mattb2334

I have a 07 BMW 530xi and I have been looking around and cannot find the answer for my problem. So here is the backstory. It started with the ticking noise which I assume is the lifters, but only when it is cold out/ the engine is cold. I did not have the problem over the summer and this is the first winter having the car. The car runs smoothly through the rpms but at ldle maybe every 10-15 seconds the engine would rock the car just a bit. After a few weeks of that, I got a Service engine soon light that came on for misfire on cylinder #5. I had a couple spare used coils and spark plugs. (not the best to fix the problem) but as soon as I replaced the coil the SES light went out and its been a good two weeks of about 1000 miles of driving with no light, but the shudder of the engine was still there. Now I have the light back on and it is on the same cylinder. I am not going straight to blaming the used spark plug and coil since it didnt detect a misfire for a couple weeks. I am working on a budget so i cannot just go throwing new everything into it. The car has about 75000 miles on it.

Any suggestions? Can the lifters cause a misfire if they are going bad?

E60I

Put the metal part of a screw screwdriver against the metal part of the fuel injectors. Then, put your ear against the screwdriver handle to listen and compare to see if they sound the same. If the suspect fuel injector sounds differently, then you might have a clogged/defective fuel injector.

Interchanging fuel injectors from one cylinder to another is so easy to do on your car. You don't need to replace the O-rings if you remove and reinstall them carefully! Be sure to check for leaks after you reinstalled them!

Good luck!

mattb2334

Thanks for the info. I don't know if this helps or not but just a couple of days after the SES light came on it went of and has been off. Is there any ohm specs that could detect a failing injector? Any suggestions?

E60I

Sorry, I don't know about the ohm thing. But, if you have swapped spark plug and coil from another "trouble-free cylinder(s)" and the problem is still there, the cheapest way to go through the process of trouble shooting would be to swap fuel injector from another cylinder.

mattb2334

So after long frustrating diagnosis I found the issue... The swirl flap snapped in half and was sucked into the intake chamber of cylinder 5 right before the valve. The same cylinder that I keep getting a misfire. So what would happen is that at idle the engine would shutter and shake the entire car and would randomly cause a misfire every once and a while. I would notice a rough idle after the first startup when I held the brake and put the car into reverse.

mattb2334

I still have the ticking noise but I now feel like it is unrelated to the misfire since basically I was not getting proper air flow or fuel flow on cylinder 5.

E60I

Wow, congrats!

Is that from the DISA under the intake manifold or from the outside of the intake manifold?
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Tuppidsay

Nice find. Could have been catastrophic! The ticking is probably the lifters if you are sure it's coming from under the valve cover . Common issue without a real fix. Serpentine belt tensioners often sound exactly the same when they start to fail but obviously not coming from under the valve cover.

turboawd

where is this flap normally at? whats its purpose?

what made you decide to take the intake off?

E60I

It's either part #2 or #3; they kind of facing each other in opposite directions. I think the flap is designed to regulate airflow. I opened part #2 yesterday and it looks pretty good. There were some oil in the surrounded area, so I cleaned and wiped it off.
RealOEM.com BMW E60 530i Intake manifold system