Misfire? only in park and neutral? extras!

i have a 1999 bmw 328i e46 with 118k. It only misfires on park or neutral but in drive and everything else is works smooth oh and no engine light is on. Another thing is i recently started school about 20 miles from where i live and on the way there my car is smooth but for some reason on the way from school (in the afternoon) halfway home my engine light turns on and my car doesn't shift it seem to stay in 4th gear. When i stop at a light or stop sign my takes a while to take off. After i get home i turn my car off and about 30 minutes later my engine light turns off and the car is fine but then again still misfires in park or neutral with no engine light?? i need help im new to bmw's.

The first step in any diagnosis is to go someplace like Autozone, have them scan the codes, then report their findings here.

Originally Posted by libradofavela

i have a 1999 bmw 328i e46 with 118k. It only misfires on park or neutral but in drive and everything else is works smooth oh and no engine light is on. ...

Do you mean that it seems to misfire when you step on the gas in neutral/park and get close to 3K RPM? That's not a misfire. That's the neutral limiter and it's supposed to do that. It's there to reduce the damage that people do by flooring that gas pedal and slamming the transmission into gear.

Originally Posted by joegr

Do you mean that it seems to misfire when you step on the gas in neutral/park and get close to 3K RPM? That's not a misfire. That's the neutral limiter and it's supposed to do that. It's there to reduce the damage that people do by flooring that gas pedal and slamming the transmission into gear.

No when it's in park or neutral I'm not stepping on the gas its at idle after the car is warmed up

okay i got the codes?!?!?!?!
P0735 (incorrect ratio)
P0303 (misfire cylinder 3)
P0300 (misfire randon cylinders)
P0301 (misfire cylinder 1)
P0173 (fuel trim two condition)
P0170 (fuel trim bank one)
P0302 (misfire cylinder 2)
also (P1250)-(P1188)-(P1189) which they said they dont know what these codes mean!

and i discovered and oil leak have no idea where its coming from, on day it will leak a little. the next day it will leak a puddle. im stuck

Originally Posted by libradofavela

okay i got the codes?!?!?!?!
P0735 (incorrect ratio)
P0303 (misfire cylinder 3)
P0300 (misfire randon cylinders)
P0301 (misfire cylinder 1)
P0173 (fuel trim two condition)
P0170 (fuel trim bank one)
P0302 (misfire cylinder 2)
also (P1250)-(P1188)-(P1189) which they said they dont know what these codes mean!

and i discovered and oil leak have no idea where its coming from, on day it will leak a little. the next day it will leak a puddle. im stuck

It could be one or more of the following (depending on whether or not any of the following have been replaced):

Cam Position Sensors

VANOS seals

CVV

Valve Cover Gasket

New plugs

P1188 = Fuel Control (Bank 1 Sensor 1)
P1189 = Fuel Control (Bank 2 Sensor 1)
P1250 = Very low fuel level

i put new plugs in but when i took the old ones out, the bottom of the thread have oil on it and the old spark plugs had oil. Is that normal? i change the spark plugs and im going to change to valve cover gasket in the morning. Any other suggestions?

Originally Posted by libradofavela

i put new plugs in but when i took the old ones out, the bottom of the thread have oil on it and the old spark plugs had oil. Is that normal? i change the spark plugs and im going to change to valve cover gasket in the morning. Any other suggestions?

The oily plugs is usually an indicator that your CVV is failing. If you replaced it, along with the VANOS seals and VCG, you would see a huge improvement in performance.

If you do the CVV, do yourself a favor and replace the oil filter housing gasket at the same time. Removing the oil filter housing makes it much easier to get to the CVV and for $10 or less, its good preventative maintenance.

will replacing the cvv stop the oil leak as well?

Originally Posted by libradofavela

will replacing the cvv stop the oil leak as well?

All the things mentioned above are inter-related, and have an effect on each other. Kinda like building a house, first thing you need is a good solid foundation....performing the above-named repairs will *give* you that foundation....

so i discovered the oil leak and found that the trans is leaking. Its dripping from the driver side top of the trans?? any ideas??

Are you positive it's trans fluid? Trans leaks are rarely on the top.

im pretty sure, its like dripping along the side of the trans of the driver side

What color is the fluid?

its a brownish and had a horrible odor but it only leaks sometimes

Maybe the filler plug is loose or missing? Or your torque converter seal is bad? You need to inspect it from below and confirm where the fuid is coming from, Sounds like you have a whole mess of problems, good luck.