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2007 cooper s. so, I floored it out of my neighborhood today, up to like 4 or 5k in 1st. which I have done a few times in the past. about 3 minutes later I stop at a light. then when I start going again and theres no power. car running really rough. really sluggish while giving it throttle. engine is making car shake some.
so I then check the faults. I get P0300 and P0303. I did a scan for pending faults and got the two above plus P0301 and B2aaa. I have a leaky valve cover, this is something I've had for years.
so I got it home and pulled the coil on cylinder 3, coil pulled off easy due to oil being all over it and inside where the spark plug makes contact. I look inside the spark plug tube and theres oil sitting down where the spark plug is. so I removed the spark plug. which wasn't on tight, like a little more than finger tight, and totally soaked in oil. I replaced all the plugs a couple years ago and torqued them to spec. so I look into the cylinder and it looks like its nearly filled with oil.
I'm hoping that oil leaked through the valve cover spark plug tube gasket and not into the cylinder from some where else. so I assume I should start by replacing the valve cover gasket and spark plug gaskets? theres a autozone near me that has a fel-pro gasket. I should be able to clean the plug and coil with brake cleaner and it work ok? how should I remove the oil from the cylinder? once I put the new gaskets on and everything is back together just start the car and let it blow out the exhaust?
I took the plug out of cylinder 1 and everything looked ok but there was some oil on the spark plug's threads.
When I take spark plugs out with deeply recessed holes, I always blow out any debris in there with compressed air before removing the plugs. It may make a mess, but at least all that stuff doesn't drop into your cylinders. If I were you, I would blow out any plugs holes that you have not removed the plugs from, take any remaining plugs out, make sure all 4 coils are disconnected, then crank the engine over for 20-30 seconds in order to remove any crap/oil that may have dropped into the cylinders. At that point, I would replace all 4 plugs. Then, time for a valve cover gasket job, which would include the spark plug tube gaskets. I would then replace any coil packs contaminated with oil, maybe all 4, just to be safe. Once all is back together, hope all is well, and not too much crap has fallen into your cylinders. Only time will tell.
When I take spark plugs out with deeply recessed holes, I always blow out any debris in there with compressed air before removing the plugs. It may make a mess, but at least all that stuff doesn't drop into your cylinders. If I were you, I would blow out any plugs holes that you have not removed the plugs from, take any remaining plugs out, make sure all 4 coils are disconnected, then crank the engine over for 20-30 seconds in order to remove any crap/oil that may have dropped into the cylinders. At that point, I would replace all 4 plugs. Then, time for a valve cover gasket job, which would include the spark plug tube gaskets. I would then replace any coil packs contaminated with oil, maybe all 4, just to be safe. Once all is back together, hope all is well, and not too much crap has fallen into your cylinders. Only time will tell.
its a push button start, would I just hold the button down? with no spark plugs or coils in?
When one of my cylinders was flooded with gas, i kept the spark plug out on that cylinder and the other three were still connected to the coils. I started the car for few seconds (it sounded like a train or motorcycle lol) the cylinder after that was dry and ready for the plug to go in.
the tip of your spark plug seems dry, am i correct? you might just have a bad coil!
one time i was driving down 95, and i pushed it a bit and the CEL came on. bad coil was the culprit
When one of my cylinders was flooded with gas, i kept the spark plug out on that cylinder and the other three were still connected to the coils. I started the car for few seconds (it sounded like a train or motorcycle lol) the cylinder after that was dry and ready for the plug to go in.
the tip of your spark plug seems dry, am i correct? you might just have a bad coil!
one time i was driving down 95, and i pushed it a bit and the CEL came on. bad coil was the culprit
no the plug was all covered in oil. maybe I should start it with the plug in, but no coil? that way oil doesn't fly up the tube and make a mess.
no. the intake valve will be open and air will come from that side...the cloth will be big for the hole. use something like a 12"x12" sheet or bigger.
I took out all the plugs and coils.
I hit the start button and let it turn over for about 5 seconds then stopped it and checked. the #3 cylinder got drained from what I could see. all the other cylinders got wet but not flooded like #3 was. I then started it 2 more times and it turned off on its own after about 5-10 seconds each. the rag got some dirty mist on it and it smells like gas. AND cylinder 3 is flooded again as well as #2 from starting it those two extra times.
my question now is where did the liquid go that was in cylinder 3 the first time I started it, cause all that came out the top was a little gas mist. and I don't know what is flooded in cylinder 2 and 3 now, is it gas or oil?
I dont know what to do at this point. I can go pick up a new valve cover gasket kit in a hour. is there a fuse I can remove so it doesn't spray gas in the cylinder, and then start it again? is the gas that sprayed into the cylinder going to get mixed with my oil? or is it sitting in the exhaust somewhere along with possibly oil?
There is a fuse for the 1st fuel pump, located by the passenger door. I usually pull it when I check compression. I forget the number, but the "fuse locator" chart has symbols you can use to ID the correct one. You really should have a Bentley manual for this kind of stuff.
With a cylinder full of oil, you have a significant problem. Compression / leak-down tests are in order. A leaky VC gasket around the plugs wouldn't cause a cylinder to fill. More likely piston / rings, or head gasket. Outside chance it's valve stem seals --- any idea how long ago the intake valves were cleaned?
If it turns out there's no significant damage, then your oil / gas mix probably went out the exhaust. An oil change after repairs wouldn't be a bad idea tho.
Your PCV hose lock is probably a dealer-only item, but you could look up the PN on http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select and search on-line for it. Maybe one of our NAM shops has one.
There is a fuse for the 1st fuel pump, located by the passenger door. I usually pull it when I check compression. I forget the number, but the "fuse locator" chart has symbols you can use to ID the correct one. You really should have a Bentley manual for this kind of stuff.
With a cylinder full of oil, you have a significant problem. Compression / leak-down tests are in order. A leaky VC gasket around the plugs wouldn't cause a cylinder to fill. More likely piston / rings, or head gasket. Outside chance it's valve stem seals --- any idea how long ago the intake valves were cleaned?
If it turns out there's no significant damage, then your oil / gas mix probably went out the exhaust. An oil change after repairs wouldn't be a bad idea tho.
Your PCV hose lock is probably a dealer-only item, but you could look up the PN on http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select and search on-line for it. Maybe one of our NAM shops has one.
I just looked in the cylinders and #2 and #3 that had fluid. #3 drained, #2 still fluid. I stuck something down into #2 and pulled it back out to smell the fluid on it and its gas. its like 3mm above the piston, just covering the surface. if I put a spark plug in, it wouldn't get wet.
I'm thinking I should go ahead and replace the spark plug hole gaskets and valve cover gasket. clean the plugs and coils, and reinstall and try starting it. I have some old plugs from a couple years ago I could use if these don't work. and I have some old coils too. only #3 coil got wet. the intake valve has never been cleaned. car has 80k miles.
I think what happened initially was #3 leaked oil from the valve cover soaking the spark plug top and coil causing no spark. then the cylinder filled with gas. and I probably got a little oil inside the cylinder when I removed the spark plug.
edit: I just turned the car over for a few seconds and got cylinder 2 to drain so thats good. where is this gas going?
I just looked in the cylinders and #2 and #3 that had fluid. #3 drained, #2 still fluid. I stuck something down into #2 and pulled it back out to smell the fluid on it and its gas. its like 3mm above the piston, just covering the surface. if I put a spark plug in, it wouldn't get wet.
I'm thinking I should go ahead and replace the spark plug hole gaskets and valve cover gasket. clean the plugs and coils, and reinstall and try starting it. I have some old plugs from a couple years ago I could use if these don't work. and I have some old coils too. only #3 coil got wet. the intake valve has never been cleaned. car has 80k miles.
I think what happened initially was #3 leaked oil from the valve cover soaking the spark plug top and coil causing no spark. then the cylinder filled with gas. and I probably got a little oil inside the cylinder when I removed the spark plug.
edit: I just turned the car over for a few seconds and got cylinder 2 to drain so thats good. where is this gas going?
I doubt if anyone can do anything but guess where the gas is going, until you do some testing on the cylinders.
If intake valves have never been cleaned --- and by "cleaned" I'm referring to "walnut blasted" --- that crud build-up may have destroyed your valve guides, causing oil in the cylinder.
I doubt if anyone can do anything but guess where the gas is going, until you do some testing on the cylinders.
If intake valves have never been cleaned --- and by "cleaned" I'm referring to "walnut blasted" --- that crud build-up may have destroyed your valve guides, causing oil in the cylinder.
I don't think there was ever oil in the cylinder. the oil was from the spark plug tube gasket. the liquid I saw in the cylinder was gas that didn't get ignited because the spark plug and coil were sitting in a few inches of oil. I first assumed there was oil in the cylinder because thats what the spark plug and coil were soaked in. I don't know much about cars but I'm sorta learning, lol.
tomorrow I should have everything back together and report back.
is it normal for the red thing(pcv valve?) to be filled with oil like that in the photo underneath the valve cover? the tube on the right side of bottom photo that goes into the valve cover has some oil coated on the inside.
when the engine is running, the oil is gushing everywhere. I would not worry about it for now as the main issue is to get the car running smooth again.
it is known that VC/PCV will fail at some point and the engine will start burning more oil.
when the engine is running, the oil is gushing everywhere. I would not worry about it for now as the main issue is to get the car running smooth again.
it is known that VC/PCV will fail at some point and the engine will start burning more oil.
ok, I was wondering if I should clean that red thing out with an air compressor, maybe its gunked up.
ok, whats the best way to clean the top of the valve cover? theres so much oil and dirt stuck to it. I want to be able to see new leaks as well cause I've never cleaned it.
ok, whats the best way to clean the top of the valve cover? theres so much oil and dirt stuck to it. I want to be able to see new leaks as well cause I've never cleaned it.
To clean the outside surface, I'd wait 'til it's put back together and clean the entire engine bay with a couple cans of engine degreaser, available from most auto parts stores.
To clean the inside surface, I'd just do a couple oil changes in a much shorter interval than what you usually do --- sort of like break-in intervals. Change the oil filter too. Oil is extremely "active" in the valve cover area --- lotsa moving parts to throw it all over the place. It should be "self-cleaning" in there, as long as it's not to old and dirty. New oil by itself is a good cleanser!
its running good now. when the oil soaked #3 coil it ruined it. I had to put in a old coil. fault codes didn't go away on their own. so I cleared them, none have come back.
Originally Posted by oldbrokenwind
To clean the outside surface, I'd wait 'til it's put back together and clean the entire engine bay with a couple cans of engine degreaser, available from most auto parts stores.
To clean the inside surface, I'd just do a couple oil changes in a much shorter interval than what you usually do --- sort of like break-in intervals. Change the oil filter too. Oil is extremely "active" in the valve cover area --- lotsa moving parts to throw it all over the place. It should be "self-cleaning" in there, as long as it's not to old and dirty. New oil by itself is a good cleanser!
03-21-2017, 06:34 PM
so it is two in one step.
good luck 
