Loud intermittent ticking ... It's back! Now with more videos and photos.

[mike.bmw]

Mine continues to be tick-free after 2 oil change intervals on T6. Also, I had a Blackstone UOA performed with great results: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...07#post9904307

[kwill22]

late bump but for future reference mine starts to do it as it warms up outside. late spring/summer. i live in florida. i usually run some marvel mystery oil and drive spirited for a few miles and oil change to thicker oil. usually fixes it but itll randomly do it occasionally for a few seconds after startup. i run rotella T6 year round for the most part. other than that mobil 10w40 or 15w40 when it gets really hot out around july/august.

[bearusmc11]

That video is IDENTICAL to my engine. Its weird that its loud, goes away, loud, goes away. I'll have to try the additive.

[mike.bmw]

Did you ever find out if RRT did something? I have the same problem, gonna try to liqui-moly stuff and the thinner oil first, but I'd like to know if there was something glaringly obvious haha

I was back there recently for an HPDE inspection and alignment. Jokingly I asked, but they said they didn't do anything. I'm guessing it's the thinner oil. Someone else messaged me recently and said they had the same issue, switched to Rotella T6 5w40 and the tick completely went away.

[jrobie79]

At the risk of jinxing myself, this may have resolved itself. I posted about it here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...&postcount=478

So Alex, JW, and I chatted for a bit and they sent me on my way. That was 6 days and 350 miles ago. The car has not ticked since then. The car went from ticking on a regular basis to not ticking at all. I have some theories:

- RRT fixed something in ~15 minutes that was glaringly obvious and didn't want to tell me because I'd feel like a moron.

Did you ever find out if RRT did something? I have the same problem, gonna try to liqui-moly stuff and the thinner oil first, but I'd like to know if there was something glaringly obvious haha

[majdomo]

At the risk of jinxing myself, this may have resolved itself. I posted about it here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...&postcount=478



Hi. My name is Mike and my M42 has been tick free for 6 days and 350 miles.



I took the car to RRT earlier in the week and gave them the list of what I've done, photos, videos, and other information. After looking at the car they called me back to the garage. The car was totally silent. No ticking. It's like my kids: angels at school, but not always the best behaved at home.



So Alex, JW, and I chatted for a bit and they sent me on my way. That was 6 days and 350 miles ago. The car has not ticked since then. The car went from ticking on a regular basis to not ticking at all. I have some theories:

- RRT fixed something in ~15 minutes that was glaringly obvious and didn't want to tell me because I'd feel like a moron.

- The thinner Rotella T6 5W40 cleaned out the oil passages and removed varnish from an offending lifter. It just took a few hundred miles to do it's work.

- The Lifter Additive, which was only run for 500 miles with the Mobil 1 15W50, may have continued to work it's way through the system after draining the M1 and filling the T6.



As of right now the engine sounds like the regular old M42 sewing machine and that makes me happy.

A win is a win...nice work!


Ezekiel 25:17

[mike.bmw]

At the risk of jinxing myself, this may have resolved itself. I posted about it here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...&postcount=478

Hi. My name is Mike and my M42 has been tick free for 6 days and 350 miles.

I took the car to RRT earlier in the week and gave them the list of what I've done, photos, videos, and other information. After looking at the car they called me back to the garage. The car was totally silent. No ticking. It's like my kids: angels at school, but not always the best behaved at home.

So Alex, JW, and I chatted for a bit and they sent me on my way. That was 6 days and 350 miles ago. The car has not ticked since then. The car went from ticking on a regular basis to not ticking at all. I have some theories:
- RRT fixed something in ~15 minutes that was glaringly obvious and didn't want to tell me because I'd feel like a moron.
- The thinner Rotella T6 5W40 cleaned out the oil passages and removed varnish from an offending lifter. It just took a few hundred miles to do it's work.
- The Lifter Additive, which was only run for 500 miles with the Mobil 1 15W50, may have continued to work it's way through the system after draining the M1 and filling the T6.

As of right now the engine sounds like the regular old M42 sewing machine and that makes me happy.

[e30sh]

I vote worn lifter. Don't think chemicals will fix that. The good news is they are easy to inspect and change.

[majdomo]

Did you hit it again with the Liqui-Moly additive? If nothing else it’s cheap and easy to try.


Ezekiel 25:17

[mike.bmw]

I spoke too soon. It's back!

As I've said in the past, over the last 3 years the engine has gotten some love: Upper and lower oil pan gaskets have been replaced. Timing guides replaced. Timing case resealed. Water pump replaced. New timing chain tensioner. New injectors. New plugs, wires, coils. Engine is currently not leaking any oil.

Here's a video of the ticking sound (watch all the way through, it's intermittent): https://flic.kr/p/2gtrVQb

Here's what I've done to try to diagnose and remedy this:

- removed valve cover and inspected everything. There's no odd wear on the cam lobes:


- Video of chain play. Is this normal? https://flic.kr/p/2gxMwZ1

- Yes, the cam gears are pointy, but it's one of the cam sprockets that came pointy from the factory. See more here: http://www.m42club.com/forum/index.php?topic=19556.0

- dropped the lower oil pan to check for loose bolts, timing guide pieces, or a blocked sump (all checked out fine, though the upper pan gasket may be protruding slightly around the pickup path)



- replaced the timing chain tensioner (no effect).

- changed the oil (Mobil 1 synthetic 15W50) and added Liqui Moly Lifter Additive (no effect).

- fuel injector cleaner + 2 fresh tanks of gas (no effect).

- BMW lifter bleeding procedure (no effect).

- changed the oil again to a 5W40 synthetic (possibly louder after changing the oil).

- removed the alternator and A/C belts to verify it's not pulley noise (no effect). I did NOT remove the water pump belt as you replaced that 2 years ago so I assume it's still good.

- verified no oil leaks are present and I am not burning any oil between changes.

I have not checked the oil pressure, though the light hasn't come on. I do know the oil light functions because when I install a new oil filter the oil light comes on for a few seconds after initial startup. I've read that low oil pressure or a worn oil pump can cause the lifters to tick due to lack of oil flow to the top of the head.

I'm at a loss of what the noise is. Even with a mechanics stethoscope it's very hard to pinpoint where it's coming from.

Thanks for any input!

[majdomo]

Damn that was almost a year ago?!?!? I remember that post!

Glad it worked!


Ezekiel 25:17

[mike.bmw]

Bumping an old thread for an update...

Using Liqui Moly Lifter Additive seems to have fixed the intermittent ticking. Thanks for the suggestion!

As part of investigation to determine the cause, I dropped the lower oil pan and there were not any loose or missing bolts. No oil leaks. No exhaust leaks. Spark plugs were torqued (non had come loose). Injectors were ticking, but not making this specific louder ticking that was bothering me.

I've been running Mobil 1 15W50 for the last 3 oil changes without any burning/loss. This time I changed the oil, ran the engine up to temperature, and added the Liqui Moly. The intermittent ticking was still present initially, but it started to subside after about 50 miles. This morning I didn't hear the ticking at all during my 12 mile commute. This additive is supposed to clean varnish and clean blocked oil passages, so I'm assuming that's what happened.

[majdomo]

Liqui-Moly oil or additive?

Additive - it’s this stuff: https://products.liqui-moly.com/hydr...dditive-1.html


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[mike.bmw]

Liqui-Moly should knock this out. Had the same issue and one shot of the good stuff took care of it for my M42.

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Liqui-Moly oil or additive?

[majdomo]

Liqui-Moly should knock this out. Had the same issue and one shot of the good stuff took care of it for my M42.


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