take a look at my spark plugs please

[infurno]

thanks for the advice everyone. I'll have the compression/leak down tests done and see how bad it really is.

Its every cylinder, not just 1 or two. That gives me the feeling that it shouldn't be the piston rings, unless all 6 of the the piston rings failed at once.

What I think it may be is poorly installed seals and gaskets. I believe my father did it himself, and while hes not a bad mechanic I have heard BMW engines are pretty about how you do that.

I'm just a college student so I really don't have the opportunity to have the engine rebuilt. I would like to pop the head off and see whats going on down there, but I have been told that once you take the head off you must replace the gaskets before putting it back together.

Is this true?

[Dave M]

Out of interest, how much oil/coolant do you use per 1000 miles, km, fill up, minute . As elluded to, we'd be speculating to try and diagnose it without results of wet/dry compression or leak down tests. I had a single cylinder with a low dry compresion value due to a loose bottom end, which caused smoking following vacuum conditons (coasting down long hill in gear). Even my one 'bad' plug looked new compared to any of your plugs. If its both botttom and top end, might be easiest to drop in a used engine, depending on expertise, time and funds.

Dave

[Dave M]

thanks for the advice everyone. I'll have the compression/leak down tests done and see how bad it really is.

Its every cylinder, not just 1 or two. That gives me the feeling that it shouldn't be the piston rings, unless all 6 of the the piston rings failed at once.

What I think it may be is poorly installed seals and gaskets. I believe my father did it himself, and while hes not a bad mechanic I have heard BMW engines are pretty about how you do that.

I'm just a college student so I really don't have the opportunity to have the engine rebuilt. I would like to pop the head off and see whats going on down there, but I have been told that once you take the head off you must replace the gaskets before putting it back together.

Is this true?

Yep, very much true, along with a few other items such as head bolts etc. I would stick with getting a reputable mechanic to perform the tests as they will tell you much more than a view of your cylinder bores. In fact, I'd wager the view would do nothing but cost you money Compression tests are relatively cheap and easy to do yourself. Buy a comp tester for $20-30 and do a dry and wet test first, then get a leak down if theres doubt remaining. let us know if yiou need any help.

Dave

[infurno]

Out of interest, how much oil/coolant do you use per 1000 miles, km, fill up, minute . As elluded to, we'd be speculating to try and diagnose it without results of wet/dry compression or leak down tests. I had a single cylinder with a low dry compresion value due to a loose bottom end, which caused smoking following vacuum conditons (coasting down long hill in gear). Even my one 'bad' plug looked new compared to any of your plugs. If its both botttom and top end, might be easiest to drop in a used engine, depending on expertise, time and funds.

Dave

Its strange, because it can be fine for weeks even months without any problems. Except for a bit of smoke at ignition I tend to forget about it. (Unless its winter where it just happens so damn often)

Its been running great, till it went out a few days back. Went to the BMW dealership to attempt getting my radio unlocked, when I started the car I forgot to give it a bit of throttle and as soon as I was on the street I felt a reduction in power and a vibration in the car. I knew I was down to 5 cylinders again.

I have not had to add oil in months, I'm at about the 1/2 way level right now. (which I will take care of tonight) During the winter I have to add a bit every week.

There are no strange engine noises, and with clean plugs you can barely tell the engine is running.

[Tiger]

Leakdown tester is also cheap at harborfreight.com. Easy to do yourself as long you know at what degree. both valves are closed for each cylinder.... Bentley should tell you.

[bones]

inferno,everyone thats responded to your engines current condition is on the money.have you gone from mineral based oils to synthetics recently?.your plugs are simply the result of somthing definitly,absolutely,no doubt,gone very wrong.dont think you can drive this issue out of the car you have to find it and fix it.that shi# is going past your exhaust valves and onto your o2 sensor,then plugging up your catalytec converter.it's a long shot but pull your valve cover and put a torque wrench on all the head bolts,you should have no movement of the hardware below 30 ft lbs.do the correct tightening sequence by the book when you are checking for movement.if they move below 30 ft lbs you can attempt to retorque the head but the gasket will definitly be bad and this fix wont last long if the problem stops. bones

[Jon K]

Holy jesus christ save his cars life NOW

Those are the worst plugs I have ever, ever, ever seen and I have seen a LOT of plugs, holy crap.

This is not a typical "bad oil" or "bad fuel" plug. That is showing signs of fuel depostis, cracked ceramic, some sort of CRAZY growth between the electrode and ground strap... that thins is just wrong on all fronts.

I suspect bad oil leak into the cylinders combined with water leaking into the cylinders combined with fuel not burning completely due to the above - that is very bad. If I were you, I'd look around for another M20 (they're cheap) and just plainly swap it. I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but dude you'll be either rebuilding the top end to find its the bottom end or vice versa - that is a horrible, horrible plug man.

[infurno]

Thanks again I really appreciate everyones comments.

inferno,everyone thats responded to your engines current condition is on the money.have you gone from mineral based oils to synthetics recently?.your plugs are simply the result of somthing definitly,absolutely,no doubt,gone very wrong.dont think you can drive this issue out of the car you have to find it and fix it.that shi# is going past your exhaust valves and onto your o2 sensor,then plugging up your catalytec converter.it's a long shot but pull your valve cover and put a torque wrench on all the head bolts,you should have no movement of the hardware below 30 ft lbs.do the correct tightening sequence by the book when you are checking for movement.if they move below 30 ft lbs you can attempt to retorque the head but the gasket will definitly be bad and this fix wont last long if the problem stops. bones

Gave it some thought before but I have never used synthetic motor oil.

This is my only ride to class/work so I can't afford taking the risk of removing the head and not being able to put it all back together securely.

I think the best thing for me to do right now is that compression test. Just found my compression test kit tonight so once I find the relays to remove I hope I can get it done tomorrow.

Holy jesus christ save his cars life NOW

Those are the worst plugs I have ever, ever, ever seen and I have seen a LOT of plugs, holy crap.

This is not a typical "bad oil" or "bad fuel" plug. That is showing signs of fuel depostis, cracked ceramic, some sort of CRAZY growth between the electrode and ground strap... that thins is just wrong on all fronts.

I suspect bad oil leak into the cylinders combined with water leaking into the cylinders combined with fuel not burning completely due to the above - that is very bad. If I were you, I'd look around for another M20 (they're cheap) and just plainly swap it. I know this isn't the answer you want to hear, but dude you'll be either rebuilding the top end to find its the bottom end or vice versa - that is a horrible, horrible plug man.

Swapping the engine is something that has been on my mind for a long time. My only concern about doing that is that any m20 I find will be old and used, I would just be buying someone else's problems.

I'm about to spend $400 on new front end parts (control arms, bushings, ect...) Then I need some body work done. If this engine is bad maybe I should just consider getting a new E34 or an E38.

If water was getting into the cylinders, I would have to keep adding coolant? I have not had to add coolant since I got the car a year ago.

It may be under some doubt right now but I honestly do take care of my E34.

[DaveVoorhis]

I always use highest octane fuel, hoping it will burn hotter and keep the plugs clean.

Higher octane fuel doesn't burn hotter. Higher octane fuel is simply more likely to burn smoothly (good -- efficiently produces power) and not detonate (bad -- reduces power and if excessive, can cause engine damage) than lower octane fuel for a given compression ratio and spark advance. In an engine with a knock sensor, the engine computer can adjust the spark advance to a point just prior to detonation where maximum power is produced. Therefore, on engines designed to run on high octane fuel and that have knock sensors, higher octane fuel can result in better performance than lower octane fuel.

In engines without a knock sensor (like your M20), using higher octane than recommended is simply a waste of money, and some say it's more likely to carbon up the head and plugs.

However, your plugs have entered a whole new world of frightening deposits. They made me wet my pants. Your engine is sick.

[Macv]

It may be under some doubt right now but I honestly do take care of my E34.

With 200+k on the odo, most of the damage was done before you bought it, so I doubt anyone will directly blame you for the mistreatment. That is a scary sight, and I wish you the best in fixing it.