The
"Case History"
Courtesy of Leo's German Automotive Pty. Ltd. Penrith
BMW 320 csi / 1986 K-Jetronic

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THE ENGINE STOPPED NO GO after it stopped....
Leo's Team Talk & TRADE TIPS.
One day the NRMA Road Service tow truck from Penrith, towed in a BMW 320csi from the freeway to my workshop for my personal attention. The tow truck driver told me that his Technical offsider diagnosed that the engine spun a bearing and seized.

The customer, present at that point was devastated. I calmed the customer down, first with a good strong cup of coffee to regain his composure so as to tell me exactly what had happend to his car. He was a sort off semi regular customer to my business in the past. I know a bit of his past car history but according the Kilometres the car has driven it is quit impossible that the engine can develop this problem. After a long talk with the customer gleaning all clues possible.

The most valuable clue from the customer was... He says... " I put a bottle of methylated spirits in the fuel tank a couple days ago because the car was missing and some times stalled occasionally.
I thought I may have some water in the fuel tank."

This was the best clue to go straight to the point of the problem. I went to the car and switched on the ignition to listen at the same time for a JET NOISE (a screaming discharge of fuel via the injectors into the manifold which caused an hydraulic lock to the engine.)

My diagnostic was to the affirmative, by removing the spark plugs, removing the fuel pump fuse and cranking the engine over. I extracted all the fuel out off the cylinders. The engine did not sound to be damaged, good vacuum on the vacuum gauge proved that the engine is OK.

The customer relieved after the good news left his car in my hands to free off the seized metering pin in the fuel distributor.

This is what happened after the customer used Methylated Spirits in his fuel tank.

After driving the vehicle for same time at a steady speed of 110 km/h along the Freeway from Sydney to Penrith caused the metering pin in the fuel distributor to be held on the same spot by the sensor plate. Heat, causing metal expansion in and around the distributor body evaporated the water or moisture on the metering pin leaving minute corrosion behind. Those dry particles jamming the pin in a open position. On reducing the accelerator pedal for preparation to reduce speed to exit the freeway in Penrith did not alter the jammed pin in the fuel distributor and fuel continued to flow into the engine the same rate as when the vehicle was travelling at 110 kms per hour, actually causing an hydraulic lock which locked the engine on the exit ramp.

TRADE TIPS:
If some one tells you that the engine has seized, doesn’t mean it is actually an mechanical fault in the Engine.

TRADE TIPS:-
Simular metering pin seizures have been corrected on K-Jetronic vehicles where the owners used a well known American brand of INJECTOR-CLEANERS which contains Methylated Spirits. Some times a light tap with the hammer on the fuel distributor body may loosen the pin from being stucking. If you clear this sticky pin, immediately poor 500ml INTER-JECTRON into the fuel tank to supply lubrication to the metering pin.

TRADE TIP:-
If you have a carbon clean chemical containing soaps of ammonia which will turn water in the fuel distributor to solid soap, stopping the fuel distributor operation..... Soaking the whole fuel distributor in INTER-JECTRON this will restore your distributor back to original operation.