E60 2004 545i - Engine shake, disbalance
03-24-2015, 04:23 PM
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E60 2004 545i - Engine shake, disbalance
Ok, 04 545i, 98K miles, engine shakes noticeably when idling. Idle fluctuates a bit, but not much, and to be honest, this car has been doing that for years, but not the shaking/vibration thing.
Not rough, not misfiring, not sputtering - no. Just vibrating when idling, rather noticeable. Sometimes makes a bit of a rattling noise, but very faint, and only every now and then.
What has been done so far:
All spark plugs replaced
All ignition coils replaced
Air Filter replaced
CCV valves replaced
Visually checked the hoses and intake boot for leaks, but seems fine
I also dumped a can of Techron in it and run a tank-full with it - no effect.
None of the above changed anything.
Previous engine work done:
Alternator bracket gasket along with timing cover seals, etc
Valley pan gasket
Vacuum pump o-ring replaced due to leak (I still think it leaks a bit).
Secondary air fault does come up sometimes when temps get cold, so I assume exhaust ports are clogged to a degree (it has been literally thousands of miles since it came up last time). No codes present, no lights. Runs fine, does need a bit oil, but not much, maybe 1/2 quart every 5K miles or so.
So, what is my next move?
Thanks in advance!
Not rough, not misfiring, not sputtering - no. Just vibrating when idling, rather noticeable. Sometimes makes a bit of a rattling noise, but very faint, and only every now and then.
What has been done so far:
All spark plugs replaced
All ignition coils replaced
Air Filter replaced
CCV valves replaced
Visually checked the hoses and intake boot for leaks, but seems fine
I also dumped a can of Techron in it and run a tank-full with it - no effect.
None of the above changed anything.
Previous engine work done:
Alternator bracket gasket along with timing cover seals, etc
Valley pan gasket
Vacuum pump o-ring replaced due to leak (I still think it leaks a bit).
Secondary air fault does come up sometimes when temps get cold, so I assume exhaust ports are clogged to a degree (it has been literally thousands of miles since it came up last time). No codes present, no lights. Runs fine, does need a bit oil, but not much, maybe 1/2 quart every 5K miles or so.
So, what is my next move?
Thanks in advance!
03-26-2015, 08:29 PM
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My Ride: 08 535i
+1 vacuum leak - all day everyday it seems on 4.4-4.8's You can verify If you have even a cheap odb2 code reader with basic PID data you would see higher than normal fuel trims at idle that drop when you hold a higher idle say 1000rpms or more.
03-30-2015, 06:35 AM
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In the data section of an obd2 scanner there will be 4 things. Long term fuel trim bank1, long term fuel trim bank 2, short term fuel trim bank 1, and short term fuel trim bank 2. Each will give a reading somewhere between -25 and 25. You basicly add the long term and short term fuel trims for each bank together to achieve a final result. So -5 long trim plus 10 short term works out to 5. So 5 means the computer is adding 5% more fuel than is programmed for the current running conditions. On a BMW the computers calculations are largely set by the Mass Air Flow sensors reading and then the fuel trims are determined by readings of the oxygen sensors. -5 to 5 is usually where you want to be. You know you have a vacuum leak when at idle the fuel trims when added together add up to 10 or higher and then when you raise the rpms say to 3000 and hold it those number drop and add to something much closer to the -5 to 5 area. So an easy way to identify the leak location is to identify the high fuel trims say long term of 5 and a short term of 15 which works out to 20% which means the car is running fairly lean and having to compansate by adding 20% more fuel. At idle watch the short term reading and spray brake clean around the engine, (covers removed). Slowly work your way around intake piping, intake manifold, valve covers, etc. I have to stress its important to go very slow because when you spray the area that has the vacuum leak the short term fuel trim will drop and most likely go negative. When it does this you are spraying In The vecinity of the leak. The leak is sucking in the brake clean and the brake clean is acting as additional fuel so the computer responds right away by removing the additional fuel it was adding. One final note, I have access to multiple Matco and snap-on scanners that display information in BMW's way. As to say them show data as a BMW scanner would. BMW has their own way of expressing fuel trims and they are different and less helpful to perform with test. For best results I highly recommend a generic obd2 scanner. Whenever I'm working with fuel trims on any car I use my $79 Autel pocket scanner. It and others like it work great in this use case. Oh and second final thing, in case you were wondering, you generally won't get any check engine lights until your combined fuel trims get below -20 or above 20. So I give a lot of room to have small running concerns and not trigger a light.
Hope thus helps,
Good Luck
Hope thus helps,
Good Luck
03-30-2015, 06:41 AM
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My Ride: 2008 535i w/Sport package
In the data section of an obd2 scanner there will be 4 things. Long term fuel trim bank1, long term fuel trim bank 2, short term fuel trim bank 1, and short term fuel trim bank 2. Each will give a reading somewhere between -25 and 25. You basicly add the long term and short term fuel trims for each bank together to achieve a final result. So -5 long trim plus 10 short term works out to 5. So 5 means the computer is adding 5% more fuel than is programmed for the current running conditions. On a BMW the computers calculations are largely set by the Mass Air Flow sensors reading and then the fuel trims are determined by readings of the oxygen sensors. -5 to 5 is usually where you want to be. You know you have a vacuum leak when at idle the fuel trims when added together add up to 10 or higher and then when you raise the rpms say to 3000 and hold it those number drop and add to something much closer to the -5 to 5 area. So an easy way to identify the leak location is to identify the high fuel trims say long term of 5 and a short term of 15 which works out to 20% which means the car is running fairly lean and having to compansate by adding 20% more fuel. At idle watch the short term reading and spray brake clean around the engine, (covers removed). Slowly work your way around intake piping, intake manifold, valve covers, etc. I have to stress its important to go very slow because when you spray the area that has the vacuum leak the short term fuel trim will drop and most likely go negative. When it does this you are spraying In The vecinity of the leak. The leak is sucking in the brake clean and the brake clean is acting as additional fuel so the computer responds right away by removing the additional fuel it was adding. One final note, I have access to multiple Matco and snap-on scanners that display information in BMW's way. As to say them show data as a BMW scanner would. BMW has their own way of expressing fuel trims and they are different and less helpful to perform with test. For best results I highly recommend a generic obd2 scanner. Whenever I'm working with fuel trims on any car I use my $79 Autel pocket scanner. It and others like it work great in this use case. Oh and second final thing, in case you were wondering, you generally won't get any check engine lights until your combined fuel trims get below -20 or above 20. So I give a lot of room to have small running concerns and not trigger a light.
Hope thus helps,
Good Luck
Hope thus helps,
Good Luck
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