88 528e curious stumbling problem

> wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:13:11 -0500,
wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:55:16 -0500,
> >wrote:
> >
> >>Alright all ye who are strong in BMW-fu
> >>
> >>98.4 percent of the time this car runs absolutely fantastic. The other
> >>times it acts as though it is overheating then stumbles and runs quite
> >>poorly. The temp needle climbs, it stumbles, won't accelerate, then a
> >>few minutes later it clears up and again...runs great. I have replaced
> >>the thermostat. I have, but have not yet replaced, the coolant temp
> >>sensor. I have replaced the airflow meter, on the advice of a
> >>mechanic. Fortunately, it was cheap...(EBAY) but it made no
> >>difference. I love the car...It's in great shape...but HELP!
> >
> >
> ><Joe Pesci>
> >Okay, okay, okay, I think I got it!
> ></Joe Pesci>
> >
> >I did replace several things...all of which needed a good replacing.
> >
> >At first, on the advice of a mechanic I replaced the air flow meter.
> >Nothing
> >
> >Coolant temp sensor: needed it!!!! Old one disintegrated.
> >Nothing
> >
> >Thermostat, original!!!! Needed it!
> >Nothing
> >
> >While I was there, several vacuum lines, one of which went to the fuel
> >pressure regulator...'cos it was all crumbly. I was thinking...low
> >fuel pressure?
> >
> >I had already recently replaced fuel filter and plugs.
> >
> >Cap and rotor...might have been original :-< pins nearly cut in half!
> >Pitted, horrible
> >Nothing
> >
> >Rearranged various relays (fuel pump relay) if appropriate.
> >Nothing
> >
> >It was still overheating from time to time... which corresponded to
> >its poor behavior.
> >
> >At first glance it looked like the fan clutch was ok. But one time, I
> >looked at it, it didn't seem quite right. So in one of my southern
> >"Hey yall! Watch this!" moments, yet without any "y'all "to watch it
> >or apply a tourniquet if I was wrong...I stopped the fan blade with my
> >bare hand while it was overheating. Excellent, said I!. Well, only
> >after noting what a dumb ass thing that just was. I put a new clutch
> >on it.
> >
> >The temp needle is absolutely rock steady. It never goes above medium.
> >and it runs great! Better than before. I zipped around the
> >neighborhood, frightened the children, scared the pets, stunned the
> >farm animals. It wouldn't act up. I almost wouldn't have believed it.
> >I'm not disappointed. Everything I put on, it needed. Even the
> >previous air flow meter was the wrong part number. At least now it was
> >one from the same model!
> >
> >Thanks to Bill for your input. I'll let you know if it continues to be
> >a lady or a b***h! LOL
> >
> >(posted and emailed)
> >
> >mike
> >a new regular?!
> >88 528e
>
>
> A new car would be cheaper than this!
-----

But the satisfaction would be less and you'd gain a car payment and higher
insurance. New is nice, but comes with a price.

Bill in Omaha
'86 535i

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:42:41 +0100, wrote:

>On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:13:11 -0500, wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:55:16 -0500,
>>wrote:
>>
>>>Alright all ye who are strong in BMW-fu
>>>
>>>98.4 percent of the time this car runs absolutely fantastic. The other
>>>times it acts as though it is overheating then stumbles and runs quite
>>>poorly. The temp needle climbs, it stumbles, won't accelerate, then a
>>>few minutes later it clears up and again...runs great. I have replaced
>>>the thermostat. I have, but have not yet replaced, the coolant temp
>>>sensor. I have replaced the airflow meter, on the advice of a
>>>mechanic. Fortunately, it was cheap...(EBAY) but it made no
>>>difference. I love the car...It's in great shape...but HELP!
>>
>>
>><Joe Pesci>
>>Okay, okay, okay, I think I got it!
>></Joe Pesci>
>>
>>I did replace several things...all of which needed a good replacing.
>>
>>At first, on the advice of a mechanic I replaced the air flow meter.
>>Nothing
$50 on EBAY
>>
>>Coolant temp sensor: needed it!!!! Old one disintegrated.
>>Nothing
>>
$14
>>Thermostat, original!!!! Needed it!
>>Nothing
>>
$20 including gasket
>>While I was there, several vacuum lines, one of which went to the fuel
>>pressure regulator...'cos it was all crumbly. I was thinking...low
>>fuel pressure?
>>
$2 and I have extra
>>I had already recently replaced fuel filter and plugs.
>>
$30
>>Cap and rotor...might have been original :-< pins nearly cut in half!
>>Pitted, horrible
>>Nothing
$77
>>
>>Rearranged various relays (fuel pump relay) if appropriate.
>>Nothing
>>
Free!
>>It was still overheating from time to time... which corresponded to
>>its poor behavior.
>>
>>At first glance it looked like the fan clutch was ok. But one time, I
>>looked at it, it didn't seem quite right. So in one of my southern
>>"Hey yall! Watch this!" moments, yet without any "y'all "to watch it
>>or apply a tourniquet if I was wrong...I stopped the fan blade with my
>>bare hand while it was overheating. Excellent, said I!. Well, only
>>after noting what a dumb ass thing that just was. I put a new clutch
>>on it.
$92...ouch!
>>
>>The temp needle is absolutely rock steady. It never goes above medium.
>>and it runs great! Better than before. I zipped around the
>>neighborhood, frightened the children, scared the pets, stunned the
>>farm animals. It wouldn't act up. I almost wouldn't have believed it.
>>I'm not disappointed. Everything I put on, it needed. Even the
>>previous air flow meter was the wrong part number. At least now it was
>>one from the same model!
>>
>>Thanks to Bill for your input. I'll let you know if it continues to be
>>a lady or a b***h! LOL
>>
>>(posted and emailed)
>>
>>mike
>>a new regular?!
>>88 528e
>
>
>A new car would be cheaper than this!

The car was actually given to me. Thus far I've spent $285 on it...err
recently, that is (ex-girlfriend's car) and now runs like it has a
rocket up it's a**. We used to drive it on road trips...good on gas
too! If you can provide me with a new car, that does what it does for
that price I will certainly subscribe to your newsletter.

Yeah, I know you were kidding...I think. Seriously though. It's a
small engine and everything but it really goes. And as my dad used to
say, smooth as snot on a doorknob...I'm glad we finally put dad in
that home for his long deserved rest. He was a weirdo. Barking mad, I
tell you. Woof!

mike
88 528e

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:42:41 +0100, wrote:

>A new car would be cheaper than this!

I was just wondering how much longer I was going to have to wait for
more of your superior wit. Too bad you actually quoted 70 lines of
text to add this to...

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:34:35 -0400, Psycho > wrote:

>On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:42:41 +0100, wrote:
>
>>A new car would be cheaper than this!
>
> I was just wondering how much longer I was going to have to wait for
>more of your superior wit. Too bad you actually quoted 70 lines of
>text to add this to...

Tough **** - you didn't have to read it!

Intelligence is knowing when to quit - so why don't you?

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:13:11 -0500,
wrote:

>On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:55:16 -0500,
>wrote:
>
>>Alright all ye who are strong in BMW-fu
>>
>>98.4 percent of the time this car runs absolutely fantastic. The other
>>times it acts as though it is overheating then stumbles and runs quite
>>poorly. The temp needle climbs, it stumbles, won't accelerate, then a
>>few minutes later it clears up and again...runs great. I have replaced
>>the thermostat. I have, but have not yet replaced, the coolant temp
>>sensor. I have replaced the airflow meter, on the advice of a
>>mechanic. Fortunately, it was cheap...(EBAY) but it made no
>>difference. I love the car...It's in great shape...but HELP!
>
>
><Joe Pesci>
>Okay, okay, okay, I think I got it!
></Joe Pesci>
>
>I did replace several things...all of which needed a good replacing.
>
>At first, on the advice of a mechanic I replaced the air flow meter.
>Nothing
>
>Coolant temp sensor: needed it!!!! Old one disintegrated.
>Nothing
>
>Thermostat, original!!!! Needed it!
>Nothing
>
>While I was there, several vacuum lines, one of which went to the fuel
>pressure regulator...'cos it was all crumbly. I was thinking...low
>fuel pressure?
>
>I had already recently replaced fuel filter and plugs.
>
>Cap and rotor...might have been original :-< pins nearly cut in half!
>Pitted, horrible
>Nothing
>
>Rearranged various relays (fuel pump relay) if appropriate.
>Nothing
>
>It was still overheating from time to time... which corresponded to
>its poor behavior.
>
>At first glance it looked like the fan clutch was ok. But one time, I
>looked at it, it didn't seem quite right. So in one of my southern
>"Hey yall! Watch this!" moments, yet without any "y'all "to watch it
>or apply a tourniquet if I was wrong...I stopped the fan blade with my
>bare hand while it was overheating. Excellent, said I!. Well, only
>after noting what a dumb ass thing that just was. I put a new clutch
>on it.
>
>The temp needle is absolutely rock steady. It never goes above medium.
>and it runs great! Better than before. I zipped around the
>neighborhood, frightened the children, scared the pets, stunned the
>farm animals. It wouldn't act up. I almost wouldn't have believed it.
>I'm not disappointed. Everything I put on, it needed. Even the
>previous air flow meter was the wrong part number. At least now it was
>one from the same model!
>
>Thanks to Bill for your input. I'll let you know if it continues to be
>a lady or a b***h! LOL
>
>(posted and emailed)
>
>mike
>a new regular?!
>88 528e

Okay, it did fine, fine for days...then it did something similar,
though not as severe, I think. When it does it, the temp needle had
usually climbed...cloom...clum...whatever...but not into the overheat
range. EVERY other car I have ever owned didn't have a problem at this
point. Then it does this weird surging thing. It has an economy meter
from 0 to 40 mpg and that needle swings back and forth. Still it seems
like as long as the temp needle stays in the proper area it runs ok. I
don't mind replacing parts, the car was free, but I'd like to do
something that might work. I've done everything mentioned above.

I have a new temp gauge sender(not installed yet)...only because
I'd like to know if it's actually overheating. But reading other
forums...fora...whatever, I saw a suggestion for a throttle position
sensor. Sometimes they get grumpy when the engine bay heats up. Coil?
Bad gas? Anything?

mike
88 528e...the tramp!

> wrote in message
...
> Okay, it did fine, fine for days...then it did something similar,
> though not as severe, I think. When it does it, the temp needle had
> usually climbed...cloom...clum...whatever...but not into the overheat
> range. EVERY other car I have ever owned didn't have a problem at this
> point. Then it does this weird surging thing. It has an economy meter
> from 0 to 40 mpg and that needle swings back and forth. Still it seems
> like as long as the temp needle stays in the proper area it runs ok. I
> don't mind replacing parts, the car was free, but I'd like to do
> something that might work. I've done everything mentioned above.
>
> I have a new temp gauge sender(not installed yet)...only because
> I'd like to know if it's actually overheating. But reading other
> forums...fora...whatever, I saw a suggestion for a throttle position
> sensor. Sometimes they get grumpy when the engine bay heats up. Coil?
> Bad gas? Anything?
>
> mike
> 88 528e...the tramp!
-----

Here's a few things (and they could be redundant, but) -
1. The instrument cluster may be faulty (I have some spares!)
2. Are you SURE it's getting that hot? (if there's air in the coolant
system, the gauge jumps when the air bubble hits the sensor)
3. If the radiator has a blockage (but then it wouldn't cool for days then
act up)
4. The coolant/water ratio needs adjustment
5. It's just too damn hot and humid (my sister in Biloxi says it is)
6. There's some added resistance somewhere creating an artificial reading
7. Pull the cluster and check the 3 rear connectors for fit

Let us know. And can you send me a pic or two of the engine bay?
Bill in Omaha
'86 535i

On Jun 21, 11:42 am, wrote:

> A new car would be cheaper than this!

A better place to hang out would help more.

Zamboni, you need to hook up the E28 intelligentsia. We are at www.mye28.com
and no one there is going to tell you to buy a new car instead of
fixing the one you have. Even if this persistent moron follows you
there, he won't last long because we won't tolerate those who have
nothing but abuse to contribute.

As for the service manual, I cannot tell you emphatically enough that
the Haynes manual you have is crap. BUY THE BENTLEY! It will be the
best $40 you ever spend on this car. Trust me; I've had four of these
(E28s) so far and I'm buying my fifth.
--
C.R. Krieger
Been there; done that