New (to me) car time

[asoni]

£8,000 for a 40d seems suspiciously cheap however hopefully it isn't!

[mr angry]

As mentioned earlier, it had some issues which I was aware of at the point of sale. Namely needed tyres, wheels require to be refurbished and a high mileage. Oh and some small scuffs and scratches. I have arranged to drop it of to a local BMW specialist in Glasgow tomorrow morning to have the lumpy starting/smoking checked along with checking the DPF and the high oil level. I will keep you updated with the results.

[asoni]

Maybe prices have just dropped but when I was looking for one exactly a year ago I couldn't find a 40d for less then about 13/14k regardless of mileage or condition. Hopefully yours is fine other then the issues you are already aware of, and would end up being a bargain if you can get those fixed reasonably.

[asoni]

PS regarding the DPF, don't qoute me on this but I was advised every 2000 miles or so to drive the car at fairly high revs (around 4k) for about 20 minutes and the heat will clear the DPF (or help keep it clear at least).

It's easy to forget to do this considering the 40d usually cruises at only 2k revs so it don't take long to build up and block the filter, that's my understanding of how it works.

[mr angry]

I picked the car up from the garage this afternoon and to be honest I am no further forward. They carried out diagnostic tests and no fault codes showing in the DDE module. All fuel pressures were in order. The air mass values were around 514 mg/stroke at idle and BMW figures are 748 mg/stroke, however I dont think this is related. The guy said all injection values appear in order but still think one or more could be leaking after shut down. He said there is no way of confirming this without removing them all and sending away for testing.

They said that they were very surprised no DDE errors were logged as they see them often in much newer cars with no real symptoms. They suggest that I drive it for a few days and go back in to see if any fault codes appear.

To be honest I drove the car from Blackburn to Glasgow a few days ago and back and forth to work the last few days so I am not sure what driving for a few more days will achieve.

When I asked whether the DPF was working he just said if it wasn't an error would very quickly show on the dash??

[Leslie]

No point sending the injectors for testing as you will almost certainly be paying to have all 6 refurbed and that will cost a fair bit with no guarantee that's the issue.
With no codes you are a bit stuck really , in theory if the dpf has a fault it would throw a code but by that time the car with be struggling to run anyway and that's assuming its even still there . They should be able to check how much ash is in it and look at the back pressure as I think that;s how it determines a Regen is due as back pressure rises as the restriction gets worse.
What mileage is on the car as a matter of interest ? Mine is on 132k now and I'm surprised yours doesn't at least have heat plug faulty codes as virtually all high miler x5's suffer this as well as a faulty stat but maybe they were changed.
Id check the hidden menu temp yourself (see youtube) to see what its running at ,mine was 65c and it should be 88c so running way too cold.
Its at times like these taking it to Bmw for a code reading starts to make sense.

[mr angry]

Thanks Leslie, I am going to go to another indy for a second opinion as I find it hard to believe that in these modern times there is no way to check injectors whilst still in the car. The car has 201,000 miles on it, although you wouldn't know it to look at it inside or drive it. Looking at the mot history one of the two owners did a high annual mileage which I can only assume was motorway given the lack of wear on the drivers seat.

Other than the brief starting issue it has bags of power and no other real mechanical issues that I have found. It also has a very comprehensive service history.

[henrym3]

Surely a simple fuel pressure test where it is left for a period will tell if an injector is leaking BMW will have listed what the pressure should be and how much of a drop off is acceptable over a set period. Any indie can do that

[mr angry]

I think the problem is that yes, there will be a drop in fuel pressure, but it will show across the common rail and all six lines. I am not sure how you would identify exactly which injectors are failing. I am going to book into a diesel specialist who are apparently at the top of their game....we will see what the outcome is next week.

[henrym3]

At that sort of mileage you might have to bit the bullet and get all six refurbed, which might also account for the high oil level. Another option might be to get the oil analysed for diesel content

[mr angry]

Yes worst case scenario all six may need doing, but to be honest if it fixes it then all good. I had a quick look earlier and they are a lot more accessible on the LCI which should hopefully keep the labour costs down if I get them to do it.

[henrym3]

My conscience makes me mention that if a leaking injector is the problem then don’t leave it. If leaking enough to raise the oil level then it has thinned the oil and does a good job of washing the cylinder walls, extra wear on rings etc etc, seen it on the RR V12 and they held 90 ltrs of oil. Make sure oil is changed as well

[mr angry]

Yes I agree the bore wash and oil contamination is a worry and I am not really using it until sorted. Luckily I still have trusty e53 which has served me well. It does however feel a lot more agricultural now in comparison.

[henrym3]

There’s nowt wrong with farmyard machinery, got some myself

[Leslie]

Injector leak off test where they put a bottle on each leak off pipe is probably what's needed now.