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barry.james1 
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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 Topic: 328i SE not starting?!
Posted: 08-December-2004 at 18:54 |
Hi Chaps,
New to this, but start off with a problem!
Bought a 1997 328i SE a month ago and its been running fine. Uses a bit of oil but runs very smoothly. I haven't driven it for 4 days and went to start it this evening. It fired and instantly cut out? I have tried turning it over and over which it does but won't actually start. Anyone got any ideas? Its was running absolutely fine the last time it was used?! Anyway of getting fault codes etc?
Cheers
Barry
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alarustic
Groupie
Joined: 23-February-2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 70
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Posted: 08-December-2004 at 21:24 |
Could be dreaded Nikasil. Do a search in these forums! Starting can be affected.
Good luck. Hopefully, it's somthing else!
Edited by alarustic
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 09-December-2004 at 06:43 |
Posted this on the 3 series technical bit now.
Cheers
Barry
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 12-December-2004 at 17:02 |
Managed to get it going by bump starting it on a tow rope today and went for a long drive and seems to be fine now. Booked in for a leakdown test tomorrow so will see what they find. Does this sound ominous?
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Peter Fenwick
Bavarian-Board Contributor
Joined: 27-August-2003
Location: Lost somewhere in time...
Status: Offline
Points: 6484
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Posted: 13-December-2004 at 03:53 |
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It does sound a bit worrying. Let us know what the leak test shows.
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Entering an age of Austerity and now driving a Focus Diesel.
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 13-December-2004 at 07:43 |
Just got back from BMW garage who charged me £91 for the privilege of telling me I need a new block and pistons!!! Great.
Where do I go from here? They said it would cost £300 to take the head off so it could be inspected properly. They did warn that if there are signs of overheating where a previous owner may have let oil run low BMW UK would not help, in which case, I’d end up having spent £300 plus whatever they want to put it back together (£350ish) and got nowhere. The thing is previous owners could quite easily have let it run low but we mustn’t forget the cause of oil loss!
Any advice appreciated!
Cheers
Barry
Edited by barry.james1
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Peter Fenwick
Bavarian-Board Contributor
Joined: 27-August-2003
Location: Lost somewhere in time...
Status: Offline
Points: 6484
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Posted: 13-December-2004 at 08:57 |
Not sure. However this has come up so many times before it is not true, so try doing a search on Nikasil and you should find all the info you need.
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Entering an age of Austerity and now driving a Focus Diesel.
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dave 328
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 21-October-2003
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 835
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Posted: 13-December-2004 at 10:03 |
Running low on oil won't cause overheating!
It will either seize/partially seize and won't run properly after that.
Sounds more like the dealers gave you a get out clause before they do anything, so you have to pay. Tell them this is fine and if it does turn out that it was caused by neglect etc by the previous owner, then you want an independant inspection - should stop them bulling you!!!
Overheating tends to affect the head and not block or pistons. If they did a leak down test and say its the bottom end, then that to me would suggest the Nikasil problem.
Ring BMW UK and ask them if it has had new liners and pistons, if not then you can have this info ready for the dealers.
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328 Coupe Sport, Digital climate, full leather, OBD computer, De-restricted with M50 manifold, big bore throttle, chippeduk remap, custom cold cone intake and X-brace
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alarustic
Groupie
Joined: 23-February-2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 70
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Posted: 13-December-2004 at 18:16 |
What's your service history like Barry? How many miles has the car covered?
It wasn't a problem for me getting this sorted but I had full BMWSH. 80k miles.
As Dave says, dont let them bully you!
Good luck.
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 13-December-2004 at 18:48 |
Car has 95k on it
FBMWSH up to 80k, service carried out using BMW parts this time last year (have reciept) and due a service now.
Waiting for BMW GB to call me back tomorrow. Hopefully they will show some goodwill. If they do ,they can expect some loyalty back in the future.
Cheers
Barry
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 06:16 |
BMW GB called back saying they had spoken to the dealership and they (the dealership) want to take the head off to check before they do any more. £300! Should the not be able to tell without this?
My worry is that if they turn negative on me, i will have spent approx £750 and achieved nothing but a new head gasket.
What would you do?
Barry
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dave 328
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 21-October-2003
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 835
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 07:39 |
I'm sure the Nikasil defect can be detected without dismantling the engine.
You can loose compression 3 ways; Worn bore/piston rings, badly seated valves or head gasket.
A compression test can be done, if there is low compression, oil can be put into the cylinders, if this raises compression, then its the bore/piston, if not then its the valves. The loss of comp. by a failed head gasket shows other symptoms, overpressurised coolant or oil and also produces a 'smell' in the coolant/oil which denotes a combustion leak from the head gasket.
Have BMW UK confirmed or not whether the car has had a replacement block, this would make things alot clearer!!
What other symptoms does it have? I'm sure from a car having a bad day starting that they wouldn't want to take the head off straight away. I'm sure they have an idea that it might be a nikasil problem, otherwise how would they know it needs new pistons and liners???
I would firstly get BMW UK to confirm whether its had the block/pistons replaced!!
If not, then it is likely to be the Nikasil problem, which BMW usually pay for apart from consumables like oil, not sure on testing/investigation. Try speaking to another dealer about a suspected nikasil problem on your car and see what they say. I'm sure as a few on this forum have had the pistons/block replaced and not had to pay for head removal. This may have been reimbursed when it was found that it was a nikasil problem.
How much oil does it use? I don't have to top-up between services (every 5,000 miles!!)
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328 Coupe Sport, Digital climate, full leather, OBD computer, De-restricted with M50 manifold, big bore throttle, chippeduk remap, custom cold cone intake and X-brace
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 07:57 |
Block is original and uses 2 litres of oil in 1000 miles
Spoke to dealer again and they are going to come back to me after considering it.
Cheers
Barry
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Dergside
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 16-May-2004
Location: Mid West, Ireland
Status: Offline
Points: 4000
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 08:33 |
Barry
Some less sympathetic dealers try to put people off by saying you could be liable for a big bill if its found not to be a Nikasil problem. Some of them try not to be too helpful. Personally I can't understand why, since BMW themselves seem to be fairly helpful and fair.
So, you have too choices, either call their bluff and give them the go-ahead or find a more sympathetic dealer.
By the way, did they test your car from a cold start on their premises in the morning, or was it warm after driving it in to them? There is a protocol to follow as far as I undestand and if it isn't followed then a car can pass the leakdown test even though it is in trouble.
Edited by Dergside
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Now: BMW 523i SE '00, 318i SE - e91 '07, 325i Coupe '93.
Prev:
e46 328i SE Touring, 330Ci, 318Ci.
e39 523i SE.
e36 325i Coupe *2, 323i SE, 316iSE.
e30 325iSE 2dr, 320i Conv, 320i 2dr, 316i.
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dave 328
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 21-October-2003
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 835
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 09:23 |
 barry.james1 wrote:
Block is original and uses 2 litres of oil in 1000 miles
Spoke to dealer again and they are going to come back to me after considering it.
Cheers
Barry
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2 litres every 1K miles? Is it a 2 stroke? 
Being serious, it does sound like the nikasil problem, use a fair wack of oil and is on the original block.
By the way, what are they considering?
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328 Coupe Sport, Digital climate, full leather, OBD computer, De-restricted with M50 manifold, big bore throttle, chippeduk remap, custom cold cone intake and X-brace
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 11:30 |
Service manager at dealership now happy that it is Nikasil and is submitting a goodwill claim to BMW GB. Fingers crossed now................
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group
Go away rain
Joined: 19-August-2004
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 6579
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 12:33 |
Best of luck with it old chap. Keep us all posted.
When I was enquiring at a BMW dealer about a 97 R plate 523i SE i.e. smack in the middle of the Nikasil issue he assured me that all the cars affected by Nikasil had been recalled and fixed. He said all outstanding Nikasil cars had been recalled (BMW wanted it all closed out) and the original re-call notice was closed.
In other words giving me a sales pitch!
But I bought a newer lower mileage FBMWSH Beamer (auto and leather instead of cloth and a stick shift) which was unaffected by Nikasil for the same price from an indy!
Andrew
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current
'13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto
Previous
'04 04 E60 545i SE Auto
'03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen)
'98 S E39 523i SE Auto
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dave 328
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 21-October-2003
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 835
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 12:41 |
Andrew,
The Nikasil problem wasn't a recall as some have been trouble free. BMW has fixed alot of them, what percentage of cars sold, I'm not sure it's known, but it was only fixed when it showed up.
Barry,
Fingers crossed 
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328 Coupe Sport, Digital climate, full leather, OBD computer, De-restricted with M50 manifold, big bore throttle, chippeduk remap, custom cold cone intake and X-brace
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Dergside
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 16-May-2004
Location: Mid West, Ireland
Status: Offline
Points: 4000
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Posted: 14-December-2004 at 13:07 |
Mine hasn't been attended to, has a little over 80k and doesn't use a drop between the 12-13k intervals.
The fear of it has really hurt the values on the e36 and e39 cars in the affected period here in the south if Ireland because BMW here haven't taken as benevolant an attitude here as in the UK.
It means that people won't pay more than buttons in case they have to shell out for an engine. You can't blame buyers for not wanting to take the word of sellers about the presence or absence of the problem.
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Now: BMW 523i SE '00, 318i SE - e91 '07, 325i Coupe '93.
Prev:
e46 328i SE Touring, 330Ci, 318Ci.
e39 523i SE.
e36 325i Coupe *2, 323i SE, 316iSE.
e30 325iSE 2dr, 320i Conv, 320i 2dr, 316i.
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barry.james1
Newbie
Joined: 08-December-2004
Status: Offline
Points: 9
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Posted: 11-February-2005 at 18:11 |
Cheers for all your advice guys.
BMW replaced short motor F.O.C!!! Remarkable difference in performance.
Cheers
Barry
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328i SE not starting?!