[THX-1]

Hy,has enyone tried to put thicker or thinner oil?Maybe putting a different oil,the valve lifters will work much easily and lubricate much better.Did someone tried the 0W40 LL04 on the N52 engine? Thanks

[82DMC12]

I'm thinking about getting a 2006 330i with 39K miles. It is too old for CPO and is 6 months out of warranty. This thread makes me not want to buy it. If I do, which aftermarket warranty should I buy which might take care of this for me?

I also live 3 hours from nearest dealer. Between ticking and HPFP, and living in ND where the temp gets below zero in the winter, I'm not sure if it is a good idea to have a BMW around here.

Andy

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by THX-1

Hy,has enyone tried to put thicker or thinner oil?Maybe putting a different oil,the valve lifters will work much easily and lubricate much better.Did someone tried the 0W40 LL04 on the N52 engine? Thanks

Oil will not and cannot compensate for out of spec valve lash from a defective lifter.

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by 82DMC12

I'm thinking about getting a 2006 330i with 39K miles. It is too old for CPO and is 6 months out of warranty. This thread makes me not want to buy it. If I do, which aftermarket warranty should I buy which might take care of this for me?

I also live 3 hours from nearest dealer. Between ticking and HPFP, and living in ND where the temp gets below zero in the winter, I'm not sure if it is a good idea to have a BMW around here.

Andy

I would not touch a BMW out of warranty. Too much technology. The other issue is Valvetronic failure. Not expensive to fix but when it fails, you are left stranded because a little electric motor failed.

Look at the warranty from CoverageOne.

[DL]

Originally Posted by E92Vancouver

I would not touch a BMW out of warranty. Too much technology. The other issue is Valvetronic failure. Not expensive to fix but when it fails, you are left stranded because a little electric motor failed.

Look at the warranties from CoveragOne.

+1000

[DL]

Originally Posted by alarroyo

Well I have a 2006 330i with a little over 23k miles and have the ticking noise. Went the third party warranty way denied because it was not a breakdown. Went the BMW NA way and the say NO and decision final even though is a BMW engineering flaw. Now I'm suck with at least an 1,100 hundred dollar bill so far which will be put it back together with no repairs. What else I can do? There is no way that a car with that low miles could make such a loud ticking.

82DMC12 the above is for you.

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by DL

82DMC12 the above is for you.

My fear exactly!

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by 82DMC12

I'm thinking about getting a 2006 330i with 39K miles. It is too old for CPO and is 6 months out of warranty. This thread makes me not want to buy it. If I do, which aftermarket warranty should I buy which might take care of this for me?

I also live 3 hours from nearest dealer. Between ticking and HPFP, and living in ND where the temp gets below zero in the winter, I'm not sure if it is a good idea to have a BMW around here.

Andy

Don't do it. If you really want a BMW, get one on a 48 month lease. After 48 months, you will be sick of it.

[82DMC12]

Originally Posted by E92Vancouver

Don't do it. If you really want a BMW, get one on a 48 month lease. After 48 months, you will be sick of it.

I hear ya. That sucks. I think the E90 is such a great looking car, awesome interior, real looker with great performance. But without a dealer in North Dakota it looks like I will have to write off the whole brand because of reliability concerns. No wonder hardly anyone has a BMW around here, even though there is plenty of money. Lots of MB, Audi, Porsche.... rare to see a bimmer. I have no problem affording the car but I can't afford to ship it back to Minneapolis every time it has a problem.

Guess I'll stick with my 08 Subaru Legacy for a while longer. Seems to be the only car reliable enough for a North Dakota winter. 35K miles and not a single problem....

Andy

[bobbettafish]

I'm stuck with an '07 328xi --64,000 miles with a knocking engine. No more warranty! UGH!

[DUI Elite]

Originally Posted by E92Vancouver

Not true. The lifters are in the head and not in the combustion chamber. The problem is oil circulation in that journal. See lifters circled in orange.

x2

quit misinforming people 325ispeed. I use the on board computer to check my temperature and make sure I always get it to at least above 60 Celsius, and I havent had the ticking problem since.

From what I understand, and have experienced, the problem is poor design on BMWs part for lubrication. When the car gets to operating temperature (between 75 and 125 Celsius in the hidden computer) the car has no trouble lubricating components.


Amazed how people will believe "theory" over experience. If checking the temperature of your car to make sure its warm (even on short trips) is a hassle, don't get an E9X BMW.

[E90 87ss]

I had my lifters replaced due to ticking... good for a few weeks and a quieter tick returned... I recently moved and now have a 30 minute commute instead of a 2 mile commute and the ticking has not returned even when sitting outside in the cold for a few days. I realize this engine should never make a ticking noise, but longer drives has completely cured it.

[DUI Elite]

Originally Posted by E90 87ss

I had my lifters replaced due to ticking... good for a few weeks and a quieter tick returned... I recently moved and now have a 30 minute commute instead of a 2 mile commute and the ticking has not returned even when sitting outside in the cold for a few days. I realize this engine should never make a ticking noise, but longer drives has completely cured it.

Thank you for posting your experience. Greatly appreciated.

The only issue I seem to have is whether damage is caused when ticking DOES occur. Its not hard to prevent the ticking. If OP can please post experiences like this in the 1st page, there wouldnt be so much confusion in this thread.

When BMW tells you to just jump in and drive off, and you do what they say, you're cheating yourself. I love BMW, but I won't take every little thing they take to heart. Including how to maintain a car. They're a business after all. They'd prefer you sell the car and buy a new BMW

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by DUI Elite

x2

quit misinforming people 325ispeed. I use the on board computer to check my temperature and make sure I always get it to at least above 60 Celsius, and I havent had the ticking problem since.

From what I understand, and have experienced, the problem is poor design on BMWs part for lubrication. When the car gets to operating temperature (between 75 and 125 Celsius in the hidden computer) the car has no trouble lubricating components.


Amazed how people will believe "theory" over experience. If checking the temperature of your car to make sure its warm (even on short trips) is a hassle, don't get an E9X BMW.

How do you get the on board pc to show you the temps?

[tsuma]

http://e90.wetpaint.com/page/BC+hidden+menus

[babybeast3]

Originally Posted by E92Vancouver

Oil will not and cannot compensate for out of spec valve lash from a defective lifter.

I have 5w-40 in mine and it still ticks.

I also do not think the lash is out of spec causing the noise. I think it's an oiling issue, not an out-of-spec, or part failure issue... I'm not entirely sure though. Of course, based upon the posts in this thread and forum, that hasn't stopped many posters before me .

I assume there is nothing out of spec because my service dept says it won't hurt the engine, and an out of spec valvetrain will indeed, hurt the engine.

[babybeast3]

Originally Posted by tsuma

http://e90.wetpaint.com/page/BC+hidden+menus

^ thanks.

""Originally Posted by DUI Elite View Post
x2

quit misinforming people 325ispeed. I use the on board computer to check my temperature and make sure I always get it to at least above 60 Celsius, and I havent had the ticking problem since.

From what I understand, and have experienced, the problem is poor design on BMWs part for lubrication. When the car gets to operating temperature (between 75 and 125 Celsius in the hidden computer) the car has no trouble lubricating components.


Amazed how people will believe "theory" over experience. If checking the temperature of your car to make sure its warm (even on short trips) is a hassle, don't get an E9X BMW.""

-Seriously, if you want us to follow this advice, maybe get BMW to make it easier to check the water temp than launching a space shuttle. My car moves the mirrors when I put it in reverse, but can't tell me when it's warm? Seriously misplaced proirities - just like almost all modern cars. I pretty much hate all modern cars. Not for what they are, but for the user interface. And it's only going to get worse.

Goodbye manual transmissions. Hello lane-departure assist, automatic brakes and BAL steering wheels. After all, we can't be trusted with driving.

[DUI Elite]

Originally Posted by babybeast3

^ thanks.

-Seriously, if you want us to follow this advice, maybe get BMW to make it easier to check the water temp than launching a space shuttle. My car moves the mirrors when I put it in reverse, but can't tell me when it's warm? Seriously misplaced proirities - just like almost all modern cars. I pretty much hate all modern cars. Not for what they are, but for the user interface. And it's only going to get worse.

Goodbye manual transmissions. Hello lane-departure assist, automatic brakes and BAL steering wheels. After all, we can't be trusted with driving.

Lol, now THAT I wish I could do. I'm sorry the process isn't easier, but I mean not worrying about the ticking seems worth it in my view.

I agree, the wave of the future will make driving MORE dangerous as people with less skill see fit to drive by depending on these systems.

[babybeast3]

^^ yes!

[Neutrino45]

Here is my experience with this. The HVA exhaust lifters and hydr. valve pushrods were replaced @ 30,943 miles on 2/10/2010. I've never heard the ticking noise before. The replacement was initiated by the dealer when the car was there for some other issues.

The cylinder head was just replaced @ 49,749 miles on 2/16/2011. I was lucky to have it replaced before my initial warranty ran out. I heard the ticking sound as I was picking up my car from the service center. The cylinder head was replaced and I got a free oil change out of it. : )

Do I need to go through a break in procedure after they replace the cylinder head?

[Broder]

Originally Posted by Neutrino45

Here is my experience with this. The HVA exhaust lifters and hydr. valve pushrods were replaced @ 30,943 miles on 2/10/2010. I've never heard the ticking noise before. The replacement was initiated by the dealer when the car was there for some other issues.

The cylinder head was just replaced @ 49,749 miles on 2/16/2011. I was lucky to have it replaced before my initial warranty ran out. I heard the ticking sound as I was picking up my car from the service center. The cylinder head was replaced and I got a free oil change out of it. : )

Do I need to go through a break in procedure after they replace the cylinder head?

Break in is for the low part of the engine. Specifically the piston rings adapting to the cylinder walls, and the connection rods bearing´s adjusting to the crankshaft.

[Neutrino45]

Thanks. So I should just keep it under 4000 RPM and under 100 MPH (if I remember correctly) for the next 1200 miles?