New owner...couple of things

[dani_armo]

Hi, I have had my Le Mans Blue Edition 3.0d for just over a week now and love it. Its a one owner with 60k and has a full specialist history (with recent oil service). Its immaculate inside and out but I have noticed a couple of little 'issues'

When filling up with diesel the pump clicks off unless I fill it really slowly - I have tried numerous pumps with the same issue so its not the filling stations. I am wondering if it is something to do with the vent/breather valve but I cannot locate where it is on these models...does anyone know?? Its really annoying as it can take ages to put a small amount of fuel in!

Secondly the car sometimes feels a little low on power. This is not all the time, it was fine today but last night it would barely move for the first few minutes then all of a sudden it was fine and shifted like normal. When I test drove the car it flew up the hill fine and through all the gears no problem but at times it feels sluggish and as if its revving a little. Theres no noticable smoke and no engine lights etc.

I checked the air filter and this seems fairly clean and it is still very white (it says it was changed 5-6k miles ago), and am I right to think the 2006 56 models should have the vortex style breathers so this should not really need changing??

Then only thing I have noticed is a bit of gunk around the egr valve so was wondering if it could be this...but would a dirty egr valve really slow the car down this much? I might try and get it off tomorrow and give it a good clean.

Sorry for the essay, any help/advice would be appreciated! 

[X_V]

Hiya dani,

With regards to filling up very slowly, I suggest you check for any obstructions in the filler tube. The previous owner of my E53 3.0d had somehow broken the plastic clip on the Fuel Filler Flap (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/part?id ... 1171928699) which lodged itself inside the filler tube. So if yours is also missing on the flap maybe that's a good starting point? I also changed the fuel filter just in case other bits of crap may have got through. It's a PIA job but cheap compared to replacing injectors etc.

Not sure about intermittent power loss but one thing to check is for Vacuum leaks. When I first got mine, it was feeling very sluggish on take off. Turned out that the turbo wasn't effective because there was a crack in the nipple of the Vacuum Tank (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=11_2978). Someone had previously done a dodgy glue job on the nipple. >:( So as soon as I replaced the tank the turbo now has that lovely whistle and no longer sluggish on take off.

Hopefully, your problem will be as easy as this to fix. Best of luck.

[Moments]

Congratulations on the purchase - nice car

Regarding the fuelling, I'd be tempted to look for obstructions as well. I find diesel fuel pumps to be pretty temperamental - occasionally they click off really early. One thing you may wish to try is rotate the nozzle - some click off at certain angles but not at others.

For the occasional loss of power, I suspect the car might have a lot of urban miles (guessing). So definitely look for EGR first, it can get ugly with short trips. I have previous experience of manifold contamination on an E39 525tds and it was not pretty. You'll know quickly if the EGR end of things is sticking.

[dani_armo]

Thanks guys, im wondering if there is maybe something obstructing the tube. I have noticed that there is no little flap on the tube...is this the same with yours? Im wondering if it may have broken off and is floating in the tank!

I'll have a look round for air leaks but im guessing that at only 60k after 10 years it is a lot of urban miles so will try and get the egr out and get it soaked in some cleaner.

[mikem]

Someone has maybe removed the EGR before and nicked the rubber sealing ring on the pipe. This is what had happened to ours and there was build up around the EGR and the oil filter housing.

Check for oil build up on the boost pipes directly at the inter cooler too. Again they're sealed with rubber "washers" and have a habit of perishing and loosing boost. It cost me about £20 for all 4 and they're easy enough to replace bar the one at the turbo itself which needs the air filter housing removing to get too.

[AW8]

Might be worth making some calls using tel numbers on stamps &/or invoices to check out just how good that full specialist history is.

Specialist usually means independent & inference taken from your use of the word full indicates the car has never seen a main dealership.

60k is a low mileage for a 10 year old car so checks should also verify mileage as will vosa mot history check

Normally I wouldn't comment but if well serviced it shouldn't have these issues. The fuel filling issue could go unnoticed but I would have thought the low power issue would have been found & sorted.

Maybe specialist referred to may she's some light on the issues you have found...maybe mention you might take it to them sometime if they seem reluctant to engage or give you info.

Not trying to turn a happy purchase into a headache....hopefully all will be good.

[dani_armo]

Just thought id update on this in case anyone else is having similar symptoms and finds its useful (after finally getting things sorted.....)

The issue with the fuelling was exactly what X_V mentioned in a previous post - the little green plastic clip on the filler flap had somehow been dropped down the tube - once this was taken out it fills up fine again!

As for the loss of power, after scanning it with the scanner tool software from ebay v1.4.0 I kept getting mass air flow errors and I have finally got the MAF sensor swapped (£40 for a used one from the local indy breakers yard) and the car drives perfect again. The symptoms got a little worse with quite a lot of high revs and puffs of black smoke under hard acceleration

Also got the indy to check around and he seems to think its a great low mileage example so fingers crossed its all fine now!