Some M44 help please

[Stevo7682]

Looking for some input .
Lynne's 98 1.9 m44 auto has a running problem that I've yet to get to the bottom of.

The symptoms.
Rough idle ( around 700 rpm )
Poor fuel consumption ( high teens low 20's)
Sometimes poor hot start
Smells rich
Had on gas analyser struggling to keep CO and HC in check lambda ok

No fault codes
Drives fines bar the horrendous consumption
Plugs new
Air filter new
Main intake from air box looks pretty new

I have had the top section of the manifold off nothing obviously wrong .

So looking for some ideas
Is there something obvious that I'm missing
If not any ideas as to what could be the cause before i have to start pulling it all apart
Stephen.

 

[Grumps]

Not very mechanically minded Steve but is the MAF Ok?

 

[Jimmy Weston]

Stevo,could it be one off the cam sensors?with it not starting well when it's hot,I had the same symptoms on my 2.8,I don't know much about the m44 engine,apart from its suits the z3 very well indeed.
Jimmy.

 

[jaguartvr]

Do these engines have a cold start injector?

Many years ago I had similar problems with a 3.6 XJS, cold start injector was the culprit, just unplugged it and all was well, just had to pump the throttle on cold mornings. It had been very/almost impossible to start when hot.

 

[t-tony]

My suspicions are leaning towards inlet cam sensor. Is this the same engine as in your car Steve? Possibly swap parts over.

Tony.

 

[jonco]

Do you have access to INPA or similar - if so check smoothness module which should give an idea as to whether it's a single pot or across all 4. Strange it's not showing any codes which it should if sensor is at fault. You could unplug the MAF and try it on default settings.

 

[Faheem]

Had really bad fuel consumption with my zed (M44 Engine) when I first bought it turned out to be the cam sensor.

 

[t-tony]

I would agree re the codes Colin but my 2.0 Z3 sometimes had these symptoms but didn't register a code every time and it turned to be the inlet can sensor.

Tony.

 

[handsomejackuk]

changed cam sensor on mine as was throwing a code and very bad idle and cutting out.. consumption was bad too..worth taking the throttle body off too, and giving the butterflies and the inlet a good clean, also the icv can be cleaned... cant think what else to suggest.. but i did have my injectors ultrasonically cleaned but only part of ongoing maintenance... and they were real dirty too best of luck let us know how you get on

after cleaning injectors...

21730796_359908007778952_1565498284171860949_n by handsomejackuk, on Flickr


other hting you could do i run torque app and have a look at afr ratios, and 02 voltages to see if they are good...

have you plugged an obd reader in the obd port or are you looking for a check engine light as the 1.9 doesnt have a check engine light...?

also if you drive around with torque app running the instant you get an obd code it will notify you, as some codes do reset after a while i think...

 

[Stevo7682]

My suspicions are leaning towards inlet cam sensor. Is this the same engine as in your car Steve? Possibly swap parts over.

Tony.

Tony the m43 cam sensor has no wire multiplug on sensor the m44 has a cable on it so no swap .
@Faheem was your zed throwing up any fault codes at that point.
The problem i have is not having it long still trying to get to the bottom of an existing problem.
I have receipts for various work including a new timing chain tensioner hence i was wondering if there are something common that could have been missed having a look at the cam sensor closer today its definitely been out as the plastic is cracked beside the bolt mount .
Had a look on google and youtube there was some talk of pcv valve failure can this be an issue is it worth looking at .
Had another look at the vacuum pipes the 4 from the injectors on to the larger hose then on to the air intake hose all look ok no cracks or splits visible.
Checked again today no logged fault codes looked at the live data nothing jumping out

 

[Brian H]

The cam shaft position sensors are a known weak spot on the m44s, they can fail with no codes being thrown. if you replace, buy a decent on, not too bad a job to swap.

 

[t-tony]

Tony the m43 cam sensor has no wire multiplug on sensor the m44 has a cable on it so no swap .
@Faheem was your zed throwing up any fault codes at that point.
The problem i have is not having it long still trying to get to the bottom of an existing problem.
I have receipts for various work including a new timing chain tensioner hence i was wondering if there are something common that could have been missed having a look at the cam sensor closer today its definitely been out as the plastic is cracked beside the bolt mount .
Had a look on google and youtube there was some talk of pcv valve failure can this be an issue is it worth looking at .
Had another look at the vacuum pipes the 4 from the injectors on to the larger hose then on to the air intake hose all look ok no cracks or splits visible.
Checked again today no logged fault codes looked at the live data nothing jumping out

Hi mate, I wasn't sure if both your cars had the same motor.

Tony.

 

[Stevo7682]

The cam shaft position sensors are a known weak spot on the m44s, they can fail with no codes being thrown. if you replace, buy a decent on, not too bad a job to swap.

Thanks Brian had a quick look today multiplug looks fun under the manifold.

 

[Stevo7682]

Hi mate, I wasn't sure if both your cars had the same motor.

Tony.

Dakar a single cam m43
Turquoise green a twin cam m44

 

[Brian H]

Thanks Brian had a quick look today multiplug looks fun under the manifold.

Fiddly little job for sure, Trying to remember if I took the viscous fan off to do this, I think I did.

 

[Stevo7682]

Fiddly little job for sure, Trying to remember if I took the viscous fan off to do this, I think I did.

Sensor out the head looks easy enough then the cable runs round and under the manifold to don't know where yet.

 

[Faheem]

Replacing the cam sensor is fairly easy, the number of times I've had to do it - due to cheap aftermarket sensors, I reckon I could change the sensor in 15 minutes.

Here's the video i followed when changing the sensor:

View: https://youtu.be/nz7RdAL4ARE


I was getting a P0340 code along with rough idle and a high fuel consumption. May be worth changing hoses under the manifold when you have it out as it's easy to get to.

On the other zed I had - same engine - I had no codes but the cam sensor was knackered and had similar symptoms, once swapped the car ran better.

 

[Stevo7682]

@Faheem thanks for the video didnt know where the multiplug was but looks easy enough.
Will try another one see if better i have no codes checked again today.
I already had the top half of manifold off cheched hoses and looked ok

 

[Ianmc]

Had similar issue with the M44 last year, changed cam shaft sensor and all sorted. As above, get a new BMW one, not aftermarket.

 

[Stevo7682]

Update.....

Here's a little update on this .
Bought a new cam sensor while fitting and having top half of inlet manifold off looked over all the breathers again ( all look ok) so fitted sensor but unfortunately no major improvement so once again double checked all round the breathers and manifold ( checked with carb cleaner on cold engine to reduce fire risk ) but nothing obviously wrong.
That was a couple of weeks ago.
It's still light for a bit once I get in from work so decided to get into it again and check the timing next ( one of it's previous invoice for work to breathers and timing casing seals)
So off came the rocker cover engine set to TDC ( various paint marks on sprocket etc but expected to be as it had been apart)
On first look all seemed to be well

But on closer inspection I found something that is not quite right ( whether or not it will repair zed remains to be seen)
When the engine is at TDC the cams themselves appear to be in correct position it's the right hand sprocket that's wrong

on the left-hand exhaust sprocket the timing marker is vertical where it should be .
The right hand inlet sprocket also has a cam sensor plate on it .(it and the sprocket both have timing marker.
The cam plate mark is vertical but the sprocket mark quarter turn to the right.
Cam plate has an location knotch beside the timing marker and this is slightly bent as not correct positioned.

you can see the shiny bit on the rear of the sprocket where the pulley was covered by the camshaft.
So my thinking is that the cam sensor pick up plate may be a tiny bit out due to not being fitted to the sprocket in the right place .
So the plan is to take a bit further apart and putt if all back to the correct place and see if that sorts it .
Stephen.