[NICKBRUM]

The car has 82k miles. We have owned it about 90 days and a little over 2k miles. With in the last week it has been taking a lot longer than usual to turn over. My first though is I would dive in and do a general tune up, plugs, air filter, MAF cleaning, and fuel filter. After some reading it seem a nice little $400 sensor which is also buried may be the issue. If anyone has dealt with the eccentric shaft sensor failing, I'm all ears on diagnosing.

[X_Drive]

The Eccentric shaft sensor is a free insp. You just have to take the engine cover off and pop off the sensor. Look for oil. If there is no oil, you save 400 and a few hours of time. If there is oil residue, then it will have to be replaced. Like all other oil leaks, they never get any better. This will in turn cost you 400 and a few hours of your time and perhaps new formulations of cursing. Valve cover has to come off to replace the sensor.

Sounds to me that either your battery has reached the end of its service life, or your starter is dying a slow honourable death. Or both.

[MrQuickR1]

I would have the battery tested....Rule out the easier things first.
To check the eccentric sensor, it will take you 20 minutes maybe to pull the cabin filter and some covers to reach the sensor plug to pop off and check for oil. If you already did your plugs than this will be a breeze for you to do.
I have a DIY on the sensor replacement (for an 07) but same labor work. Part numbers could vary for your car/year.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=697252

[NICKBRUM]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm glad to hear the sensor easy to inspect. I will definitely check the battery first, but I'm not too optimistic about that being the cause as the cranking speed has not diminished as best I can tell.

[X_Drive]

Originally Posted by NICKBRUM

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm glad to hear the sensor easy to inspect. I will definitely check the battery first, but I'm not too optimistic about that being the cause as the cranking speed has not diminished as best I can tell.

Ah! Ok. I must have misunderstood turing over with cranking speeds. Then you are getting long crank conditions. Then yes, the first place I would check is your Ecc. Shaft sensor.

[NICKBRUM]

Originally Posted by X_Drive

Ah! Ok. I must have misunderstood turing over with cranking speeds. Then you are getting long crank conditions. Then yes, the first place I would check is your Ecc. Shaft sensor.

Well unfortunately I found oil in the sensor, so I tore her down. I must say my E46 M3 is a much more pleasurable car to work on! This E90 has a lot of tight spaces. I'm a bit confused what allows the oil into the sensor? The valve cover gasket is great and I see no leaks. I need to do a fair bit while its down.

spark plugs
tensioner and fixed idle pulley
belt
air filter

Is there anything I'm over looking while the valve cover is off??

[X_Drive]

If you are a high mileage vehicle, then all those listed would be a good thing to do for preventative maintenance. However if you doing the bare minimum, replace both the ecc.shaft sensor seal and the valvetronic motor seal.

With that said, if it were me, I'd try to do all I could if I was in the area and had things apart

[Stupenal]

Vcg itself if the valve cover is off.

[PichaDis11]

Originally Posted by Stupenal

Vcg itself if the valve cover is off.

This x10...

[NICKBRUM]

VCG was perfect no leaks but picked up a new set any way. Its going back together tonight. I may have missed proper procedure on removing the Valvetronic motor. I did read another thread explaining the installation and teach procedure. If any one has suggestions on that subject I'm all ears. Thanks for all the help E90 post has been an awesome forum!!

[GoRomeo]

Thanks for sharing your experience...cheers!

[NICKBRUM]

Well this could have ended better. All I can guess is something is not correct with the valvetronic motor position. It had a surprising amount of tension upon removing. It seemed to be much easier to install, perhaps half the effort in pushing it back into the valve cover. Unfortunately the car is unable to drive. Any attempt to use throttle under load causes it to buck and die immediately. At this point I probably have no choice but to tow it somewhere that can pull codes. It has not thrown a CEL, which is surprising considering how bad the condition is.

[NICKBRUM]

Update removing and installing the valvetronic motor did not affect anything. I had missed one of the ground wires for the coil pack harness. Has anyone put a little RTV sealant around the top of that sensor? I plan too as it is a lame job and expense knowing that six dollar seal causes this. Thanks again E90 post.

[NICKBRUM]

Bumping it up for some ideas. Changed eccentric shaft sensor, and spark plugs. Im still getting occasional long cranking prior to start up. Please dont confuse this with laboring during the crank. The motor turns quickly, it just takes too long to fire. This is both cold and warm. The car has no issues once started and drives and pulls as expected with no hesitation. I have no reason to suspect and ignition or fuel issues, the plugs were done just as normal maintenence since I was in the general area.

[NICKBRUM]

Bumper

[PhaseP]

Battery, especially if you are on the original one still. How do you determine "motor turns quickly" without a refernce.

[dassub]

When I had starting issues with long cranks, it was the eccentric shaft sensor.
Then, a year later, I had trouble with buckling under pressure, and it was one of the coils. I think it threw a regular code, though.

[NICKBRUM]

Originally Posted by PhaseP

Battery, especially if you are on the original one still. How do you determine "motor turns quickly" without a refernce.

Battery is fine. I have measured voltage after sitting over night, which is a solid 12.5v. I have spent enough time around cars to know that 3.0 is spinning as it should while cranking. All though there is no CEL im thinking I should have it scanned anyway.

[dassub]

If the battery is going, you'd eventually get a light show in the dash (ABS, traction control, etc).