p38 dhse missfire... diesel.. Help please

Hello.

i was hopping somebody could give some advice.
I have a 2000 bmw diesel p38, which has done about 107,000 miles.

Recently, i have noticed what feels like a missfire when the engine is cold, and even when under load.

I have just serviced the engine, all fluids, oil, filters and glowplugs. I replaced the terrible injector bleed off pipes, the intank fuel pump has recently been replaced as it had failed.
I am currently running some injector cleaning solution, (a well known brand which i wont mention.)

So, is it possible to have a missfire on a diesel?

I have had many 4 cylinder petrols over the years, and when a cylinder goes down and runs on three, it is very noticable.
But on a 6 cylinder it would be less exagerated..
Or would it??

How would i check if the injectors are faulty?
Are there any other symptoms?

Where can i get cheap replacement injectors?
Are the injectors from a BMW 325, or 525 a direct replacement?

Help, any advice is appreciated!!

Suzbug

if you can hear a putt putt noise from exhaust then it would be wise to have a diesel compression test.

If it was injector you would have black smoke.


lastly is it using water?

hi. thanks for your reply.

hmmm... yes, it does have a phut phut noise at the same time....
not sure if it comming from exhaust, but it does seem to be origionating from the engine.

Havent noticed any black smoke.

is this a cracked head??

the funny thing is, it goes when the engine is warm abd drives as normal.

it doesnt seem to be using any water, not noticably anyway.
i replaced all the cooling fluid last september as part of a service, and ive done 5500 miles since, and has never needed topping up.

okay, so im now thinkning along the lines of a crack somewhere which is sealing when the engine is warm. is this something that can happen??

what is the solution?

thanks for any help guys!

they are known for heads cracking, and its funny how it clears when warm.
how long have you had it like this?
i would get it on the diagnostics 1st and then panic ££££££ lol

iv noticed it more in recent weeks.
hmm...
dont really have ££££ to through at this..

does the BMW 6 cylinder head fir straight on??
there arent many range rovers in scrap yards, but there are allot more bmws.

i havent really worked on the engine much, but have experiance on other engines in the past.
whats involved with taking the head off??
Timming issues??

If it is the head thats cracked, has anybody else had this?? how long is it likely to last before it goes totally and i cant use it??

is there any wonderful additive that will buy me some time??

thanks

If it's perfect when warm I wouldn't get too excited first try glow plugs if it's very first thing.

If I remember these have air flow meter- if it does try un pluging it see if it runs better=faulty MAF

if when warm it makes putt put noise and miss fires and clears when rev'd suspect valve gone.

diesel compression testers go cheap enough new on ebay would be worth a check.

where in uk are you someone may be able to take a quick look