alright thats it i give up.

[Car Addict]

i have tried everything and i mean everything to stop my engine from ticking from seafoam to valve cleaner and back again please can someone give me a way to stop my m42 from ticking enough is enough. please keep the just swap it to a minimum it is on my list of things to due #1 being new 17 Kopi's.

so please give me your opinions on your successful ways of stopping the tappet tick.

[silversleeper]

I think this is a dead end thread. I duno bout the M42s, but M20s were born to tick, at least that's my understanding.

I still can't picture the car rolling off the showroom floor sounding like this. :rofl:

[z31maniac]

If its ticking because of a mechanical fault (timing chain tensioner, don't know if that could tick on an M42 just saying) then fix it.

If its running good, then I would say turn your stereo up louder and get over it.

[Car Addict]

ya it runs fine and i have been just turning my stereo up to block it out but enough is enough.

[txleadfoot]

it's not normal for hydraulic lifters! do a search on m42club.com. I'm having the same lifter issues including low oil pressure at startup on my cabrio. oil pressure is great after 10-15 seconds only. i've replaced the lifters with a known good used set and the noise persists. Not good. Tried seafoam several times to no avail. I've also replaced the chain tensioner, which isn't getting enough pressure either. I'll be pulling the engine this summer looking for oil a blocked oil passage. make sure you are using 20w-50 oil. you might want to drop the lower oil pan and check for loose upper oil pan & oil pickup bolts. Get an oil pressure gauge and/or tool and test. My advice is wait on the 17" rims.

[e30this]

pull off your valve cover and grab a light.
look down inside at the guides for the timing chain and make sure there good.
I had a ticking in mine too. I will post photos in a few of what I found when I took it apart.

[e30this]

[Charlie]

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/AHR.aspx

That'll do it.

-Charlie

[ethirtydavid]

you found that under your valve cover??

[FredK]

The M42 timing system over time goes bad. The problem is exacerbated by poor maintenance or running the car hard for extended periods. Due to the rattly nature of a four cylinder, a lot of cars often drop oil pan bolts inside the oil pan, and when sucked into the oil pickup, can cause reduced oil pressure / oil starvation.

Does the car sound exceptionally rattly when you start up, like a diesel? If so, your chain tensioner is worn or you aren't getting good oil pressure.

[MR 325]

Timing components can cause the rattle/ticking. Also, the lifters do wear out and replaceing them [and all timing parts] on a friend's M42 made it sound like a brand new car.

[Car Addict]

^^^^ how much work is involved in that i have heard it is a nightmare.
i think i am going to try replacing the tensioner.

[gearheadE30]

The tensioner takes all of five minutes to replace. Doing all of the guides, gears, chain, t-stat, and seals on the front end of the motor took me and my dad maybe 8-10 hours total, and that was the first major car project either of us had done. ;) Try running lighter oil as well, and make sure it is towards the full mark. If my motor is under halfway, it tends to tick. I think I'm running 10w40 or something like that, and it is synthetic.

[e30this]

you found that under your valve cover??

no, you can see all the guides when you take off the valve cover and shine a light down in it.

[Hick]

been there. how did i solve it?

Bought an M42 engine with 50k on it :)

The lifters do get gunked up over time and get air pockets in them. For the S50s [ive learned] they have a problem simmilar to this. The technical data says to raise the rpm to 3000 for 30 seconds and repeat until the noise goes away. If that dosent work, 3000 for several minutes.

Its a PITA