So, I have a 1995 BMW 525i, its not starting

[sirius_GTO]

I left it for about a week with a 1/4 tank. When I came back, to try to start it, it kept cranking and cranking and suddenly it made a loud POP sound from the drivers side of the engine close to the steering wheel. After the pop sound it hissed a little smoke. I thought to myself "WTF?"

so i popped the hood to find smoke seeping out of a crack in the rubber part of the intake (looks like an acordian as someone described).

what could possible have went wrong?

thanks

also, I smell something burned like a burnt clutch (however, mine is an auto) or burnt oil.

[632 Regal]

usually backfires through the intake is fuel and exhaust is ignition. You might just have some condensation in the tank, try some drygas?

[mystical_wings]

timing belt may have jumped

[Brandon J]

timing belt may have jumped

The m50tu engine has a timing chain. Look at a recent thread on a 525i not starting. Do a search.

[Kobe Diesel]

You have some water in your fuel system.

Ethanol is an additive that the petrol "thieves" put into their products.
It's basically alcohol and it has an attraction to water. Water is heavier than gas so give it some time and the water and gas will settle out.

Try as Regal has suggested "drygas" which can be found at any gas station or auto parts store.

[sirius_GTO]

Hmmm, funny thing is i do use 89 octane from iowa that is made out of ETHANOL so that could explain it.

I put a bottle of HEAT in and tried starting it. It didnt run again. I floored the gas pedal and turned the ignition on and tried starting the car while flooring the gas pedal and that didnt work.

Did I try too soon?

Should I wait over night to try again? Well, i did the heat thing yesterday so today is the "over night". So when I get out of classes I will try again.

Do you think it will solve anything?

[Brandon J]

Have you tried shaking the car, seriously. This can move the gas mixing it so it is not all water you suck up, but also will move the gas from one side to the other. Maybe there isn't enough gas on the pump side. Or you could just add several gallons of some gas to the tank.

[sirius_GTO]

Have you tried shaking the car, seriously. This can move the gas mixing it so it is not all water you suck up, but also will move the gas from one side to the other. Maybe there isn't enough gas on the pump side. Or you could just add several gallons of some gas to the tank.

I'll try shaking the car he he. But are we sure that this is the problem? It seems to be, right?

thanks Brandon

[rot535i]

I've had simlar problems after leaving a car sit but it was where a mouse or chipmunk chewed through some wires. Look for nests. At first it did something like you described (Little puffs of smoke) and then absolutely no spark at all. The problem I had was my Cutlass conv. and the crank position sensor wire was partially chewed as I pulled on it it broke in two. I fixed the wire and it started right up.

[ryan roopnarine]

im going to chime in and say....no, it wasn't a backfire in the traditional sense. the hole is in your intake happened when you heard the "pop". smoke will come out of it. how big is the hole? if it is too big, the car isn't going to start because the MAF can't detect the additional air coming in. describe what happens when you try to start it. i heard the same thing when i was driving my car for a short time with one of the vacuum hoses unclamped (without a hose clamp because it would have cracked the air intake boot at that point). the pressure would "pop" the hose off the intake elbow before it started, and smoke would come out of the hole, accompanied with the smell you describe. does the engine engage and sputter ever? are you certain that none of the vacuum hoses have fallen/broken off?