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BMW 323 Car Repair Questions and Answers

Question: 1989 BMW 323 mileage: 162,000. I have had trouble starting my car from a cold start, it has an automatic choke but I have had to put my foot on the accelerator to get the fuel to carburetor until the choke takes hold at about 20000 revs. Then when the car engine is hot and the engine idles at about 9000 I have no trouble at all, I can start it straight away. It doesn't stall or anything - I had the mixture done by a BMW mechanic but so far, he can't suggest what may be the problem, any suggestions?

Answer: It is fuel injected. If so, the thermo time switch for the cold start injector may be faulty or it may be the coolant temperature sensor.

Question: 1995 BMW 323 mileage: 152,000. The oil filter lid was not tightened during a tune-up and I drove for one week with an oil leak. The oil light flickered on 4 times (when I was stopped or turning corners) on a 20 mile trip-Barely long enough for me to be sure it was the oil light. Well, I got it fixed- (I also had to add 2 1/2 quarts oil when I got home-) Do you think any internal engine damage was done from driving with oil too low? It sounds fine-I just don't know if I should have stopped immediately, but I could barely tell it was engine light, it was so quick. When I got home the dipstick had no oil on it-but I guess there was probably some oil in the engine.

Answer: Driving a car with a low a oil pressure gauge is not good. Was any damage done to the engine? Hard to tell without an engine tear down. You mentioned the engine sounds fine. That is a good sign. At this point what do you have to lose by just driving the car and waiting for a knock to develop. You may luck out and the engine may be okay.

Question: 1999 BMW 323, stick shift mileage: 85,000. This car is in very good shape. I have no complaint except... my clutch. The car runs great around town and on the highway, however at low speed in first gear or reverse, the clutch freezes up momentarily. For example, if I'm parallel parking, and have the car in reverse, I can feel the clutch lose pressure, and I have to use a great deal of effort to get the car out of gear. When I release the clutch, and push it back to the floor again, I am then usually fine. On rare occasions, I have stalled the car because the car acts just the same as if I slowed to a stop in gear without depressing the clutch pedal. This happens only at low speed, and almost always in reverse. It does not happen every time. It has happened a few times if I am in first gear. The car shifts and runs just fine otherwise. I have checked the clutch/brake fluid, the level is fine, and there seem to be no leaks. I have checked the brake/clutch fluid level, and that seems to be fine. Am I looking at a clutch replacement, master cylinder, or something cheap and easy? I want to know more about this subject before I bring it to the mechanic. Any ideas?

Answer: From what you describe, you are loosing fluid from either the master or the slave cylinders. If the slave cylinder is leaking, the outside of the casting will be wet with fluid and you will occasionally have to add fluid. If the master cylinder is leaking it will wet the inside of the firewall at the clutch pedal linkage. Our bet is an internal leak on the clutch master allowing fluid to escape back into the reservoir. If that is the case, replacing the clutch master cylinder should fix your problem.

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