82 320i running rich

[stidham030]

my electric fuel pump comes on and stays on,is it supposed to.she runs rough all the time ,but theres no loss of power ,however i know theres a miss because i had the idea of lighting a torch near the exhaust,theres a flame from the rich exhaust and it sucks back into the pipe indicating a missed firing or dead cylinder.i know these cars can cost and i would love to have help finding this problem.id really appreciate any help no matter how silly it sounds.thank you

[jeffreyb4me]

let me think about this one............torch huh?....to check a rich condition........I'll be back with some,... safer,... perhaps,... tests for you. It's Halloween though and our front door is busy tonight. back Mon. if you can wait.

[KC Ron Carter]

I get no kid trafiic at my home anymore.

Sparkplugs are gapped .024 for smoother idle, and .028 for better performance.

If you have a inductance timing light you can go from cylinder to cylinder to find which is not firing. Setting the timing is a matter of unpluging the vacuum leads and blocking them. With the engine at 2400 RPM 2250 for the California models, rotate distributor to get the steel ball in the window on top of the flywheel housing.

If you open the hood after dark you can see crossfiring wire issues, changing the cap, rotor, and wires fixes that.

If you have a external tachometer, or you could use the in car one.
Remove the spark plug leads one at a time and note the RPM drop.

The cylinder that causes the smallest or no drop is the bad cylinder.

You next need to determine if it is a fuel, ignition, or compression.

Easy to see if the spark is blue and regular.

Fuel is with a torch on the tail pipe, and that was positive already.

To adjust the fuel mixture requires a 3mm long allen wrench inserted into a opening on the top of the fuel distributor. Adjust to highest RPM then slow the idle down to 900 rpm. Repeat until at best RPM and at 900 RPM.



If you have spark and fuel, that only leaves compression for the issue.

It requires a compression gauge to test.

If you squirt oil in the cylinder and the compression goes up the issues is the rings or cylinder walls, if it stays the same, the issue is the valves.

You need to check the valves every 24,000 miles anyway.

We don't need no stinking manuals!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Make sure all the valves are set equally at
a tight .007/ loose .006.

Some may find that a .007 no/go
and a tight .006 as a go
as easier to set.

Always measure at the Valve to the eccentric for clearance.

Remember when setting the valves to make sure the piston is at TDC on the valves you are adjusting. This occurs when the cam lobes are both pointing down equally. Make sure to rotate the motor the proper direction when doing this and start at cylinder 1 then 3, then 4, then 2.

You can use a socket on the crankshaft bolt.

On Manual transmissions, on level ground, you can put transmission in 3 gear, and by rolling the car rotate the engine.

On the Diag. plug you can provide power to the pin #11.



Also you can use the cam in X then the mated cylinder is in TDC,
1-4 3-2 4-1 2-3.

First thing to do is to make sure the car has completely cooled down Remove the breather hose from the valve cover by usually loosening the hose clamp that holds it on with a flathead screwdriver. Be sure to check the end of this hose for cracks then just push it out of the way.














As you begin to tighten the nut, keep a steady light pressure on the Allen Wrench (or similar device) since the adjustment cam may want to rotate. Also keep in mind that as you are tightening with one hand, the other hand may want to put extra or not enough pressure on the cam. Try to keep a steady amount of pressure.

The main goal is to tighten it ENOUGH.

Valve cover 9+-1 Nm or SAE 80+-9 in-lb
Valve eccentrics 10+-1 Nm or SAE 89+-9 in-lb

Follow the same procedure with the other ones.

You can use a socket on the crankshaft bolt.

On cars with standard transmissions you can put it in 3rd gear and rock the car to get the engine to the correct position.

On those with a diagnostic plug you can use pin 11 and the jumper there.

Always do it twice, once to set and next to check.

Later,

[jeffreyb4me]

"K C Ron Carter", you ARE a wonderful human being.

[stidham030]

hey i havent got back on it,but i saved the info and im positive that your help will do the trick.you are appreciated,thank you

[stidham030]

and youre right who needs a friggin manual.....thanks again

[stidham030]

oh and it does clatter an obscene amount

[stidham030]

after reading your post i know now that it is a combo of all these things.futher inspection sowed me a split intake hose between filter and intake,also the breather hose you mentioned is split ,and as i said it has 179,000 miles and the valves need the attention you described,you gave me a map to this great piece of german engineering.any ideas on where to get some new seats at a good price,ohand a new sunroof gasket,just pulled it out of garage and it started raining.lol