Posted by ARTHUR P. BLOOM [67.84.143.155] on Wednesday, September 03, 2014 at 13:41:08 :
In Reply to: BMW 320i, what's it good for or trade? posted by Sherman in Idaho [72.47.153.28] on Wednesday, September 03, 2014 at 13:10:38 :
OT war story, but may help someone with the same problem in another vehicle:
I had one. Nice quick little car. Bought it for my daughter. It had set for a year or two. "Ran when parked." I bought it during the summer, and it took a few extra cranks to start when cold, but I just attributed this to the sitting around, and that it needed a good run.
As colder weather came around, it finally failed to start at all. I had a reputable foreign car shop do compression test, and they got ZERO on all 4 cylinders. They recommended a complete engine rebuild, which would have cost more than the car was worth.
I towed it home, and sat and thinked about it. How could there be ZERO compression? Even with worn rings and valves, there has to be SOME compression, right? And all 4 cylinders EXACTLY the same? I didn't think that made sense. I took it to an old tractor guy and he said he'd try to figure it out.
He drained the oil, and put in straight Slick 50. He sprayed some into each cylinder, and cranked the bejeezus of it. He got it started by leaving it in a heated garage overnight, and once it started, it ran great. I drove it to 90 mph for a half hour or so, and got the engine good and hot. He drained the Slick 50, put in half and half - oil and Slick 50 - and I drove it another hour at high speeds.
Finally, we put in straight oil, and it started reliably every time since.
The answer: All the valves/guides were rusty and the valves would stick open during the compression tests.
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