[Cool Car Dave]

Ya I understand about the rattling sound, I have that when I step on the gas and release, but when just sitting there at idle you can hear another ticking sound and it is definitely coming from the area around the diverter vavles. But I dont know.
At least we have MR 5 who has done so much research, he's helping a lot.

[cn555ic]

Originally Posted by Cool Car Dave

Ya I understand about the rattling sound, I have that when I step on the gas and release, but when just sitting there at idle you can hear another ticking sound and it is definitely coming from the area around the diverter vavles. But I dont know.
At least we have MR 5 who has done so much research, he's helping a lot.

Yeah I think I know the ticking sound your speaking of near the diverter valve, but it sounds like from somewhere near the charge pipe...I have that occasionally during a cold startup, but it goes away after a few minutes..Its a loud tick too!! Ever since the weathers warming up here in the Northeast of the US, i haven't heard it for a while!

[Mr. 5]

OK guys,
I thought I'd give you an update.
I updated the first post with this:


I drove around for a couple days with no sound, and then it came back again. The shim that I put in the space fell out while I was driving.
I took my car to my friend's shop because we truly wanted to get to the bottom of this.

I took my DPs off the car so I could see a little bit better with what exactly was going on.

We took the vacuum line off the rear actuator and connected a hand pump to it.
We activated the actuator (with the hand pump) closing the wastegate until the actuator couldn't move any further.
At the maximum closing capacity of the actuator, the wastegate was still opem a little bit and the wastegate could be easily moved by the hand.
This is the "ticking" sound that we are hearing because the wastegate is banging up against the seal.
It turned out that BMW is correct with their fix.

It turns out that the temporary fix that I came up with helped prevent the wastegate from moving while it was in the closed position, but it should not be done for a permanent fix whatsoever.

BMW claims that there is no loss of power while the ticking noise is present, but I disagree with this.
I agree that there is no loss of power under full boost, since the boost will help keep the wastegate closed but I believe that under part throttle there is a loss of some power. Since the wastegate isn't closing properly then the amount of lag will increase with a leaking wastegate since there will be some leakage before the system builds boost, therefore creating more of a lag.

I personally recommend that you get this taken care of at the dealer.

[sparkyg]

Nice work, well done.

[NRG]

Read trough entire thread, got worried, went down to the garage, moved the "rod" gently left and right (facing the car), It does have a little play, but no "ticking sound" at idle or while driving. The car is January 07 build, auto, and sport. Mods are; SSTT, Forge DV's (yellow), BMC, GTM.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by NRG

Read trough entire thread, got worried, went down to the garage, moved the "rod" gently left and right (facing the car), It does have a little play, but no "ticking sound" at idle or while driving. The car is January 07 build, auto, and sport. Mods are; SSTT, Forge DV's (yellow), BMC, GTM.

Id you don't have the ticking then don't worry about it.

[twinturbodude]

Awesowe work Mr. 5...thanks for doing the investigation on this and sharing it with everyone. Also for the persistence to keep investigating until the issue is understood. My car's in the shop for this fix now...if I get a spare moment before going on vacation in a day or two I'll try to post the before/after audio (crossing my fingers that all's well with the repair).

[BMWfan07]

Anybody have any updates? Did anyone try BMW's fix as per their latest SI bulletin update?

My 335 is scheduled to go to the dealer next week for a "software programming". Did this work for anyone?

My SA told me that it is BMW's first attempt at a fix and it could take from 1 to 5 hours. If that does not work, which I honestly cannot see how it could, they will replace both wastegate actuators. How can a software update make a mechanical noise disappear? Adjusting something else to compensate? I am worried they will harm the car's performance in some way with their compensating software update.

Anyone have real experience with this BMW fix?

I spoke to a shop foreman at another BMW dealer, he told me he has a 335 and that his is noisier than mine. He said the noise is not affecting the engine nor performance and he is in no hurry to get his 335 in the shop.

Whatever, I can't stand the sound, it sounds like I'm driving a cheap piece of crap.

Your experience and input is appreciated. Thanks.

[Kerosene Hat]

Originally Posted by BMWfan07

Anybody have any updates? Did anyone try BMW's fix as per their latest SI bulletin update?

My 335 is scheduled to go to the dealer next week for a "software programming". Did this work for anyone?

My SA told me that it is BMW's first attempt at a fix and it could take from 1 to 5 hours. If that does not work, which I honestly cannot see how it could, they will replace both wastegate actuators. How can a software update make a mechanical noise disappear? Adjusting something else to compensate? I am worried they will harm the car's performance in some way with their compensating software update.

Anyone have real experience with this BMW fix?

I spoke to a shop foreman at another BMW dealer, he told me he has a 335 and that his is noisier than mine. He said the noise is not affecting the engine nor performance and he is in no hurry to get his 335 in the shop.

Whatever, I can't stand the sound, it sounds like I'm driving a cheap piece of crap.

Your experience and input is appreciated. Thanks.

I am getting the "software update is the fix" from my dealer. I don't understand how sw can affect a mechanical part, either. And I sure don't want v29.2 if I don't have to have it. Evidiently, there's a SIB or some bulletin that tells techs to update sw for this "noise coming from the turbos" (quote from my last service visit).

Has anyone had luck w/ a software fix?????

[satinghostrider]

My wastegate ticking noise was not fixed after 1 month in the dealership. They said that they would have to change the turbos and am waiting for a pair of new turbos to come in. They have returned the car to mee stating there is no problem driving it for now. At least untill my new turbos arrive. Still not sure if they have to remove the engine or simply lift it to change the turbos.

[DreX3M]

They shouldn't need to be dropping the engine to change out those turbos.

[onefastdoc]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

OK guys,
I thought I'd give you an update.
I updated the first post with this:


I drove around for a couple days with no sound, and then it came back again. The shim that I put in the space fell out while I was driving.
I took my car to my friend's shop because we truly wanted to get to the bottom of this.

I took my DPs off the car so I could see a little bit better with what exactly was going on.

We took the vacuum line off the rear actuator and connected a hand pump to it.
We activated the actuator (with the hand pump) closing the wastegate until the actuator couldn't move any further.
At the maximum closing capacity of the actuator, the wastegate was still opem a little bit and the wastegate could be easily moved by the hand.
This is the "ticking" sound that we are hearing because the wastegate is banging up against the seal.
It turned out that BMW is correct with their fix.

It turns out that the temporary fix that I came up with helped prevent the wastegate from moving while it was in the closed position, but it should not be done for a permanent fix whatsoever.

BMW claims that there is no loss of power while the ticking noise is present, but I disagree with this.
I agree that there is no loss of power under full boost, since the boost will help keep the wastegate closed but I believe that under part throttle there is a loss of some power. Since the wastegate isn't closing properly then the amount of lag will increase with a leaking wastegate since there will be some leakage before the system builds boost, therefore creating more of a lag.

I personally recommend that you get this taken care of at the dealer.

Interestingly enough, I had the same problem but I also had significant loss of power. In fact, the usual audible whine of the turbos spooling was completely absent, and the car felt like it lost about 200hp. Took it to the dealer and both wastegate actuators were malfunctioning. The noise I had was identical to that of the posted videos, but I had major power loss as well. I would only get a check engine light if I gave it full throttle. No light at part throttle. There was also no difference between part throttle and full throttle in terms of acceleration either. The car literally felt like it had 100hp at the most. Weird. Anyway, the car is fixed now and feels fine.

[David1]

Originally Posted by dre335

They shouldn't need to be dropping the engine to change out those turbos.

They drop the motor at my store. It's easier to do. Motor/trans and subframe dropped in an hour and 15 minutes. Most of the new bimmers it's easier to drop the front for major work.

[BMWfan07]

Originally Posted by BMWfan07

Anybody have any updates? Did anyone try BMW's fix as per their latest SI bulletin update?

My 335 is scheduled to go to the dealer next week for a "software programming". Did this work for anyone?

My SA told me that it is BMW's first attempt at a fix and it could take from 1 to 5 hours. If that does not work, which I honestly cannot see how it could, they will replace both wastegate actuators. How can a software update make a mechanical noise disappear? Adjusting something else to compensate? I am worried they will harm the car's performance in some way with their compensating software update.

Anyone have real experience with this BMW fix?

I spoke to a shop foreman at another BMW dealer, he told me he has a 335 and that his is noisier than mine. He said the noise is not affecting the engine nor performance and he is in no hurry to get his 335 in the shop.

Whatever, I can't stand the sound, it sounds like I'm driving a cheap piece of crap.

Your experience and input is appreciated. Thanks.

So, nobody has the dealer fix their ticking/ rattling sound via the "software update"??

I just know it wont work for me either and they will make me jump through hoops before they will actually replace the waste gate actuators.

I will get a loaner car, my car will sit there most of the day for the software update and after all that, nothing is fixed and they have to order the parts.

The dealer is 3 hours away from where I live, frustrating!!.

[midlife]

subscribed

[BMWfan07]

It didn't work. The software update didn't work!! I knew it wouldn't, but the SA told me I had to have them do the update first because BMWNA determines protocol. My car was at the dealer for 9 hours and not a thing was accomplished. Now they want to order 2 waste gate actuators.

Has anyone had their waste gate actuators replaced and it fixed their rattling problem??

Did it fix the problem for good or just temporarily??

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by BMWfan07

It didn't work. The software update didn't work!! I knew it wouldn't, but the SA told me I had to have them do the update first because BMWNA determines protocol. My car was at the dealer for 9 hours and not a thing was accomplished. Now they want to order 2 waste gate actuators.

Has anyone had their waste gate actuators replaced and it fixed their rattling problem??

Did it fix the problem for good or just temporarily??

It's a good thing that I took my car into the dealer before the software came out because I knew it wasn't going to work in my case.

The actuators are key to this fix.

[BMWfan07]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

It's a good thing that I took my car into the dealer before the software came out because I knew it wasn't going to work in my case.

The actuators are key to this fix.

Did you get your actuators replaced?

If yes,
Did it fix the problem? How is the car's performance after?

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by BMWfan07

Did you get your actuators replaced?

If yes,
Did it fix the problem? How is the car's performance after?

Yes.
I got both actuators replaced even though the ticking only came from the rear.
The ticking sound is completely gone, and I'm completely happy.

Luckily for me, I just called my service advicor who happens to be the service manager and told him about my issues and I communicated the SIB number. He ordered the parts for me once we ended the phone call because he knows that I know what I'm talking about.
This saved me the hastle of going there just for them to tell me what I already know.

My car was there for 2.5 days and I've had no problems whatsoever.
The actuators are the problem here and I'll tell you why:

The internal workings, aka the diaphram, is failing. Since the actuators are vacuum operated, the vacuum is what is pulling the actuator rod into the diaphram.
When I was putting my OEM dowmpipes back on my car, my friend and I did a test with the rear actuator. We took the vacuum hose off of the actuator and connected a hand pump to the rear actuator. We used the pump to activate the actuator so it would close the wastegate. We did this until the actuator couldn't go any further. The actuator could not pull back the wastegate any further, so the next step was to check the wastegate. At this point the wastegate should be making a solid seal (the wastegate should be completely closed). Well, my wastegate was not closed all the way.
This is the ticking sound. The wastegate is rattling against the seal.

So think about it. Even if the dealer updated the software to tell my actuator to close my wastegate harder, then it wouldn't have happened since my actuator was already maxed out.

[BMWfan07]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

Yes.
I got both actuators replaced even though the ticking only came from the rear.
The ticking sound is completely gone, and I'm completely happy.

Luckily for me, I just called my service advicor who happens to be the service manager and told him about my issues and I communicated the SIB number. He ordered the parts for me once we ended the phone call because he knows that I know what I'm talking about.
This saved me the hastle of going there just for them to tell me what I already know.

My car was there for 2.5 days and I've had no problems whatsoever.
The actuators are the problem here and I'll tell you why:

The internal workings, aka the diaphram, is failing. Since the actuators are vacuum operated, the vacuum is what is pulling the actuator rod into the diaphram.
When I was putting my OEM dowmpipes back on my car, my friend and I did a test with the rear actuator. We took the vacuum hose off of the actuator and connected a hand pump to the rear actuator. We used the pump to activate the actuator so it would close the wastegate. We did this until the actuator couldn't go any further. The actuator could not pull back the wastegate any further, so the next step was to check the wastegate. At this point the wastegate should be making a solid seal (the wastegate should be completely closed). Well, my wastegate was not closed all the way.
This is the ticking sound. The wastegate is rattling against the seal.

The Service manager at my dealer is just a kid, he was/is my SA. He had not heard of this problem before which did not impress me. I just when they act like, "Well, you are the only one who has reported this issue to us". Really! Well, then I told him the SIB number so he could do some reading and educate himself.

I did talk to the shop foreman at a dealership that is actually closer to my home, he told me has a 335 and it is noisier than mine. However, he said he is in no hurry to fix it because it's not affecting his engine nor performance. I disagree with him on performance, I have noticed more turbo lag, it is not my imagination.

I will likely get my actuators replaced at the dealer which is closer and the foreman knows about the problem more. However, the issue is that they wont give me a free loaner car because I did not buy this car at their dealership. I did buy a new BMW there many years ago, but they said it is their policy and of most dealers. I got a free loaner yesterday where I bought my car and they had my car all day for nothing.

I'm glad to hear you finally got a resolution to your rattle problem. I have been reading your posts and following your story for a while now. Hope my results are as good as yours. I really like my car and the thought of them tearing into the engine bay scares me.

How did they replace your actuators? Did they need to remove the engine from the car to do it?

[Mr. 5]

I'm sorry to hear you having such a problem. They shouldn't be treating you like this. I have around 4 BMW dealerships that I could go to and I've chosen my dealership for service mainly because of how I'm treated.
I did not purchase my car from them, but I get free rentals and loaners from them any time I get warranty work done. Maybe it's because I've taken the last 4 BMWs that I've had to them for service.

Are you saying that they won't give you a free reantal car also? They better because I'm sure that this is BMWNA's policy. I could be wrong but I think it's weird that they won't give you a loaner of some sort. Yes, I would rather drive a BMW than a Dodge neon, but at least it's something.

To answer your last question, the rear actuator can be done from strictly taking off the OEM downpipes, but the front actuator is much harder to do since the front actuator is in between the turbo and the block. So, in order to do the front actuator they need to take off the front turbo and exchange the actuators on the bench. This is what takes the longest.

Honestly, the rear actuator was the only one that was failing and I could have done that actuator by myself, but it's good that BMW is replacing both.
I wouldn't want to attempt the front one myself. Unbolting the complete front turbo/exhaust manifold does not sound like fun.

Originally Posted by BMWfan07

The Service manager at my dealer is just a kid, he was/is my SA. He had not heard of this problem before which did not impress me. I just when they act like, "Well, you are the only one who has reported this issue to us". Really! Well, then I told him the SIB number so he could do some reading and educate himself.

I did talk to the shop foreman at a dealership that is actually closer to my home, he told me has a 335 and it is noisier than mine. However, he said he is in no hurry to fix it because it's not affecting his engine nor performance. I disagree with him on performance, I have noticed more turbo lag, it is not my imagination.

I will likely get my actuators replaced at the dealer which is closer and the foreman knows about the problem more. However, the issue is that they wont give me a free loaner car because I did not buy this car at their dealership. I did buy a new BMW there many years ago, but they said it is their policy and of most dealers. I got a free loaner yesterday where I bought my car and they had my car all day for nothing.

I'm glad to hear you finally got a resolution to your rattle problem. I have been reading your posts and following your story for a while now. Hope my results are as good as yours. I really like my car and the thought of them tearing into the engine bay scares me.

How did they replace your actuators? Did they need to remove the engine from the car to do it?

[BMWfan07]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

I'm sorry to hear you having such a problem. They shouldn't be treating you like this. I have around 4 BMW dealerships that I could go to and I've chosen my dealership for service mainly because of how I'm treated.
I did not purchase my car from them, but I get free rentals and loaners from them any time I get warranty work done. Maybe it's because I've taken the last 4 BMWs that I've had to them for service.

Are you saying that they won't give you a free reantal car also? They better because I'm sure that this is BMWNA's policy. I could be wrong but I think it's weird that they won't give you a loaner of some sort. Yes, I would rather drive a BMW than a Dodge neon, but at least it's something.

To answer your last question, the rear actuator can be done from strictly taking off the OEM downpipes, but the front actuator is much harder to do since the front actuator is in between the turbo and the block. So, in order to do the front actuator they need to take off the front turbo and exchange the actuators on the bench. This is what takes the longest.

Honestly, the rear actuator was the only one that was failing and I could have done that actuator by myself, but it's good that BMW is replacing both.
I wouldn't want to attempt the front one myself. Unbolting the complete front turbo/exhaust manifold does not sound like fun.

I think I need to call or e-mail BMWNA regarding the loaner car issue. The dealer that is closest to me will not give me any loaner at all, no car, BMW or otherwise. It does not seem right, you own a car that a car manufacturer knows has an issue they are aware of with their cars, you need to leave the car at a dealer for 3 days for repair, and your mode of transportation for those 3 days is your problem, unless as was stated, you bought your BMW from the dealer who is performing the repair.

In my case, I was told that the actuator for the turbo on cylinders 1 thru 3 is the one causing my rattle. I don't know if that is the front or rear turbo.