i also own the same car as you with about 140 000 miles on the clock. you said it chucks out smoke when you put your foot down mine used to do the same until i did an oil and filter change,it is important that you run an engine cleaning additive which you can buy for about 6 pounds from any automotive shop which you add through the oil filler cap 20 minutes before you undertake an oil change you then run the engine at fast idle (between 1500 - 2000 rpm for that time . this is designed to clean the internals of your engine and remove any carbon deposits that build up in the oil ways and around the bearings. then drain oil and change oil filter (allow about ten mins for oil to drain. also just as important is using the correct oil if somebody else carried out the service they may have used a low grade oil what i run mine on is fully synthetic 5 -40 oil which is what should be used, i have just serviced mine for exactly the same reason and found this combination made a massive difference your car needs approx 6.2 liters of oil when changing the oil and filter which you should expect to pay about 35 pounds for
as for fuel consumption mine does between 30 to 35 around town if driven really carefully if i put my foot down around town it drops down to between 25 to 30, as for a motorway run if sensible between 70 t0 80 mph using moderate throttle i have managed to acheive 49 miles to the gallon its all to do with using the throttle gentley! also with your fuel computer select it so it shows your mpg then press the reset button do this for both the mpg readings then fill the tank full and reset your trip milage on the dash then drive car till you need to re fuel again also note when the fuel light comes on by the fuel gauge you have a reserve of 2 gallons and if you press the button below your mpg button this will tell you how many miles you have left before you run out or fuel ( i have found this very accurate to the nearest 5 miles ) this should give you the most accurate mpg reading. i find with my bm if you put your foot down in first not much happens till 2000 rpm until the turbo winds up then it flies you will also find the best power and torque output is between 2000 to 3500 rpm so there in no point revving the engine towards the redline as the power and torque begins to drop of at higher revs change up between 3000 to 3500 rpm this will keep the engine revs around 2500 rpm when the next gear is selected which keeps the turbo spinning which means you should eliminate turbo lag (turbo lag occours when allowing the engine revs to drop below 2000 rpm when changing up the gears thus causing the turbo to reduce speed and boost pressure to drop it then takes a couple of seconds to build up again as the revs increase ). As for the revs rising in between gear changes unlike common cars which use a cable to connect the throttle pedal to the diesil injector pump your cars diesil pump is controlled by an electronic solenoid.there is an electronic swich connected to the pedal which is connected to the solenoid on the diesil pump via an electric cableyou will find unlike normal cars there is a split second delay between pressing the throttle and the revs increasing try letting of the throttle a split second earlier than you normally would and you may find this will cure your problem. also itf you remove the plastic cover on top of the engine ( i belive it is either a 5 or 6 mm allen key and there are 4 bolts in total ) underneath you will find the injectors and all the pipe work check for any broken or worn pipes or leaking fuel if any of the thin flexible hoses are leaking you can by that pipe by the metre and cut it to length its easy to fit, if any of the solid metal lines fixed to the top of the injectors are leaking try tightening them with a spanner eaven a small fuel leak can cause poor idling and loss of power. as for the gearbox my car when driven from cold can be a bit or a pig to change gear until it has warmed up the only thing i can suggest is draining the gearbox oil replacing with new oil check with bmw to make sure you use correct oil this is important as the wrong grade of oil could damage gear box also make sure you dont over fill it.

• BMW 325 TDS SE (E36) 1998 - Problems - immy 2007-02-15 09:42:15 (3740 views)
  • Re: BMW 325 TDS SE (E36) 1998 - Problems - b7hot 2008-01-18 22:10:56 (898 views)
  • Re: BMW 325 TDS SE (E36) 1998 - Problems - watkins4378 2007-09-25 03:20:49 (1202 views)
    • Re: BMW 325 TDS SE (E36) 1998 - Problems - jeremyfox124 2007-10-08 09:48:25 (897 views)