Possible poorly roadster s

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karlplotka
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Possible poorly roadster s

Post by karlplotka » Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:38 pm

due to the beast from the east the car was a birmimgham airport for a few days during the cold, when I came back to it it started fine. But 10 minutes down the road, loads of smoke out the back and the Engine management light came on, after 10 minutes further the smoke went and the light went off. The car drove fine just alot of smoke and smelt a but of burning, any ideas? its on just over 90k, any help much appreciated
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Post by Charles » Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:47 pm

Never come across this before - some thoughts:

Firstly, it is likely to be cold weather related but smoke from the exhaust points at engine/exhaust rather than coolant system.

However, if the coolant had frozen then this might cause the engine to overheat until it started to circulate - so did the temperature gauge rise as normal. If so, then coolant was likely to be circulating correctly and so this limits possible issues to engine and/or exhaust

Secondly, are you sure it was smoke and not just normal exhaust fumes which will appear much more dense and obvious in cold weather?

However, the burning smell is a bit of a concern - but I guess it is/was difficult to identify exactly where this was coming from. Was it a general smell or coming through the vents? Talking of which, did you have the heating wound right up to the max or running as normal at, say, 20C?

Loads more questions but it would be helpful to try and eliminate some of these initial ones before I write an essay!!!

One final question though - has the Head Gasket been changed recently as they tend to go around the 80-90k mile mark and you are in that territory?
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Post by karlplotka » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:14 pm

The coolant level seems fine..but oil level has dropped quite a bit. It's still.on it's original hear gasket. I started it up today and could smell like burning oil from.exhaust and what appeared to be a bit of creamy liquid and few oils drops. The vents were on normal..I have a video of it just now. How's best to upload it?
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Post by v8 ego » Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:02 pm

If it's been left outside without sufficiently concentrated anti freeze/water then there is a chance the coolant system has frozen and cracked the block or head?
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Post by Charles » Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:48 pm

karlplotka wrote:..but oil level has dropped quite a bit. It's still.on it's original hear gasket. I started it up today and could smell like burning oil from.exhaust and what appeared to be a bit of creamy liquid and few oils drops.
I always try and look at things positively but a sudden loss of oil, combined with what you describe as creamy liquid which could be an oil/water mix and oil drops coming out of the exhaust suggest something quite serious - either failed head gasket allowing oil and water into the cylinders or, possibly a more serious problem with the head and/or block - as suggested above.

If you haven't already done so, have you checked the inside of the oil filler cap? You are looking for further signs of what many describe as mayonnaise but is actually an oil/water emulsion - similar to what you describe coming out of the exhaust.

I really want this to be a small issue ...
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Post by karlplotka » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:06 pm

The inside of filler cap due to me.doing short journeys mostly always had a bit of custard affect on since I've had it 7 yrs ago..but Coolant level was fine and hasn't dropped which I find odd from what I could tell. If it's a new block how much are they? I know the head gasket is about 400 for the part. There was no loss of power or anything. Going to get it booked into sytner next week hope it's just a head gasket .
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Post by ali » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:40 pm

I'd check the rocker cover gaskets for signs of leakage at the rear onto the exhaust too
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Post by Oneball » Sat Mar 03, 2018 6:14 pm

In addition to what others have suggested it would be good to have the fault codes read to see why the EML came on. Very few of the issues mentioned above would light it up.

Are you sure it was the EML? If it comes on it doesn’t usually go off without the car being stopped and the ignition turned off.

You can upload the video to YouTube or somewhere similar and then post a link or use a photo-video storage site then share it from there.

Is the smoke definitely coming out of the tail pipe and not from under the car?
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Post by karlplotka » Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:12 pm

It was definetly from the exhaust and the oil level has dropped. Can see like.custard liquid out of.exhaust and few oils drops. But Coolant level seems fine. Will upload the video link shortly. I think it was but looking at it again looks like could have been the emissions light. Was the square shape with like a tap on top of it. Will check manual to confirm.
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Post by Oneball » Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:25 pm

karlplotka wrote:It was definetly from the exhaust and the oil level has dropped. Can see like.custard liquid out of.exhaust and few oils drops. But Coolant level seems fine. Will upload the video link shortly. I think it was but looking at it again looks like could have been the emissions light. Was the square shape with like a tap on top of it. Will check manual to confirm.
That sounds like the coolant warning light to me.

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Post by karlplotka » Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:07 pm

Ooo no definitely wasn't that one. Just checked was the engine management light. Coolant level seems fine. Hasn't dropped. Getting her booked in next week see what the heart attack is :(
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Post by Charles » Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:29 am

Oneball wrote:In addition to what others have suggested it would be good to have the fault codes read to see why the EML came on. Very few of the issues mentioned above would light it up.
With the amount of "smoke" coming from the exhaust, it would be reasonable to assume that this has thrown out the lambda sensors and triggered the EML.
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Post by karlplotka » Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:28 pm

can booked in for 15th March will keep you all posted on sytners findings
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Post by karlplotka » Wed Mar 21, 2018 6:52 pm

Sytners have had the car and can't find where the oil is going. The bad news is that to fully sort it would be a rebuild by sending it off back to Alpina. Total cost 16000 euros :( any suggestions would be much welcome.or advise. Otherwise will be going of the road whilst I save up. Gutted to have her poorly :(
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Post by Oneball » Wed Mar 21, 2018 7:37 pm

karlplotka wrote:Sytners have had the car and can't find where the oil is going. :(
That's because they're a bit *&%$, a decent mechanic rather than a service guy should be able to tell why it is losing oil, did they even check the compression or do a leak down test?

What was the error code that caused the EML to light?

Find a decent BMW specialist and see what they think, many on here recommend Phil Crouch at CPC but there are plenty of others.
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