320i engine sounds dry / rough almost diesel(ish)

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Lordy - 19 Sep 2005 23:42 GMT

1994 320i coupe UK.

Every now and then the engine sounds very dry & rough. Othertimes quite
smooth & pleasant :) Almost like there was a small hole in the exhaust.
(but I discounted that after a quick listen with windows down). It last
sounded dry with two adults & pre-teen in the car in rush-hour traffic
going up an incline. As
soom as they were dropped off, and the traffic died down a bit - it
sounded sweet again.
Anything to worry about or just driving conditions?

Oil changed a month ago.

Lordy

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John Burns - 20 Sep 2005 10:06 GMT

> Oil changed a month ago.

And last time level checked?

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Lordy - 20 Sep 2005 11:18 GMT

>> Oil changed a month ago.
>
> And last time level checked?

How frequently does/should one check?

Lordy

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John Burns - 20 Sep 2005 11:27 GMT

> How frequently does/should one check?

I tend to check mine whenever I wash the car or before a long trip.

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Bear - 20 Sep 2005 13:03 GMT

john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk John Burns says...

> > How frequently does/should one check?
>
> I tend to check mine whenever I wash the car or before a long trip.

Yes that's one habit my father got me into ... before going on a longer
than usual trip, check all the fluid levels.

Not sure how necessary it is these days, but certainly doesn't do any
harm. If I'm only doing local driving for a while I'll tend to dip the
oil every 2 weeks or so.

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Bear
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Dave Plowman (News) - 20 Sep 2005 12:22 GMT

> >> Oil changed a month ago.
> >
> > And last time level checked?

> How frequently does/should one check?

You tend to get an idea of the oil consumption by checking fairly
frequently when you first get the car. But if the engine's in good
condition and not thrashed - especially when cold - it might well go from
one oil change to the next without requiring any added. It might well also
have a low oil warning system, although not all have. But even if fitted
it's worth checking it actually works at the next oil change time.

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Matthew Warren - 20 Sep 2005 22:09 GMT

> 1994 320i coupe UK.
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Lordy

Just a Shot in the dark, but the fact that the load effected the sound leads
me to at least inspect that the exhaust system is not vibrating against
something. That very slight bumping that they do sometimes can lead to very
concerning noises.

Matt

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