Hello, I'm new to the forum, and I regret that it is under such ominous circumstances but I have ran in to a problem with my 1997 540 with 95K on it. I've never had any problems with it before.
Ok, I was driving down the hwy today, nothing special, no hard driving. now admittedly the car is in need of a service, I was hoping to get it done before school started back but no luck. So I wasn't too surprised when my "service engine soon" light came on while I was driving.
Anyway, I come to my turn off, slow down to make the turn across traffic and notice smoke coming from under the hood, not billowing but noticeable. my first though was radiator hose, quick glance at the kept gauge shows that the car was not currently overheating.
so I pull over check the ground for coolant and pop the hood (both hoses were intact.) I see smoke rise from both cylinder banks. It subsided quickly. My next though was head gasket. so I check the oil for the tell tale signs of hg failure, bubbles, milky color etc. but it looked ok...just in dire need of changing. I was unable to check to coolant as the engine was hot. The car wasn't pushing smoke out the exhaust either
So after the visual inspection I go to re-start the car. It starts on the first try but has to turn over a good bit more before it will fire.
The engine rpm at idle is normal but the engine sounds like it is mis-firing. Actually you can physically feel the motor shaking if you place your hand on it. Its not really bad though. Like it si running on 7 cylinders or something
The thing that bothers me the most (a part from the smoke)is that the car is ticking...Its a distinctive "tick tick tick tick" at idle. You cant here it while underway inside the car. The oil level is at full. but as I said...it needs changing
I had to drive the car back home. It is suffering from a noticeable lack of power, I stalled it twice pulling away from a stop. I pulled over at the nearest gas station to look under the hood again. This time I did not notice any smoke (theres none out of the exhaust either...thankfully)But the ticking was still there. The temp gauge. remained at normal operating temperature.
from my past experiences with other cars, the cars symptoms remind me of a car with either faulty ignition or (if I were to be so lucky) fouled plugs....seeing that it is in need of a service.
The smoke is still a bit of a mystery however, Any insight into what could be causing these problems would be great. The nearest dealer is about an hour, and I'm not sure if there are any "qualified" technicians in there area.
Thanks in advance for any help
Kelton
Ok, I was driving down the hwy today, nothing special, no hard driving. now admittedly the car is in need of a service, I was hoping to get it done before school started back but no luck. So I wasn't too surprised when my "service engine soon" light came on while I was driving.
Anyway, I come to my turn off, slow down to make the turn across traffic and notice smoke coming from under the hood, not billowing but noticeable. my first though was radiator hose, quick glance at the kept gauge shows that the car was not currently overheating.
so I pull over check the ground for coolant and pop the hood (both hoses were intact.) I see smoke rise from both cylinder banks. It subsided quickly. My next though was head gasket. so I check the oil for the tell tale signs of hg failure, bubbles, milky color etc. but it looked ok...just in dire need of changing. I was unable to check to coolant as the engine was hot. The car wasn't pushing smoke out the exhaust either
So after the visual inspection I go to re-start the car. It starts on the first try but has to turn over a good bit more before it will fire.
The engine rpm at idle is normal but the engine sounds like it is mis-firing. Actually you can physically feel the motor shaking if you place your hand on it. Its not really bad though. Like it si running on 7 cylinders or something
The thing that bothers me the most (a part from the smoke)is that the car is ticking...Its a distinctive "tick tick tick tick" at idle. You cant here it while underway inside the car. The oil level is at full. but as I said...it needs changing
I had to drive the car back home. It is suffering from a noticeable lack of power, I stalled it twice pulling away from a stop. I pulled over at the nearest gas station to look under the hood again. This time I did not notice any smoke (theres none out of the exhaust either...thankfully)But the ticking was still there. The temp gauge. remained at normal operating temperature.
from my past experiences with other cars, the cars symptoms remind me of a car with either faulty ignition or (if I were to be so lucky) fouled plugs....seeing that it is in need of a service.
The smoke is still a bit of a mystery however, Any insight into what could be causing these problems would be great. The nearest dealer is about an hour, and I'm not sure if there are any "qualified" technicians in there area.
Thanks in advance for any help
Kelton
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