Re: Need thoughts before taking in to shop... (archive)

Mark,
My 88 735i was acting similar last summer. Check engine light would come on and I noticed the car seemed to be running rich by smell. I was able to clear the check engine light and it would run a bit and then come back on. With the light on I took it to the shop and he said no codes were set. Finally got to the point where the car started missing and I had to pull over due to loss of power. Turned the engine off and restarted car and all was well again. After this I replaced the O2 sensor since I knew the one on the car had over 60k on it. This took care of all the problems. Its a cheap fix but I did have to drop the exhaust a bit to get to it. Exhaust would be the biggest issue. Don't know why a defective O2 sensor wouldn't give a code.

Tom

At highway speeds, my 1988 735il's engine began to act up. On three separate occasions, the engine seemed to miss, or hesitate for a split second. Almost like a very quick loss of power that feels like a slight jerk. The check engine light has been on for a couple of days too. The Check engine light has been on before, but I maybe mistakenly attributed it to a failing O2 sensor since the car ran perfectly. Otherwise the car runs fine, no hesitation under power. The "miss" or "hesitation" happened while cruising at 65 MPH 50 miles into my trip. The last 60 or so miles it did not miss at all. What should I be looking for? Engine work is my achilles heel in the DIY area. TYI Mark p.s. Rotor, wires, plugs, distributor replaced 10,000 miles ago.

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