The joys of a 20 year old car....

[bob11x]

Well, I still have my grin but not as broad.
I just picked up a 2001 3.0 5spd auto in Dakar Yellow with 55xxx miles. Drove it to Rochester, NY from Ohio no issues except a "Service Engine Soon" light which I thought was an oil change light. HA. Plates were going to take 6 weeks but I had an in with a dealer and got them today. Went for inspection and found that "service Engine Soon" = "Check Engine". Lean on cylinders. Air Leak. Not a big surprise except no indication of a lean condition (no missing, idle smooth) and the buyer had it to a repair shop that appear to have replaced the lower intake boot and "fixed" it 2 weeks ago. I pulled both boots and examined them in the sunshine - the upper one has some funny spots but no cracking.
Reading through online posts it looks like every hose is probably bad or will be soon. I read the secondary air pump line from the front right around the back is a common one- and it was hard, brittle and probably leaking some. I replaced it with some Tygon tubing - probably not the optimal but what I had on hand. What are folks using and what sizes are required? While doing this I found the expansion tank has a pinhole (Oy!). A little JB weld for now. I think i will replace the entire cooling system this winter while it is stored away in the shop.
I didn't drive it as I wanted the epoxy to harden. I did buy a foxwell tool. Haven't had a chance to learn much about it yet. I did hook it to the 20 pin port and ran a live scan. The shop reset the light so no stored codes.
I had a few faults:
Motor Electronics2 DME Fault 3
Trans Control EGS Fault 1
Steering angle sensor LWS Fault 1 I did notice the power steering doesn't seem to be a whole lot of power. Is that normal or related to this?
Not sure what any of these are telling me yet.
Thanks,
Bob

 

[NZ00Z3]

Hi Bob

The DME has 3 faults. You need to select that line and press enter to see what the 3 fault codes and descriptions are.

Same with the EGS, there is 1 fault code stored.

They could be old historical codes or related to your current problems. Once you have noted them down, clear them and see is any come back.

 

[colb]

Air leaks are common with the age of our cars, often difficult to spot visually, best to smoke test the system by pumping smoke into the engine after the Maf, check out Youtube for how to and how to make your own smoke machine. Smoke will find the smallest leaks, replace any hoses that show up leaks. Good investment getting a code reader, personally I use BMW Scanner 1.4 on a Laptop, its so easy to set up and use, it reads all modules your car is fitted with and clears codes as well as some coding. Also run BMW INPA and the other software that comes with it but that can be problematic loading it on a laptop and getting it set up to work.
All are available on ebay for little money and well worth investing in. I also have a B800 Airbag code reader, again cheap on ebay and useful to have, you will need one sooner or later!!
Good move to overhaul the cooling system, bit like heart surgery and preventative maintenance. Just some advice when refilling the cooling system, get the front of the car as high as you can, front on drive up ramps would be good, heater set to hot inside the car and refill, higher you get it the easier for air to get purged.
Air leaks by the way will affect fuel trims, have a look at live data if your scanner can do so, if high its likely to be air leaks in the vacuum system, the exhaust sensors are picking up unmetered air that has entered without passing through the Maf and the engine management sees that the measurements dont match regarding oxygen in the exhaust and what went through the Maf, thinks the car is running lean and tells it to add more fuel to correct the mixture, will add up to 20% more fuel until it gives up and sets the EML on the dash and sets Fuel Trim codes. Another give away is the amount of times you have to visit the filling station, mpg will drop dramatically.

 

[bob11x]

Thank you for your help. I am building a smoke box to test it tomorrow. I will try to learn more about the Foxwell tool. Thanks for the tips.

 

[bob11x]

I am having no luck. I built a smokebox and I cannot find any leaks. I plumbed it into the small opening in the upper intake boot and put a rubber glove over the maf sensor. The only sign of any activity was what appears to be the check valve for the PCV? It is in the bigger of the 2 hoses that plug into the upper intake boot. I had a trace of tiny bubbling around the edge of the valve.
I reset the codes and they stayed off for 50 miles.
I am still learning how to run the meter - it is definitely not intuitive. I cheked again and I think the same error codes. I cannot get back to the same screen - not sure why. This time I had trouble codes :
08 DME Signal air mass flow sensor
E3 DME Fuel Trim bank 1 permissible range exceeded
E4 DME Fuel Trim bank 2 permissible range exceeded

Trans code 01 LWS Supply (terminal 30)

I press every button on the machine and it won't give anymore info. I know there is a way but I haven't figured it out yet.

Thank you for your patience and help.

 

[colb]

The code for the maf is a clue as well as the fuel trims codes if the maf is bad it's not measuring the air passing through it hence the fuel trims going high unplug the maf electrical connector and run the car it will run on default settings view the fuel trims in live data to see if they drop on the default settings if they do replace the duff maf expensive part but no choice. Only replace with Bosch or Siemens oem brands do not be tempted to fit cheap pattern parts they fail or don't work correctly. Since you smoke tested it would seem the Maf is the problem air leaks would have the same effect on the fuel trims going high.
As to that hose with the bubbling, take that crimped clip off it and check out the state of the hose, they tend to rot out with age, same happens on power steering hoses with those crimp clamps. Replace hose if rotting out and use jubilee clips to replace the crimp clips.

 

[bob11x]

Thanks colb - I will test it out this weekend. The hose seems ok, it is the seam around what appears to be a check valve(?). Right below the clamp- the larger circular item.
I have to ask - what is a jubilee clip?

 

[hard top]

I have to ask - what is a jubilee clip?

Here you go :-

 

[bob11x]

The pic link doesn't appear. I just see "1601066313350.png"

 

[colb]

I think you are refering to the crankcase ventilation seperation valve wher you see the bubbling. If there is a leak there then that will be allowing air into the vacuum system, it needs to be airtight to allow the engine to run correctly, air leaks will affect the fuel trims as the exhaust will be seeing unmetered air passing the exhaust sensors.

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

BMW parts Z3 E36 Z3 3.0i Crankcase-Ventilation/oil separator

www.realoem.com

 

[hard top]

The pic link doesn't appear.

Oh, OK, strange, try this link :- https://www.bottomlinemarine.com/pr...MI8Njxy52F7AIVUObtCh0oYQIKEAQYASABEgLuxfD_BwE

 

[colb]

Browse Jubilee® Clip products

Here you can see a full overview of the current Jubilee® product range. Click on a product category for more information, or search for products using our advanced search tool.

www.jubileeclips.co.uk

 

[bob11x]

Ahhh - Worm Gear clamps on this side of the pond. Agreed - much better than any of the spring clamps - especially the steel ones which tend to corrode off.
My expansion tank has a leak, which I epoxied for a temporary fix. What brand is a reliable one? I see Euro, Behr, Dorman, Rein.
I will be doing the entire cooling system this winter - any brands of rads better? I was thinking an all aluminum to avoid the plastic issues.
I guess a Stewart pump is the de facto pump?
Hoses ? I have read that if using an all aluminum then the silicone hoses are thought to be better? Or just use OEM?
Thanks again for the help.

 

[colb]

I don't recognize the brand names you list apart from Behr which we also have access to in the UK, at the ends of the day OEM is good quality given how long parts have lasted on our cars the unfortunate downside is you have to pay BMW prices. Some pattern parts are ok but when it comes to sensors I always use oem spec from either Bosch or Siemens, they work straight out of the box, many pattern parts fail in short time or don't work at all. I read good things about Stewart pumps over here.

 

[bob11x]

Looking at MAF and there are some ads which list "VDO" as the OEM? Also shows "VDO" and "Siemens" in the same ad. With all of the globalization - are they the same company?

 

[hard top]

Looking at MAF and there are some ads which list "VDO" as the OEM? Also shows "VDO" and "Siemens" in the same ad. With all of the globalization - are they the same company?

This came up with a quick check on the net :-

Siemens VDO Automotive Ltd
Siemens VDO Automotive Limited manufactures a variety of automotive components and accessories. The Group's products include dashboard instruments, flexible drive shift cables, tachograph, bowden control cables, automotive switches, garage equipments and road speed governors.

 

[bob11x]

Thanks Mike, Colb mentioned Siemens - just wasn't sure if they were same company. Pricing is in the middle of OEM vs normal aftermarket. Hate to "save" $100 if it is not as good as the $100 ones.

 

[colb]

I would go for the Siemens brand, the VDO one may well be the same since they are sister brands, I went through buying a cheap ebay Maf despite reading the warnings of their quality on forums, it didn't work correctly, sent it back and got a refund, ended up buying a Bosch one, worked straight out of the box. Same rule for all the other sensors, I have had good results fitting Hass camshaft sensors, if they are good enough for their F1 team then ok by me.