BMW Forum - BimmerFest BMW Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Car won't turn over, oil is above max level and smells like gasoline, battery is good

Jump to Latest
3.3K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  jonathan2263  
A
#1 ·
Hi All,

Over the past 2 days my car has been "slugish" to start. I was thinking a dead battery and was going to replace it after work tonight.
Well, i went out to start the car after work and it made about 3 very slow cranks before it went silent. From past experience, the inside and trunk lights would be dim when this happened but they were still bright.
I got a boost pack and try to jump it to no avail, so i got another vehicle to jump me. Connection was good to the battery(verified via multi-meter) and there was no strain on the jump vehicle after hooking the cables up.
I was pretty nervous at that point so the first thing i did was check the oil. When i rechecked the oil 3 times, i confirmed that there was more oil in the engine then there should be. the whole dip stick is covered.
For some reason i decided to smell it and it smelled like gasoline.......
How screwed am I? I picked up a suction gun and 1/4" hose to suck up some of the oil tomorrow morning. If it starts up before i take the oil out, or after, can I drive it 2 blocks to the repair shop?
Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
K
#3 ·
I would vote for the starter as the most obvious reason for not starting. It wouldn't matter how much power you were putting on it if the starter was bad.

The oil level being high and smelling like gas is worth investigating also. My first question would be how did the oil level get high? Did someone just put too much in or is fluid coming from somewhere else? If fluid is from somewhere else the most obvious place to start would be a head gasket. In that case it still shouldn't smell like gas but it would look somewhat milky. If coolant is in the sump it will be primarily at the bottom so if you drain just a little bit into a glass jar you should be able to see it.

Good luck
 
C
#4 ·
starter is worth looking into. but seeing that you said oil is past max level, and it smells like fuel its also possible ur car is hydrolocked. leaky injectors dumping fuel n seeping past piston rings = higher than normal oil that smells like fuel.

before anything though try turning crank by hand.
 
#5 ·
chansta said:
starter is worth looking into. But seeing that you said oil is past max level, and it smells like fuel its also possible ur car is hydrolocked. Leaky injectors dumping fuel n seeping past piston rings = higher than normal oil that smells like fuel.

Before anything though try turning crank by hand.
Click to expand...
+1
 
BMW Forum - BimmerFest BMW Forums
posts
12M
members
799K
Since
2001
A forum community dedicated to BMW owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about Bimmerfest events, BMW production numbers, programming, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more! Bringing the BMW community together.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
E90/E91/E92/E93 (2006 - 2012) E39 (1997 - 2003) E46 (1999 - 2006) E36 (1991 - 1999) E60 / E61 (2004 - 2010)