[AddictedToBavarian]

There are thousands of articles on this issue, but none really cover my question...

For those of you who have had the head and/or lifters replaced how did it start?

I bought my car in April of 2011, looking at the previous owners records I see he replaced the lifters on January 2011 for the ticking issue. It's only been 5,000 miles since then and I've been on the lookout for this issue. Only happened 2 times. Once, a few months ago, but it was very faint. Again, tonight, but tonight was a very loud and noticeable tick. I noticed it while moving my car from my driveway and it was screaming loud (the tick) I drove around the block to see what happens and it persisted. Seeing as how rare this happens what do you suggest I do? My 4/50,000 warranty ends 2/20 (2 weeks) then my CPO kicks in. I don't know whether I should waste my time bringing it in when it won't be happening or wait for it to be more often.

I'm assuming CPO does cover this?

[Donny Rino]

How bout you call the dealer

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by Donny Rino

How bout you call the dealer

My question here is more on member's experiences not about my warranty.

[E90 87ss]

When I had short commutes to the train station my car would tick... Now that my commutes are 20-30 mins of highway driving I haven't heard it upon start up. Others have had similar experiences... If I start city driving and short commutes it will tick for the first 5-10 minutes of driving... Honestly no worries about long term reliability, but others have replaced lifters and cylinder head with mixed results... I had lifters replaced and it quieted it down...

There is a TSB about the tick, so your dealer should do it. I believe they replace lifters then the cylinder head in that order...

[mapleridge]

Originally Posted by E90 87ss

When I had short commutes to the train station my car would tick... Now that my commutes are 20-30 mins of highway driving I haven't heard it upon start up. Others have had similar experiences... If I start city driving and short commutes it will tick for the first 5-10 minutes of driving... Honestly no worries about long term reliability, but others have replaced lifters and cylinder head with mixed results... I had lifters replaced and it quieted it down...

There is a TSB about the tick, so your dealer should do it. I believe they replace lifters then the cylinder head in that order...

TSB says that it is apparent during short trips so it would explain your situation.

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by E90 87ss

When I had short commutes to the train station my car would tick... Now that my commutes are 20-30 mins of highway driving I haven't heard it upon start up. Others have had similar experiences... If I start city driving and short commutes it will tick for the first 5-10 minutes of driving... Honestly no worries about long term reliability, but others have replaced lifters and cylinder head with mixed results... I had lifters replaced and it quieted it down...

There is a TSB about the tick, so your dealer should do it. I believe they replace lifters then the cylinder head in that order...

I only do short distance driving really, that's why this noise lingers so much. Had it happen a couple times more since yesterday.

[AddictedToBavarian]

Will attach a video shortly..

[ska///235i]

had ticking for 6 years and car drives the same as day 1..... dont worry about it and just drive your car

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

had ticking for 6 years and car drives the same as day 1..... dont worry about it and just drive your car

You're right a lot of people notice it and don't really care, stating that it had no long term effect, but I would like to fix it if I could under warranty once and for all.

[mapleridge]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

You're right a lot of people notice it and don't really care, stating that it had no long term effect, but I would like to fix it if I could under warranty once and for all.

of course. If you could get a new top end out of it then why not.

[ska///235i]

its not just the 3 series that have lifter ticking/knocking sound...it appears on all n51/2 engines all across bmw lineup...IE x3, z3, 5..also on previous e46..etc

if this was a real problem then BMW would already been out of business
if you wanted a quiet engine then why not buy a lexus/ toyota, you bought the bimmer and you should trust their engineers

do some research on hydralic lifters and how they work
most of the problem is caused by new owners coming to the forums and see these ticking threads and trolling starts one after another

not flaming on you but just fyi

[krnboy817]

if you are asking how the "ticking" starts or what makes the "ticking" come alive on the N52... then the answer is i dont know.

replaced my lifters few months back (6months at most) and now after new lifter's first winter, the ticking seems to have come back and visits more frequent.

best way to temporarily fix the issue seems to be adding some engine oil before starting your car. cant do it every time since you aren't supposed to over fill, but when i know its cold out side... i add a bit.

as of jan 12th 2012 my "new car" warranty was over and now my CPO is the only thing left. though out of pocket for a new head replacement will be much much more costly than $50 i dont find it really really necessary to take the time to fix it as of now.

its not just the 3 series that have lifter ticking/knocking sound...it appears on all n51/2 engines all across bmw lineup...IE x3, z3, 5...etc

if this was a real problem then BMW would already been out of business
if you wanted a quiet engine then why not buy a lexus/ toyota, you bought the bimmer and you should trust their engineers

do some research on hydralic lifters and how they work

this may be true with all the direct injection engines these days... but lifter ticking and head replacement due to lubrication failure (TSB reason for service) isn't a normal issue. its probably considered "non-threatening" issues therefore there is no massive recalls like HPFP on 335i. but BMW wouldn't do a $3000+ job free so easily especially if you're under warranty just because you complained. and when fixed (before ticking comes back) BMW runs quiet if not smoother than Lexus/toyota does.

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

its not just the 3 series that have lifter ticking/knocking sound...it appears on all n51/2 engines all across bmw lineup...IE x3, z3, 5...etc

if this was a real problem then BMW would already been out of business
if you wanted a quiet engine then why not buy a lexus/ toyota, you bought the bimmer and you should trust their engineers

do some research on hydralic lifters and how they work

not flaming on you but just fyi

Yea, I did a lot of research on this even before I ever noticed the noise. I've read many pages of the sticky in the general area. I don't need a quiet engine, but it is very obnoxious. It doesn't sound like normal operation at all even to the most oblivious car people. My wife who doesn't know what a wrench is was asking about it.

The most essential part of a car is oil I believe, oil starvation can not be a good thing.

Originally Posted by krnboy817

if you are asking how the "ticking" starts or what makes the "ticking" come alive on the N52... then the answer is i dont know.

replaced my lifters few months back (6months at most) and now after new lifter's first winter, the ticking seems to have come back and visits more frequent.

best way to temporarily fix the issue seems to be adding some engine oil before starting your car. cant do it every time since you aren't supposed to over fill, but when i know its cold out side... i add a bit.

as of jan 12th 2012 my "new car" warranty was over and now my CPO is the only thing left. though out of pocket for a new head replacement will be much much more costly than $50 i dont find it really really necessary to take the time to fix it as of now.

I was asking how it all started from your experiences. How often/what temperature etc. This is the first winter with the new lifters and it's making the noise.

Come to think of it though, I had my oil changed since the lifters for the first time a month ago. Wonder if that brought the noise back from the dead.

[krnboy817]

1st time: ticking appeared in the summer... around July and it was about 110 outside consistently for about 3 weeks. my service odometer read 10,000 miles until due.

lifters replaced. oil was changed. and ecu reset/reprogramed to the latest.

since then maintenance at 40k miles was done. and with the oil change the ticking came back

2nd time: lifter replaced. winter been no more than 39 degrees. ticking came back after morning start. then started to tick even after 2 hrs of driving and cold starts/warm starts.

here is my vid. before the replacement it was TICK TICK TICK TICK now after the replacement its TICK... TICK... TICK... wondering if this is same as your case.

this is after 2hr drive ... about 110 miles of hwy driving at about 75 ~ 80 mph

oh and according to TSB build date of Jan 2006 - Sept 2008 has this issues as common.

[RentonTDI]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

I don't know whether I should waste my time bringing it in when it won't be happening or wait for it to be more often.

I'm assuming CPO does cover this?

OP, have you seen this thread? I thinks it's a good summary of the process.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...postcount=1310

Also, if you're not interested in going through the dealer for the engine head change/update, you can try some of the options described in this thread, like changing oil weight.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...postcount=2036

Personally, given that you have 2 weeks left of CPO, I would park the car overnight at the dealer, and the next day show up and turn the car on with the SA and a mechanic present, so [hopefully] they hear the tick.

By the way, I'm curious, when was your car manufactured?

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by RentonTDI

OP, have you seen this thread? I thinks it's a good summary of the process.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...postcount=1310

Also, if you're not interested in going through the dealer for the engine head change/update, you can try some of the options described in this thread, like changing oil weight.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...postcount=2036

Personally, given that you have 2 weeks left of CPO, I would park the car overnight at the dealer, and the next day show up and turn the car on with the SA and a mechanic present, so [hopefully] they hear the tick.

By the way, I'm curious, when was your car manufactured?

Thanks for that. I'll read up. I have a 12/07 build and you misunderstood... I have 2 weeks left of new car warranty, but I have CPO until 2/2014. So, I'm not in an extreme hurry, but will like to get it fixed now.

My service manager replied to me this:

We would have to get the car in and diagnose it. Them do a puma case and get approval to replace the head. Please let us know if you would like us to do that.
Thanks

He sounds more than helpful about it. I just know that the PUMA case will take forever though.

[Neutrino45]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

You're right a lot of people notice it and don't really care, stating that it had no long term effect, but I would like to fix it if I could under warranty once and for all.

When I had the ticking noise on my car, it was really loud. I don't see how any one can ignore it. It's embarrassing...

[krnboy817]

Originally Posted by 328xi0wner

Thanks for that. I'll read up. I have a 12/07 build and you misunderstood... I have 2 weeks left of new car warranty, but I have CPO until 2/2014. So, I'm not in an extreme hurry, but will like to get it fixed now.

My service manager replied to me this:

We would have to get the car in and diagnose it. Them do a puma case and get approval to replace the head. Please let us know if you would like us to do that.
Thanks

He sounds more than helpful about it. I just know that the PUMA case will take forever though.

if you already did the lifter replacement and is on record with BMW dealers and you have the issue coming back they should fix it with out a question.

best way for you is to record or take a vid when it ticks and take that to the dealer.

because when you get the lifter replaced... the work order and the SA will tell you that its a 2 step process and lifter is the first part. if that solves it then its all done but seems like head replacement is what most people are having to do.

and on my replacement lifters, i got guarantee for 15k miles on the work BMW did. so if i didn't have warranty the lifter related ticking issue would of been covered.

[DonJuan360]

Mi car does it also and it is intermittent, usually leaves after a long drive. mi normal drive is about a 1/4 miles to work.

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by krnboy817

if you already did the lifter replacement and is on record with BMW dealers and you have the issue coming back they should fix it with out a question.

best way for you is to record or take a vid when it ticks and take that to the dealer.

because when you get the lifter replaced... the work order and the SA will tell you that its a 2 step process and lifter is the first part. if that solves it then its all done but seems like head replacement is what most people are having to do.

and on my replacement lifters, i got guarantee for 15k miles on the work BMW did. so if i didn't have warranty the lifter related ticking issue would of been covered.

Why don't you get your head replaced? (that sounded funny) lol

[driverman]

I had the lifters replaced then the head. Both times I heard the loud ticking the conditions were about the same...

- Leave car in garage overnight (cold weather by California standards).
- Start car in the morning and drive it out of the garage to wash or detail it. (no warm up)
- Drive car back into garage a couple hours later. (no warm up)
- Leave car in garage for another cold night.
- First start next morning - tick, tick, tick.

It didn't ramp up slowly over time. It happened suddenly. It seems to be related to cool weather, a cold start followed by one or two very short drives, more cool weather and then a cold start.

OP: If I were you, I'd try a sequence like this or like others have posted on the "ticking" thread to see if you can reproduce it. If so, record it with a smart phone like another poster suggested. At the beginning or end of the recording, walk around to the back of you car to make sure you show your license plate.

[AddictedToBavarian]

Originally Posted by driverman

I had the lifters replaced then the head. Both times I heard the loud ticking the conditions were about the same...

- Leave car in garage overnight (cold weather by California standards).
- Start car in the morning and drive it out of the garage to wash or detail it. (no warm up)
- Drive car back into garage a couple hours later. (no warm up)
- Leave car in garage for another cold night.
- First start next morning - tick, tick, tick.

It didn't ramp up slowly over time. It happened suddenly. It seems to be related to cool weather, a cold start followed by one or two very short drives, more cool weather and then a cold start.

OP: If I were you, I'd try a sequence like this or like others have posted on the "ticking" thread to see if you can reproduce it. If so, record it with a smart phone like another poster suggested. At the beginning or end of the recording, walk around to the back of you car to make sure you show your license plate.

Good idea, thanks. Question.. When you got your head replaced how long was the process and the puma case?