My 318is is making a terrible noise! (with video)

[subi_life]

So I picked up a 1991 318is not to long ago and recently is has been making a terrible noise from the engine! I have read that it might be the tensioner which I am going to replace this weekend. I wanted to post a video first and see if anyone could give me their opinion on what they think it is.
Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aswhk7lhEpg

[varg]

Drain the oil and drop the lower oil pan to check for fragments of chain guides or metal. Could be the tensioner, but if that doesn't do it the contents of the sump will tell you what's going on.

[subi_life]

Ok thank you. I ordered a tensioner and it should be here tomorrow. If it isn't timing chain related what should be my next thing to check?

[subi_life]

I replaced the tensioner and it sounds really good over 1k. At idle is still is very loud. What could be causing the engine loudness just at idle?

[bmwm42]

check your sprockets remove your valve cover and take a look

[kwill22]

I say remove the timing cover. Sounds like your guides are worn. Most likely sprockets too

[subi_life]

It is only loud under 1k rpms. Also the oil light turns on the same time the loudness occurs. It I raise the rpms to around 1500 the light goes off and the noise goes away.

[subi_life]

I decided to check the spark plugs and found the the 2nd hole from the right was full of oil! Bad valve cover gasket?

[Dj Buttchug]

dude add some oil

[subi_life]

I pulled the valve cover today. Everything had oil on it which was good. How do my sprockets look?
[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jeepcrawler11/media/20150222_121154_HDR_resized_zpsmu8akicf.jpg.html][/URL]

[bmwman91]

Those sprockets look fine. When they wear out the teeth get really pointy. Since those still look somewhat square at the tips, they should be good for a long time.

The noise in the video sounds like one of a few possible things.
1) The low oil level is starving your lifters and they are getting noisy because they are half full of air. Either way you need to have all 5 quarts in there.
2) The timing is off and pistons are tapping valve heads. This isn't necessarily the end of the engine...the M42 is surprisingly tolerant of that. I recommend checking to make sure that the timing is set properly.
3) The timing chain guide rails are shot, or the deflector sprocket blew its bearings out (which would cause your timing to be off by a fair amount).
4) The bolts holding the upper oil pan to the timing case fell out (common issue) and the gasket that surrounds the oil sump imploded, meaning that the oil pump sucks air. Same sort of issue as #1 results.

First things first though. If the oil light is coming on, fill the thing up. Maybe do an oil and filter change while you are at it. Mobil1 15W50 is what you want to run.

[subi_life]

Thanks for the response. Over the weekend I changed the oil and filter. Filled it with 5 quarts of 10w40. I checked the pan and didnt find any pieces. The oil was very dirty though. I am going to drain the oil again today and try 15w50. I will also check the lower pan again. I am hoping everything just needed some fresh oil since the car was sitting for a little while.

[bmwman91]

10W-40 is fine for one oil change. You don't need to waste it. If the engine is super dirty, I recommend removing one quart of oil and adding in one quart of a product called Rislone. It is sold at most parts stores. I had good results using that on my 318iS when I bought it from a guy that took poor care of it. It cleaned the gunk out pretty well. Run 4qt of 10W-40 and 1qt Rislone for 3000 miles and then change the oil. It'll probably be the dirtiest oil change you have ever seen.

Did you drop the lower oil pan to check for pieces, od did you just not see any in the oil when you drained it?

Also, I HIGHLY recommend one of these: http://store.bimmerworld.com/magneti...lug-p1292.aspx

One other piece of advice. NEVER press the clutch in while starting the car. I know that a lot of newer manual cars require it, but this car does not and it is really bad for it. There is a somewhat notorious fault with the E30 M42 for developing excessive axial end play in the crank. This is because BMW only used half of a main bearing shell for the thrust bearing, and it wears out which leads to bad galling and scraping on the crank itself. When you start the car, there is zero oil pressure. Holding the clutch pedal down basically puts hundreds of pounds of loading onto that thrust bearing. High loading + no oil pressure...you probably get the idea.

[varg]

Also the oil light turns on the same time the loudness occurs.

That's very bad. Rule of thumb; oil light on = engine is currently being damaged. If it's still doing that, the suggestion above about the blown out upper sump gasket is spot on, it's a common problem and can cause loss of oil pressure. If it's not that, it's possible the oil pump is trashed. Don't drive it with a low oil pressure light on unless you're trying to kill it.

[subi_life]

Thanks for all the info. The oil light only comes on at idle. Once the rpms reach 1500 the light goes off and there is no more ticking.