[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by 2006330xi

Of course it is known, the SA at his dealer is not denying that. He said it will have no long term damage to the car. If you have data or evidence that an engine had failed, lost performance, or has been catastrophically damaged due to the "ticking" noise, I would love to see it.

Well if a lifter sustains physical damage I would say that is a reason to worry. I got the paper work I can scan it for you tomorrow if you like.

[2006330xi]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Well if a lifter sustains physical damage I would say that is a reason to worry. I got the paper work I can scan it for you tomorrow if you like.

Did your engine fail or lose any performance at all?

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by 2006330xi

Did your engine fail or lose any performance at all?

No not yet mind you I only have around 45k miles. Who knows what would happen around 80k or so due to that deffect. Not that I'd find out since I will most like pick up a 335is next summer.

[DL]

I received the car today from the service department and after a drive the car feels like they did a good job replacing the hydraulic valve lifters. I spoke to a different SA as the one I usually deal with was out to lunch. Today’s SA seems higher up on the food chain so to speak. He did not know what the car was in for but when I said intermittent hydraulic valve adjuster noise I think he knew I had done my research, so he was very detailed about the problem when speaking. He said the original lifters had a tolerance/gap that was too wide causing the oil to leak out. So upon start up the ticking noise is noticeable until the oil works itself back to that area. The new lifters have less of a tolerance/gap so the oil does not leak out as fast therefore the ‘annoyance’ of the ticking noise is solved. A bit later in the conversation he said if I let the car sit for say 4 days I may notice ticking for a brief time as the oil still leaks out only at a slower pace. At that time I really did not want to get into a debate over the patch that BMW is putting on a design flaw in the engine. He said it is only a little annoyance and it causes no harm in the engine at all (I do not know of any proof of this either way, but simple logic says that any part lacking oil is not a “good thing”). I could tell he was prepping me that this is all that they want to do with this issue. I do not blame the dealers as BMW probably informed them to keep this under wraps. I asked him if the 2011s have this issue of oil not flowing properly into this section of the engine. He said the design was changed in 2010.

In summary I think BMW made the N51, N52, N52k engines with a design flaw which oil does not flow with ease throughout the engine from 2006-2009. BMW decided to patch the flaw for anyone who notices it with new lifters in hopes that will be good enough. The real solution is replacement of the head, and BMW is going to make this solution real difficult for the owner to get it done right. I read it is about 8k out of BMWs wallet. I have 3.5 years left of regular warranty and CPO warranty, so I have sometime to think what my next step will be going forward pending on the ticking noise if it comes back.


Delta0311 how long did you have to work with the dealer to get you a new head?

[2006330xi]

So if BMW knows they have produced defective parts and is doing everything they can to get out of fixing them, I think a lawsuit will be in the works. Especially when/if cars start to fail because of this issue. In or out of warranty shouldnt matter if there is a pervasive problems with all the engines. I am guessing there has not been too many issues or failures due to this issue yet, so the pressure on BMW has been something they can deal with.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by DL

I received the car today from the service department and after a drive the car feels like they did a good job replacing the hydraulic valve lifters. I spoke to a different SA as the one I usually deal with was out to lunch. Today’s SA seems higher up on the food chain so to speak. He did not know what the car was in for but when I said intermittent hydraulic valve adjuster noise I think he knew I had done my research, so he was very detailed about the problem when speaking. He said the original lifters had a tolerance/gap that was too wide causing the oil to leak out. So upon start up the ticking noise is noticeable until the oil works itself back to that area. The new lifters have less of a tolerance/gap so the oil does not leak out as fast therefore the ‘annoyance’ of the ticking noise is solved. A bit later in the conversation he said if I let the car sit for say 4 days I may notice ticking for a brief time as the oil still leaks out only at a slower pace. At that time I really did not want to get into a debate over the patch that BMW is putting on a design flaw in the engine. He said it is only a little annoyance and it causes no harm in the engine at all (I do not know of any proof of this either way, but simple logic says that any part lacking oil is not a “good thing”). I could tell he was prepping me that this is all that they want to do with this issue. I do not blame the dealers as BMW probably informed them to keep this under wraps. I asked him if the 2011s have this issue of oil not flowing properly into this section of the engine. He said the design was changed in 2010.

In summary I think BMW made the N51, N52, N52k engines with a design flaw which oil does not flow with ease throughout the engine from 2006-2009. BMW decided to patch the flaw for anyone who notices it with new lifters in hopes that will be good enough. The real solution is replacement of the head, and BMW is going to make this solution real difficult for the owner to get it done right. I read it is about 8k out of BMWs wallet. I have 3.5 years left of regular warranty and CPO warranty, so I have sometime to think what my next step will be going forward pending on the ticking noise if it comes back.


Delta0311 how long did you have to work with the dealer to get you a new head?

Well they stated that if it ticks again to bring it back and we will go from there. Monday I'm getting my console replaced do the paint flaking off, and they will also look again at the ticking issue. SA stated that the final solution is to replace the head. I'll update you on Tueasday and let you know what happened.

[Delta0311]

Hi DL,



Ok I dropped off my car this AM, so we will see how it goes. Also got error codes when they did my last repair.. One was P2298 (02 bank sensor 1 out of range during deceleration) and one code saying somethiong about manufaactured air metering error (P112d).

[ERANG A LANG]

I just noticed this thread now! lol yah i have a ticking noise on my 2006 325i, I told the dealership and they knew exactly what was wrong when i described it to them. I left it for 2 days, they said they tried numerous times and they didnt hear the noise!! at least i have 2 years left on my certified used warranty, still its a pain!

[DL]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Hi DL,



Ok I dropped off my car this AM, so we will see how it goes. Also got error codes when they did my last repair.. One was P2298 (02 bank sensor 1 out of range during deceleration) and one code saying somethiong about manufaactured air metering error (P112d).

I am hopeful you will have no problem getting a new design flaw free cylinder head. That should take care of the ticking lifter problem once and for all. It has been 4 days since my new lifters have been installed and no ticking sound. However, I am not going to bet the farm that this band aid on a bullet wound fix will be the end to it. I will keep this thread updated if my situation changes.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by DL

I am hopeful you will have no problem getting a new design flaw free cylinder head. That should take care of the ticking lifter problem once and for all. It has been 4 days since my new lifters have been installed and no ticking sound. However, I am not going to bet the farm that this band aid on a bullet wound fix will be the end to it. I will keep this thread updated if my situation changes.

Ok they replaced my O2 sensor and my center console because it was pealing today. Tomorrow morning they will replace the cylinder head because there is still ticking, even though they repalced the lifters.

[Delta0311]

Update: Head is being replaced today, will have car back tomorrow. Ughh I want my car back already, can't stand the loaner.

[DL]

The ticking noise is back with the new lifters installed. I took video with a current newspaper to prove the date. I showed it to my SA today, and I drop the car off Tuesday. They will look at it Wednesday. SA said I was the first to have the ticking noise come back with the new lifters. I should have kept my e46.

[epoxa1]

My car seems to do it for a minute when I start it up, then goes away. Is this normal or should I get it checked out?

[DL]

Originally Posted by epoxa1

My car seems to do it for a minute when I start it up, then goes away. Is this normal or should I get it checked out?

The 335i is not affected by this particular problem.

[krypt0]

I noticed most people who have this problem have N/A engines, and not the N54.
However, I have the same noise on warm idle (after driving the car). Don't notice it on cold start-up or when driving.

At first i thought it sounded like some sort of air pump because its very intermittent (you can hear it stop after 30sec or so)

Next time I hear this noise, I'm going to try and see if it's RPM dependent. I really didn't think about it at the time.

[u2b]bqeT77xcDYg&hd=1[/u2b]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqeT77xcDYg&hd=1

I ordered a BT cable today and will scan for codes as soon as it arrives.

I'm going to take the car [2008 335i/30k miles] to the dealer for some warranty work (AE bulb burnt out, rough idle, clunk from front end when turning (very noticeable when turning slow on uneven surfaces) and now I guess for ticking lifters??)

Don't know how much I can trust my local SA/Dealership, so I want to compare my BT scan results to what they say they found... see if they match up.

Any insight/suggestions would be helpful.
Cheers!

[pdav]

First of all thanks to the guys that put the time in to create this thread and keep it going.

The lifter tick on my car was exact as the one on page 3 of this thread. It was always ticking, warm, cold, short and long drives.

1)After some online research I found that stuff called Reslone might reduce the problem so I went out and bought some and put it in following the instructions. This did not reduce the ticking one bit, but if I had to do it again I would try the AutoRx stuff which is supposed to be a stronger cleaner you will see why later in my post.

2)Multiple posts state that this will do no damage I thought I would drive around for a couple of months and hopefully it will just go away. The ticking got so annoying that i no longer wanted to start the car and dreaded driving it, so a couple weeks in I thought I would take it apart myself and change out the lifters. I did have an extra cylinder head in my garage from a previous project.

3)Image 1 shows what the lifter looks like with the rocker arm. It seems that the lifters themselves get ceased up and they no longer move up and down making the lifter or the rocker arm bang against metal.
Using a C clamp (image 4) squeeze the lifter until it loosens up and compresses. Now the lifter can easily be compressed with your hands. Image 3 shows a compressed lifter and 2 uncompressed. (there is a spring inside the lifter that pushes it out)

I can only guess as to why the lifters cease up... long oil changes, light foot driving, crap engineering, short distance driving. But this is certainly the problem because after putting it back together.. no more ticking.

I ended up not even replacing the lifters, just loosening up all of them and putting it back together. My advice... dont wait to 15K to change the oil, do some spirited driving occasionally, when you do beat on it let the engine run at normal operation speeds before shutting it off.

I did this on 3 days ago (~100miles), if it starts ticking again ill make sure to let you guys know

Oh trying autoRX might be a good idea since it just might loosen up the bad lifters without taking it apart

Props goes to my father for figuring this out.

Apologies for such large images, dont have the time to play around with them

[YoungRansom]

I have been having a real problem trying to get my dealership to fix this problem for me as well, they have already replaced the lifters and do not act like they have anything else to do for me. Every time i bring it in for this problem they tell me that it is normal and that it should go away after the car warms up for a while.
The sound seems to be getting louder, and it takes some of the joy from driving my car every morning.
Any suggestions to get the dealership to fix the problem?



Delta, any news on the head replacement? Did it fix the problem?

Ransom

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by YoungRansom

I have been having a real problem trying to get my dealership to fix this problem for me as well, they have already replaced the lifters and do not act like they have anything else to do for me. Every time i bring it in for this problem they tell me that it is normal and that it should go away after the car warms up for a while.
The sound seems to be getting louder, and it takes some of the joy from driving my car every morning.
Any suggestions to get the dealership to fix the problem?



Delta, any news on the head replacement? Did it fix the problem?

Ransom

Yes the head was replaced after they heard the ticking noise yet again when I brought it in. I also made a recording of it with my BB just in case. No ticking as of yet but then again it's like 70F here in NJ this week.

[DL]

Originally Posted by YoungRansom

I have been having a real problem trying to get my dealership to fix this problem for me as well, they have already replaced the lifters and do not act like they have anything else to do for me. Every time i bring it in for this problem they tell me that it is normal and that it should go away after the car warms up for a while.
The sound seems to be getting louder, and it takes some of the joy from driving my car every morning.
Any suggestions to get the dealership to fix the problem?



Delta, any news on the head replacement? Did it fix the problem?

Ransom

Well I got the car back today after two days at the service department. As expected the car did not tick when they had it, so they said just keep an eye on it. Of course it has to be like summer in the northeast during my appointment.

My new driving habit is taking a current newspaper with me so when it starts ticking I have a current date when taking video. At this point I have two videos with the ticking noise since the new lifters were put in. The SA has seen the first two also… When I get to ten I will take the car back again. Allot of fun.

[YoungRansom]

Originally Posted by DL

Well I got the car back today after two days at the service department. As expected the car did not tick when they had it, so they said just keep an eye on it. Of course it has to be like summer in the northeast during my appointment.

My new driving habit is taking a current newspaper with me so when it starts ticking I have a current date when taking video. At this point I have two videos with the ticking noise since the new lifters were put in. The SA has seen the first two also… When I get to ten I will take the car back again. Allot of fun.

I dropped my car off yet again yesterday, so that the car could be cool for them to work on this morning. I also printed out some of the posts in this thread for in case they shoot down my head replacement suggestion. This is my fifth attempt to get the problem fixed, i really want it to be the last. Now if only i could find a way to show them the ticking without seeming like such an asshole....hmmm

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by YoungRansom

I dropped my car off yet again yesterday, so that the car could be cool for them to work on this morning. I also printed out some of the posts in this thread for in case they shoot down my head replacement suggestion. This is my fifth attempt to get the problem fixed, i really want it to be the last. Now if only i could find a way to show them the ticking without seeming like such an asshole....hmmm

Best thing to do is to record the ticking with your camera or camera phone. No way can they deny it then. And your not being an asshole.. Fuck that we all paid around $40k or more for our cars (brand new) so why should we put up with this shit? Especially since BMW KNOWS damn well about this problem. They fucked it up so let them fix it.

[YoungRansom]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Best thing to do is to record the ticking with your camera or camera phone. No way can they deny it then. And your not being an asshole.. Fuck that we all paid around $40k or more for our cars (brand new) so why should we put up with this shit? Especially since BMW KNOWS damn well about this problem. They fucked it up so let them fix it.

Word, Thanks for the quick response Delta. I have a couple videos already on my phone in case. They have had my car all day and still no word so maybe something is actually getting done, just have to wait. Does anyone have the information of another dealership that fixed this problem through the replacement of the cylinder head? I think they might be more responsive to someone working for the same coroporation.

Thanks

Ransom