I'd seriously suspect a large intake leak, David. Have you checked to make sure the big intake elbow is securely connected to the plenum? Also, if that elbow isn't young, check it carefully for large cracks..

Try holding the gas pedal down 1/2 way, and cranking the starter for about seven seconds. Any hint of trying to start?

When you first turn the key, do you hear the fuel pump prime? It is not uncommon for a fuel pump to fail after running out of gas, because the pump is cooled by gasoline. If you have a can of carb cleaner or brake cleaner around, try spraying some of this into the intake elbow AFTER the MAF, preferably while someone else is cranking the starter. If there's not another person handy, just spray, then crank starter for at least 5 seconds, see if engine fires at all. I recommend against using "Starting Fluid", because it is incredibly volatile, and can hurt your engine.

 

When is the last time you replaced ALL the vacuum hoses and lines? If you replaced a couple last year and the others haven't been replaced, maybe it's time to remove the intake and do a through inspection of ALL of them. Based on how it was running before it quit, I'd be tempted to start there after making sure the relay and fuel pump are working.

 

You start it and let idle some time few times without really driving it?

 

I will definitely take a closer look for leaks Chris. On first look, everything looks fine, but as was mentioned by RT12, I should look at the vacuum system closer as well.
Euro- I let it idle without driving it because the insurance is currently removed for the winter. Haven't been driving it with all the snow and ice present in the feet white north!


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

I let it idle without driving it because the insurance is currently removed for the winter. Haven't been driving it with all the snow and ice present in the feet white north!

Thats the problem. I have done that also few times because of winter. After few idle sessions it starts to run poorly and hard to start. Clean/new plugs and drive it HOT. Sometimes needs to open sync srews little bit to help it run. S38B36 runs very rich when cold, it will build lot of carbon and it starts to run poorly if not driven.

 

Another thing about running out of gas is that there tends to be junk that collects at the bottom of the fuel tank, and when you run out of gas/go really low it starts to take that in, which really mucks things up--that's why it's really bad to go empty. Fuel pump gets worn down for prolonged periods of driving the car while low on gas.

Ditto on the S38 running rich while cold, it'll run poorly if not driven, but driving it harder for a good 30 minutes tends to clean up the cobwebs from my experience.

 

Well heard guys. Advice heeded. It's running EXTREMELY rich. White smoke billows out of the tail pipe and the potent smell of exhaust permeates the garage where I'm working. I rather like the smell, but then it begins to make me dizzy. Which I also don't mind ??

I replaced the fuel filter, oil filter, spark plugs, and changed out the oil. I used 20W-50, but in retrospect, I should have added a more viscous oil since it's going to sit for around yet another 3 months. Does that make sense? I feel sure it won't hurt the engine to sit with this viscosity oil in it for a bit though. The winter months here have been exceptionally mild, hovering around the 0 degree mark on average. The car is garaged on top of that, so it's not exposed to harsh elements.

After taking care of the aforementioned items. I tried to start the car. It DID start, but not without difficulty. There's no substantial insurance on her currently, so the best I could do was to take her around the block. I know the neighbours just love me. A curtain in an upper window opened as I pulled out of the driveway depressing the accelerator hard. I could almost hear them say, "oh no...here we go again...and it's only March!"

But all things considered, with the new intake, spark plugs, oil change, and fuel filter, etc, she sounds genuinely happy and I'm quite excited to say the least at the thought of June rolling around.

Three months to stash some cash for the brake kit Chris has put me on to and save for new shoes! ??


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

White smoke? That doesn't sound good. Usually means water. Are you sure? You may want to pull the plugs and have a look. Did you get a compression check when you had the plugs out? Are you saying it's happy running with the white smoke or did you get that sorted?

 

White smoke is normal when weather is cold, also idle sessions builds lot of moisture inside exhaust and it will make white smoke until driven hot.

EDIT: Oh you live in Maui? You never winter storage your car and never start it when weather is cold?

 

Damn Maui!!! Lol. Must be so great to live in such a climate. My thinking is sort of in sync with what Euro had said. Hooooooweeeeever.....

I forgot to mention one very important detail that I noticed while I was changing my plugs (I just used NGK for the record- is this a decent, or substandard plug by you guys?)
I don't know the order of the Pistons, but when I pulled the plug closest to the back of the engine (closest to the cabin), it was covered in oil. The rest of the plugs CLEARLY needed to be changed (they were COMPLETELY roasted) but we're NOT covered in oil. What is this indicative of? Something tells me it's really really not good. I'm scared to ask actually, I think I may have subconsciously left this information out before because I'm scared to know the answer ?


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

when I pulled the plug closest to the back of the engine (closest to the cabin), it was covered in oil. ]

Valvecover gasket leaks. Part #19 RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

Also only suitable plug is Bosch Y6DC.

 

Ah, steam then no?

 

Must be steam. I'll know better when I can run it in some warmer weather

Valve cover gasket not a difficult job yeah?


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

Valve cover gasket not a difficult job yeah?

No, when you there check valve clearances.

 

NGK makes wonderful spark plugs - and I use them on every BMW for which the BMW engineers have specified an NGK as an alternative to a Bosch. The modern Bosch plugs are significantly less reliable than their NGK equivalents.

However: there is no approved, or good, NGK sparkplug for an S38. Therefore, I absolutely agree with Eero: use the stock Bosch Y6DC plug. Do NOT use Bosch Platinum 4, or any spark plug with multiple prongs..

And yes, change the valve cover gasket, and the three sparkplug hole gaskets....these do NOT come with the valvecover gasket, so you will be ordering 4 parts.

Don't worry about the white steam....my cars didn't do that when I lived on Maui....but they do this all winter, here, for about the first 5 or even 10 minutes after cold start.

 

I just notice this in factory repair manual

 

I just notice this in factory repair manual

 

You should also check your distributor cap and rotor for built up moisture and corrosion. A common problem for cars in cold damp environments.