Hey guys.. Im losing my mind here. I have a 2006 E90 325XI 109,000 miles on the engine (N52 i assume) and i'm having so much trouble from it. It all started when i noticed some oil coming from the bottom of the oil filter housing gasket. I noticed my tensioner and couple of pulleys had some oil on them too. So naturally, when my car's idling became rough.. I thought the problem HAD to be with the leaking gasket/tensioner/dirty pulley. But after some investigation.. That's probably causing the rattling noise and squeaks i hear. But has nothing to do with rough idle? I have no idea where to go from here, and being as how its getting cold in my part. Im about to buy propane to heat the house on top of car parts, on top of labor. (Because my tools have been stolen twice now) ... So any help would be much appreciated, i'm completely confused at this point and trying to avoid buying parts i don't know if i need.. Here are my symptoms:
Rough idle with fluctuating RPM on cold starts - usually stops when warm.
rattling sound and squeaks from pulley. (pretty sure)
RPM fluctuation is starting to happen anytime the car stops but not very noticeable.
possible loss of power, not terrible if at all.
Service (reminder) light just came on to test smog i believe. The car symbol with two S shapes
Also, i sometimes get a ticking sound thats linked to the RPM's but generally goes away after driving 10 minutes.
Right now i'm averaging 32.6 MPG, at 62MPH @ 2,200rpm for my 30 minute drive to work. Cruise control the entire trip, so its not like im hard on my car. I rarely get it into high rpms. But it sounds and acts like crap until warm. I will be trading this spring for a 2015 model, but since BMW's already have a terrible stigma with breaking down.. I would rather not trade for some poor sap to turn around and buy my car with its current problems.
I should also mention, i just changed the air filter last weekend and cleaned the MAF sensor. I use Vpower from shell, no cheap gas. Oil change about 200 miles ago. I have the OFH gasket in the mail, on its way. Waiting to find a decent price on tensioner/deflector pulley/belt. But i'm afraid i need to fix my big issue asap, and the closest stealership is roughly 120 miles away, no local independents either. Thoughts?
