BMW 3-Series E36 (1991 - 1998) - 325 Diesel - poor starting from hot

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Fri 26 Oct 2007 07:46
325 Diesel - poor starting from hot - richy
When my BMW 325tds is cold it starts really well but when it's warm it takes several turns and up to 8-10 seconds of turning it over to start up. The warmer it is the worse it is at starting basically, so if I let it cool down for a couple of hours it starts alright again. What could be causing this? I'm thinking some thing's getting hot that shouldn't be. Many thanks for your help cause this one's turning me mad.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 26/10/2007 at 11:17

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Sat 27 Oct 2007 00:31
325 Diesel - poor starting from hot - Hamsafar
It is a very common problem on the M51 engine now they're getting on a bit. It is generally accepted to be caused by a faulty temperature sensor inside the diesel injection pump. They are fairly easy for the DIYer to replace. Try searching google and see if you can find a writeup, and remember to search for things like "bmw tds" "omega 2.5 td" "range rover 2.5 dse" which shared the same M51 engine.
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Sat 27 Oct 2007 12:40
325 Diesel - poor starting from hot - richy
Been doing a lot of searching and apparently the injector spill off pipes can perish and let in air. I took one off to have a look and the end has cracked and now won't go back on. My local factors has some pipe in but they're 12 miles away - am I able to drive there without a spill-off pipe on? Obviously this will leak a bit of diesel but would this cause any other problems?
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Sat 27 Oct 2007 16:00
325 Diesel - poor starting from hot - 659FBE
Not to the engine, but it might catch fire. You might also cause an accident due to fuel spillage on the road and I'm sure that by now there will be at least 50 anti-pollution Euro regs you will be breaking.

Find a piece of tube from somewhere as a temporary measure.

659.
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Sun 28 Oct 2007 11:04
325 Diesel - poor starting from hot - richy
I managed to get a motor factors to deliver a piece of pipe to me at work and fitted it and drove home happily ever after.
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