OT / BMW E36 Help needed
Turbo Mini Forums

Hi guys, just after a bit of advice as i'm a little lost and don't know what step to take next.

My car is an e36 320 with the M50 engine. Recently I noticed that from low revs with full throttle it wasn't pulling very well and not all that responsive.

Lived with it for a short while and only drove lightly using half throttle. But the occasional full throttle (still not much response) started to give off a horrid egg smell (cat i'm guessing)

So had a diagnositc on it, and got a few codes thrown back. The cam sensor, and the o2 sensor. I was advised to only replace the cam sensor as this being knackered was probably throwing the o2 sensor readings out.

I have replaced the cam sensor today, and taken it for a longish drive but still don't really notice any change. Arrived home and could smell the Cat giving off the horrid egg smell again.

Could me driving with a knackered cam sensor have caused the o2 reading to bugger up that much that it allowed the cat to overheat? so now my cat needs replacing? or is it possible that alongside the cam sensor, the o2 sensor needs replacing?

Sorry for the long write up :$ Any advice much appreciated

Ollie

The problem with diagnostics is there taken as gospel, although its showing a fault with the lambda the MAF the cat or something as daft as an air leak could cause it to show up as a lambda

personally i would look at changing the lambda with an OEM replacment rather than universal then go from there

well ollie and i changed the cam angle sensor as there was a fault with it.(quite common it seems). just needs the old codes removed i think then jobs a gooden :)

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

I would imagine that your car is still running rich due to an O2 sensor fault. When O2 sensors go cars can run mental rich like 5%ish. If this happened to you it would have wanked your cat fairly quickly which is the reason for the smell. Check what the O2 is doing with a multimeter and get it on a gas analyser. You could then determine if the O2 sensor is ok or not

On 12th Nov, 2009 Paul S said:

I think Gary OS has taken over my role as the forum smart arse

uhmmmm,,the eggy smell would indicate that your cat is still operating.

basically:

Remove the codes.

Try it.

code read it again, if O2 sensor is back again, change it and get the codes taken out.

try it.

also check for any blows in the exhaust, or air leaks between the MAF/AFM and the throttle body.

In my experience, cats really only smell when they are getting the shit roasted out of them though

On 12th Nov, 2009 Paul S said:

I think Gary OS has taken over my role as the forum smart arse

Edited by Scruffy on 2nd Jan, 2009.

On 5th Sep, 2011 Vegard said:
I stand corrected. You should know

call the rspca!

Thanks for all the decent and helpful replies (all of the above minus Vegards)

I will report back after I have changed the o2 sensor and had the fault codes removed etc :)

Thanks again

i had a similar problem a couple of years ago (on a different car mind, but still....) after checking everything else it turned out to be one of exhaust boxes had collapsed internally and was massively restricting flow. prob not, but might be worth a quick check, tis free at least!!

And on the 7th day........... God created turbochargers!

IMHO the cat is dying test the o2 sensor if you have a bar graph facility on your multi meter use that if it is working right it should be scanning between 0.0V and 1.0V it should be a regular scan if it is slow to move between either extreme the sensor is cabbage test this with the car at 2000rpm.

On a little science side note the eggey smell you are getting from the cat is Hydrogen Sulphide, this is caused by the over production of hydrogen mixing and combining with the sulpher in the fuel at the extreme temps in side the cat. It is an indication of over fueling.