for the info. I may consider this when I have an opportune moment. I've got all the gubbins sitting in a box to replace all the wear components on the shift linkage, but was in a bit of a rush when I last had easy access to change them all, so next time that opportunity arrives, I may do this too! I don't think I really noticed the throw, I've got a lot of slop, so maybe if I fix the slop I'd notice then...

It’s massive improvement over the stock shifter and is pretty much the only option with the official Performance SSK being NLA despite some people showing it on their website.

[Court_S]

daver1184 said:

Hi. Please can you share the part number of that 545i shifter and how much it set you back? Thanks

Part number is 25117546373

I paid £80 for it after a £20 discount code on eBay.

[MajorMantra]

zippyonline said:

Sorry, I've lost track of my thread so don't know the full back story. That's a lot of parts - has there been any change in how the car behaves with them?

Edited by zippyonline on Friday 2nd August 13:08

Yes, but I'm losing track of when and what now too tbh. IIRC I did the DISAs because I had a specific DISA-related code. The MAF was a bit of a shot in the dark and probably a waste of money. The vanos solenoids I changed because I'd been running Chinese ebay cheapies for years (without issue, I should point out, go figure!) and wanted to eliminate them as a potential source of problems, so I replaced with Pierburg, which made absolutely bugger-all difference.

Things actually got worse after initially doing the oxygen sensors. I'd had to buy 3 Bosch and one Lucas because of supply problems. The Lucas one made the car run terribly, and when I managed to get a Bosch instead things went back to how they were previously.

Thanks for the other suggestions.

At some point I really should get myself set up on INPA or ISTA, but every time I start researching this I get lost in a rabbit hole of US forums with impenetrable 1,000-page threads explaining how to do stuff.

Is there an absolutely idiot-proof way of doing it, i.e. buy *this* cable, run *this* installer and you're done?

[helix403]

MajorMantra said:

Yes, but I'm losing track of when and what now too tbh. IIRC I did the DISAs because I had a specific DISA-related code. The MAF was a bit of a shot in the dark and probably a waste of money. The vanos solenoids I changed because I'd been running Chinese ebay cheapies for years (without issue, I should point out, go figure!) and wanted to eliminate them as a potential source of problems, so I replaced with Pierburg, which made absolutely bugger-all difference.

Things actually got worse after initially doing the oxygen sensors. I'd had to buy 3 Bosch and one Lucas because of supply problems. The Lucas one made the car run terribly, and when I managed to get a Bosch instead things went back to how they were previously.

Thanks for the other suggestions.

At some point I really should get myself set up on INPA or ISTA, but every time I start researching this I get lost in a rabbit hole of US forums with impenetrable 1,000-page threads explaining how to do stuff.

Is there an absolutely idiot-proof way of doing it, i.e. buy *this* cable, run *this* installer and you're done?

You can buy an option where the vendor uses Team Viewer and does a remote install of ISTA (may have a new name now). There are obviously risks with this method. I’ve done it-but I keep that laptop just for ISTA and it doesn’t go online.

[MajorMantra]

helix403 said:

You can buy an option where the vendor uses Team Viewer and does a remote install of ISTA (may have a new name now). There are obviously risks with this method. I’ve done it-but I keep that laptop just for ISTA and it doesn’t go online.

That does sound quite sketchy, ha!

[Swervin_Mervin]

Is it possible to just buy one that comes pre-loaded with ista/inpa?

It's what's always put me off as well - it sounds absurdly complex for someone that's not IT literate.

[zippyonline]

MajorMantra said:

At some point I really should get myself set up on INPA or ISTA, but every time I start researching this I get lost in a rabbit hole of US forums with impenetrable 1,000-page threads explaining how to do stuff.

Is there an absolutely idiot-proof way of doing it, i.e. buy *this* cable, run *this* installer and you're done?

I know what you mean. And these days time is something I seemingly have less of - so whilst I could spend hours diving down on how to to do all that myself... (and I did find an easy INPA distribution to download that did just work), I paid for a laptop with INPA, ISTA+, NCS Expert etc. already setup for me, it cost about the same as what the laptop was worth, and then I've loaded that with a couple of other car software things and it's basically my car diagnostics laptop. I bought a "K+DCAN cable" off ebay, and lucked out it being a good one - I did that years back.

I did see that there's other car diagnostics software and stuff out there now that would probably give you all the fault finding information far easier and quicker, autel and the like, and the bmw specific apps (carly, bimmergeeks etc.)...but I don't really know enough down that route. Certainly a lot easier, fairly powerful, but the full on ista etc. will give you a lot more power if you have the time/inclination.

[MajorMantra]

So, just did some quick investigation...

- DME is bone dry
- battery is bone dry
- unplugging the valvetronic motor doesn't fix the problem
- there's no oil fouling on the eccentric shaft sensor connector, although the seal around the connector in the valve cover is weeping oil slightly

And then something perhaps more useful: the car runs *way* better with the air con switched off. I took a little video of what happens when you switch it on:

https://youtu.be/78ClYpkCyKU?si=l5HkvKTHVIdvvnLs

The sound is pretty rubbish but hopefully you can hear how the idle goes all over the place and the engine starts making a horrible knock/misfire/stumble sound after I press the button. (Note that it's not logging a misfire code, so not a true misfire I believe.)

I'm not really sure what this means, but at a minimum it suggests that the extra load of engaging the air con is exacerbating the underlying problem. I don't think the air con itself is the problem, it's just highlighting it. (I even scanned for air con codes with my Creator and nada.)

There are a bunch of threads on E90post describing similar symptoms. Some people are pointing to spark plugs as the issue, but there's no definitive answer. Tempted to change them now anyway, although this is bordering on 'parts darts' again.

Oh, and this piece of plastic appeared from nowhere. Any idea what it is?



It looks like a bumper or something but I cannot for the life of me figure out where it came from.

[meddler]

Posted this earlier on the wrong thread…

I've been logging misfires over the last few months, out of interest more than anything else, and this is what it's thrown up.

Distance covered = 3,000 miles. Car = 325i, N53.

Cylinder 1, + 25
Cylinder 2, +76
Cylinder 3, +27
Cylinder 4, +119
Cylinder 5, +424
Cylinder 6, +60

Are there any misfire gurus out there who can tell me whether this looks normal or abnormal? Particularly Cylinder 5. Ta