[milly]

Alright so i did a few google searches and they have all been different answers, most of them said it's fine.

Anyways, i've noticed at idle the car will make a tick sound.. Is this something to be concerned about, I'm new with BMW. This is my first one

Thanks guys!

[benzo23]

Could be anything. I myself have noisy ticking lifters.

[Adj5633]

I'm on my second e90 and am regularly around e9- gen and n52 alike and they pretty much all make that ticking noise at idle.

[milly]

Okay great, just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong. Thanks guys

[deanmc]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504

[Patsfan123]

Originally Posted by deanmc

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504

Mine ticks.. Will probably get it taken care of before my CPO is up.. I was lazy while I still had the new car warranty. Video is a year old.

[milly]

Originally Posted by Patsfan123

Mine ticks.. Will probably get it taken care of before my CPO is up.. I was lazy while I still had the new car warranty. Video is a year old.

Hmm...mine doesn't sound like that. Mines a LOT slower, it's like tick (wait 1 second) tick (wait 1 second) tick etc etc..

Maybe what I'm talking about isn't what that one thread that dean/vid you posted is talking about..

hmmmm haha

[birdbrain]

If your tick is that slow its NOT the normal "lifter tick" that is common. Lifter ticks sound like a diesel engine.

By the way the above poster's engine is not even ticking. That is the sound of the bmw engines. Youtube the topic and it wll show you actual examples of lifter tick. The sound in the video above is the dual vanos mechanisms mechanical sound.

You will only look foolish if you take that to the dealer to get it "fixed"-maybe they can remove your vanos-that is the only option

[micah_675]

All variable timing overhead cams tick. As do ALL SOHC motors and DOHC motors. It's all in the design. And the word lifter doesn't really do the design justice on these motors. I think you guys should look up how the valve system works on these motors.

[fdriller9]

I wouldn't just leave your ticking valve lifters alone.....there's no oil in there. That's why they tick. No oil=excessive wear and increased heat.....2 things you don't want in your engine.

There's a TSB out for the lifter tick.....I had my engine head replaced. The new head incorporates a check valve to maintain oil pressure when the engine is off.

Haven't heard a tick since.

[birdbrain]

People are saying two different things here.

1.The sound in Patsfan video is NOT lifter tick but rather normal engine sound from the mechanical sounds of vvt and vanos. It isnt even ticking, its more mechanical noise which is normal and all bmws do this

2.Lifter tick is another issue that is not unique to this engine however more reports than usual have been out over the years. This is due to the oil return valve not working well when the engine shuts down, therefore limiting oil to the lifters next time you start your car.

This is worth getting changed because its a service bulletin and there has been severeal posters in the past who posted pics of damaed lifters from this problem.

They used to design an entire new cylinder head and valvetrain for the fix. Now they just replace the lifters. They would not go to the trouble of replacing thousands of cylinder heads at 8k per piece if the problem was "normal" for this car.

So get it checked out and go to youtube and type in n52 lifter tick

[m_thompson]

First it was bleeding the lifters, then replacing the exhaust lifters, then last week the cylinder head was replaced. Nice and quiet now.

[Dark_Knight_335]

I would like to get this checked out as well, but I currently have an AA tune. Would I be asking for trouble, or would that be a non issue in their tshoot? On another note, who in the tri state can flash a 328 coupe with an AA tune again? Viral already has my info, should be pretty easy.

[Patsfan123]

I still maintain that it ticks.. It is hard to capture on the camera because the mechanical sound overpowers the mic. BTW this camera sucks more than the other video.

[fdriller9]

Originally Posted by SDeFranco1

I would like to get this checked out as well, but I currently have an AA tune. Would I be asking for trouble, or would that be a non issue in their tshoot? On another note, who in the tri state can flash a 328 coupe with an AA tune again? Viral already has my info, should be pretty easy.

If you look on the aa website it lists BMW of Bloomfield as a vendor.

Not sure if they just send it out email aa your files to modifiy but I'm looking to go to them for my tune....let me know if they can flash in house.

[Got Euro ?]

Tick is usually valve tap or injectors. If you are flashed with an upgraded ECU and your maps have been changed then you could be getting sensor knock, just run some higher grade fuel , cooler air, or have the timing decreased.

[E90slow]

Mine did this for a week when I went to a cheap gas station. When to BP got some 97 octane havent had a problem since.

[Dark_Knight_335]

I use nothing but Shell V power and my AA tune is customized as such, as well as for my PE and PI.. maybe it's just something I need to learn to live with...may open a whole other can of worms if they discover the tune...

[milly]

I haven't heard mine in a while actually. I use 93 octane for who ever cares.

[Dark_Knight_335]

I do
However, mine still ticks. Oh well, there are worse things in life I suppose.