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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)(sort of)

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dario
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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by dario » Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:31 pm

Maniac wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:20 pm Only an issue since the injector replacement.

No idea if they check dct as part of normal servicing.

Dealer chat in order...
that don't sound right!

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by Z4M-2006 » Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:19 pm

Maniac wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:20 pm Only an issue since the injector replacement.

No idea if they check dct as part of normal servicing.

Dealer chat in order...

So they put in new injectors and thats caused the gearbox to act funny ?

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by Maniac » Tue Nov 21, 2017 7:55 pm

It feels as if revs and gear changes are no longer matched perfectly. Feels like fuel starvation sometimes.

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by R.E92 » Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:47 am

A common mistake that is made during injector install is that the decouplers aren't installed.

They missed mine out when they first did the injector install and I had misfires as a result. Poor fuel delivery will explain your problems, especially the lurching forward.

Luckily it's an easy 20min job to check for yourself. Take the engine cover off and take a peek.

Part #10 on this drawing:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=13_1182

This photo shows where they should sit:
attachment.jpg
attachment.jpg (109.91 KiB) Viewed 1431 times
It's hard to determine if they are present by just looking if you aren't familiar with the engine bay. I would read through a few injector install DIY articles and try get a sense for how things should be installed.
Also check that the injectors don't move around. There should also be a bracket along the top of the injector that holds them in place.

Take a load of photos and upload them if you are uncertain. Try get right in close to where the injector disappears into the block.

Dealerships are difficult to navigate with these issues since the front-end staff will have no idea what a decoupler is and you rarely get a chance to talk to the mechanics. They took ages to admit fault with my car even after me telling them exactly where they f***ed up.

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by ph001 » Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:05 am

So are the de-couplers there as std or are these added when the injectors are replaced?
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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by R.E92 » Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:34 am

ph001 wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:05 am So are the de-couplers there as std or are these added when the injectors are replaced?
There as standard. Quite easy things to miss during an install.

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by Maniac » Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:26 pm

Thanks for the heads up. Would these seals/decouplers cause the hesitation I’m seeing just when cold (that’s what I see).

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by R.E92 » Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:31 pm

Maniac wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:26 pm Thanks for the heads up. Would these seals/decouplers cause the hesitation I’m seeing just when cold (that’s what I see).
I had all kinds of issues when mine were missing.

The car would run great for a few days then I'd notice strange things like hesitation and stumbling from then engine while just cruising normally. I could drive 100 miles without an issue, then i'd get a misfire and limp mode then have to restart the car.

One time the car threw some strange error on the dash and just wouldn't come to a stop, I had to push the ignition button while it was fighting against the brakes which put it into park and slammed the car to a halt. After restarting it drove fine again.

I'm not he only person to get screwed by BMW when fitting injectors. The other forums are full of stories about missing injector decouplers.
I've had good and bad experiences with dealerships and just learnt over the years to double-check their work when possible. When they replaced my adaptive shocks they left the spring compressor tool in the suspension and denied it right up until I sent them a video of it. They then admitted they had one missing from the workshop :rofl:

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by robbee » Tue Dec 26, 2017 8:20 pm

Hi Maniac,

Happy Christmas to all.

Did you resolve your last issue?

Just had the rough idle, miss fire under load and up-hill, happen together with the yellow engine symbol on the dash, sometimes flashing, sometimes constant and then off - seems to go away when coasting and downhill. Happened yesterday, Christmas day, so had to take a cab to the family reunion.

robbee

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by Maniac » Tue Dec 26, 2017 10:48 pm

robbee wrote: Tue Dec 26, 2017 8:20 pm Hi Maniac,

Happy Christmas to all.

Did you resolve your last issue?

Just had the rough idle, miss fire under load and up-hill, happen together with the yellow engine symbol on the dash, sometimes flashing, sometimes constant and then off - seems to go away when coasting and downhill. Happened yesterday, Christmas day, so had to take a cab to the family reunion.

robbee
Assuming you also have a 35, then likely injectors.

Mines still poor on power when cold, it’s booked back into dealers to check injector registration/install and update all cars software early Jan.

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by robbee » Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:38 pm

Thanks Maniac,

Yes, a 2009 35i dct, with only 15,800 miles, so seems like the failure of the injectors are the destiny of all 35i's regardless of mileage. Also just had the big 4 yearly service a month ago, though Specialist Cars Stevenage didn't pick anything up.

Next is to find a London dealer to trust to undertake the repair as Stevenage is 60 miles away. I still have the insured warranty (nearly didn't renew this year) but not emergency cover so they will only recover to the nearest dealer. Have a choice of Barons Kentish town, the closest (previously Spires with poor reputation), Stephen James Enfield or Sytner Chigwell, assuming the car will make it there, though the manual says I could damage the catalytic converter if driving while the yellow engine light flashes, which will then not be covered by the warranty (reading the small print). Do you think driving lightly could cause damage to the Cat?

Sorry to hear yours is still not 100% - if its poor on power, could mean un-burnt fuel also getting to the catalytic converter, causing damage to that. Wonder what BMW warranty would say then - Did they advise you not to drive until fully resolved?. Did you have the yellow engine warning light flash up on yours at an time? Why would a software update make a difference, other than updated/different model injectors?

I'm annoyed for you that your garage released the car with the low power, and didn't already double check the injector registration and know to update the software. Did you also check the decouplers were installed as suggested by R.E92? Seems ridiculous we have to ask the garage if they did/are going to do, all of this - I would be too embarrassed. Hence my dilemma of which dealer to choose to undertake this work.

Hope yours gets sorted soon.

robbee

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by Maniac » Tue Jan 09, 2018 6:04 pm

CAR IS back from a two day stint at the dealership.

They identified a cracked valve cover and perished PCV pipe.

Cover is replaced and pipe on back order.

Startup tomorrow will tell me if the cover replacement has helped.

Invoice value around a grand. So thankful for paid warranty. But another £250 excess out after October’s £250 for the water pump and injectors.

Guys, I can’t recommend the N54 any longer. Terrific when working but is not ageing well.

Next outlay if something else doesn’t break is walnut blasting and a new NS adaptive shock they’ve found leaking.

This car has been pampered. God Knows what less pampered cars are going to be like as they age.

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by ph001 » Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:55 pm

Yeh, pretty scary things when out of warranty but you would hope if you can get shocks, HPFP and injectors all done in warranty the new ones would be better engineered / more reliable. That's certainly the case for the injectors afaik.
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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by dario » Wed Jan 10, 2018 12:04 am

Maniac wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2018 6:04 pm CAR IS back from a two day stint at the dealership.

They identified a cracked valve cover and perished PCV pipe.

Cover is replaced and pipe on back order.

Startup tomorrow will tell me if the cover replacement has helped.

Invoice value around a grand. So thankful for paid warranty. But another £250 excess out after October’s £250 for the water pump and injectors.

Guys, I can’t recommend the N54 any longer. Terrific when working but is not ageing well.

Next outlay if something else doesn’t break is walnut blasting and a new NS adaptive shock they’ve found leaking.

This car has been pampered. God Knows what less pampered cars are going to be like as they age.
so when did they crack the vale cover..........?

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Poorly 35i (Now Fixed)

Post by Maniac » Wed Jan 10, 2018 6:38 pm

They don’t accept it’s their doing. Looking online this seems to be another N54 weakness. It just happens due to a design fault. Likely missed or unseen by many that have it

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/top ... 0&i=999999

It’s not resolved the poor cold running. Waiting on the PCV pipe as the next test now.

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