After driving my 1.9 , I began expericing shut downs while driving and sitting at lights. When I arrived at my detination, I checked the gas cap and noticed the rubber gasket was wet with gasoline. Is this a symptom that may speak to my stalling problems? YES, the gas cap was tightened; I always check it. And NO, I didn't put in any gas recently. Note: it is a locking gas cap (although I don't always lock it).
u might overheated your engine and the engine head have cracked...check wether your engine oil is watery...
Teddy...what car do you have? A loose gas cap can definitely cause some driveability issues but it usually throws a CEL and records an error code. Have you checked for any splits or cracks in your intake boot (between the HFM and the intake manifold)? Do you get a rough idle before it shuts down or does it simply die?
az is correct. '98 Z3 1.9 (lol). My trouble shooting must be just-a-little evident. I have looked under the hood and find most components looking tip-top. I never know when the stall will occur; sometimes sitting at a light; sometimes while driving (obviously, engine catches while moving). The idle does drop just before is konks out. I'll look for cracks. As with many complaints I've read on these forums - the problem is inconsistent with no advance warnings. CEL is back on today- it did shut off on it's own about a week ago The search has been fun. How do I access "board" threads. Is full membership required? Hey az, do you recall how many miles I have on the car?
Something low... 20-30k? I remember because I was thinking to myself "how the hell do you have such low mileage on a car? What's wrong with you?"
Such low miles must indicate that you don't drive it much. The problem could be that you have bad gas in the tank...or some sort of debris. Try changing the fuel filter and putting some fresh gas in the tank. If that doesn't work, you might want to have your fuel pump checked. Can you describe how the engine dies? Does it die slowly, like its winding down? Or does it just shut off immediately?
az, it's 21,900. Yes, too much pampering. I was hoping to keep the car for decades; or maybe a grandkid. Actually, it sounds like this storing idea has backfired (no pun indended).
If you are storing it for long periods of time, look into some Sta-bil to put in the gas tank (full tank of gas always). That will help maintain the quality of the gas. Also, only fill up with Top Tier gas like Shell V-Power. www.toptiergas.com Best of luck.
Bradley, I signed up for this forum about 3 weeks ago. The majority of my threads are seldom commented on; yet I see others have had similar problems. Most responses start with bad fuel. I have gone through about 12 gallons of gas with Techron additive. This has been recommended numerous times on threads-of-old. A new question might be; "How many Techron treatments before one realizes its not the cure?" And, can you use more of the stuff than recommended on the bottle? As a footnote, I helped a neighbor get her lawn mower to smooth-out by first cleaning a gunked up spark plug. I poured some Techron on it and within a minute, the plug wiped off quite easily. It had cleaning power. Car stalls and can be revved back up. The stall is abrupt (engine dies). See post above. It appears BMW, lawn mowers, and snow blowers are REALLY affected by poor gas. Did change fuel filter. NOW fuel pump is much more costly - hope I can find cure in a bottle.
Teddy. Sorry for suggesting your gas may be the issue. It was the first thing that came to mind. You are right about the fuel pump: gonna run you about $200. If you have a OBD 2 reader, you might try and read the codes thrown when it stalls. I think Auto Zone does it for free. From the way it sounds, you could have a fuel issue, since the car stalls and then can be recovered. Unfortunately, this is beyond my expertice. You might try asking BMWCCA's new member, Bruce Bird. He is a very knowledgeable BMW tech.
I dont see any correlation between bad gas and wet rubber seal on the filler. Sounds like you need to replace the gas cap. Check the seal on the cap for damage.
I just read one of your posts in another thread and you asked about a wet rubber seal in the gas cap itself. Why would this be unusual? That seal will get gas on it from sloshing. Is any gas getting outside of the seal/tank?
I'm going to double-up and respond to a couple of posts. First, to all the people who told me I need the codes checked; a must.. I have exhausted self-checking. From my vantage point, hoses, boots, filters (changed), plugs, MAF (inside), connections, etc. all look fine. CEL does seem intermittent - which gave me hope. I contacted AutoZ and they said they would run some tests. Not sure how sophisticated their equip is?? Picked up Chilton at library. Wouldn't recommend. You all were right on that as well. Re: gas on rubber gasket -- I was looking for someone to tell that something may be plugged or not venting correctly. Also, I don't see any standing gas, but the filler area seems to have a moist appearance as well. As a footnote, it appears gas is also evident on key-side of cap. I have the lockable cap- - which is getting diff to lock.Called dealer on new one (only $94). Darn. To be honest, I am a little geeked about taking the car for repair. I'm afraid when it's all done, I may become uneasy and not enjoy. The fuel pump (and rec sending unit may be a 2-300 but the labor will be up there. On a Z, the pump is in the tank. Finally, how does was reach a CCA member? Someone mentioned Bruce.. Thanks to all!
Use the members list at the top of the page in the blue bar. Search for Bruce and then send him an email or Private Message. Good luck, Teddy. I wish I could be of more help.
I still don't understand what is unusual about the wetness you see on the cap. Also, stalling is a common problem although no single fix has been determined.
I think the guy you're looking for is Bruce L Bird ( http://stage.bmwcca.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2648 ). You can also try Dave Mason ( his user name is dmason2002 , another long-time BMW tech!). Chances are, the first thing they will ask you for will be any codes that are stored. AutoZone should be able to give you the codes with no problem. They may not have a clue what they mean, but they can give them to you. Once you have them, post them here and we'll be sure to stir up one of these guys to respond. It sounds like the most likely culprits right now are a bad idle control valve or a bad cam position sensor (but then, I'm not a BMW tech...I just play one in my garage ). I had a O2 sensor start going out on my '95 M3 and it would throw a random CEL and the car would bog down a little, then the light would clear and it would run fine again. If an oxygen sensor goes totally bad, would that cause a car to stall completely?
Thanks gentlemen for returning to this thread. For the benefit of all readers and supporting members, I will pass on codes and cures. If you hear of any other possibilities, please inform. My problem is summarized under specific forum - E36/7, Z3 1996-2002 titled "startling engine stall while driving"
