2015 F80 Lifter ticking at cold start

[figure99]

Originally Posted by watm3

Mine does this now. 2018 M3, 6000~ miles. Same chop/chop/chop noise. Same side of the engine: right hand side. No mods for me other than an oil catch can added by the dealer at break-in.

Mine sounds similar. How did you get the dealer to install an oil catch can at break-in? I've never heard of that as part of the normal break in service.

[watm3]

Originally Posted by figure99

Mine sounds similar. How did you get the dealer to install an oil catch can at break-in? I've never heard of that as part of the normal break in service.

I paid for the install of the catch can. I bought it, brought it in, told them my experiences with DI engines, and they installed it.

My exhaust-side lifters were eventually replaced.

[Faceplant]

Leave it up to bmw owners to go nuts over something that doesn’t matter. If you want to hear lifter tick, listen to a dsm. It’s nothing to worry about. Most of you guys are just hearing the fuel system

[figure99]

Originally Posted by watm3

I paid for the install of the catch can. I bought it, brought it in, told them my experiences with DI engines, and they installed it.

My exhaust-side lifters were eventually replaced.

Got it, thanks. I had two catch cans on my E90, haven't gotten around installing one on the F80 as of yet.

Did the sound go away after replacing the exhaust side lifters? I'll have my dealer look at it when it's due for service in the spring.

[Faceplant]

Originally Posted by figure99

Got it, thanks. I had two catch cans on my E90, haven't gotten around installing one on the F80 as of yet.

Did the sound go away after replacing the exhaust side lifters? I'll have my dealer look at it when it's due for service in the spring.

Mechanically it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.

[Andrew30azs]

BMW m4 2016 50 k The same lifter ticks like on these videos. I don’t know if this is something to I have worry about it or not ? Dealer said it is just a louder lifters and I don’t have to worry but I’m still worry about it .. need your advice guys

[watm3]

I put up another thread a while back - most people think it's not normal. I'm one of those people. I just don't hear a lot of cars that make this noise. Perhaps the occasional dump trunk or worker truck will make a loud ticking/knocking noise, but I don't expect that from these engines.

None of you would buy an M3 off the lot that sounded like this at start-up. No way I'd believe that.

Seems like a common issue.

Originally Posted by figure99

Got it, thanks. I had two catch cans on my E90, haven't gotten around installing one on the F80 as of yet.

Did the sound go away after replacing the exhaust side lifters? I'll have my dealer look at it when it's due for service in the spring.

Yes, so far, so good.

[G4BR13L]

A little bit of ticking is ‘normal’ after oil change. The S55 uses hydraulic valve adjusters, hence rely on oil pressure. Too low viscosity can make it tick. Hearing it with cold start when the oil is thicker is IMHO less normal, warm oil becomes thinner. Ticking sound should go away after several 1000 kilometer as the viscosity of the oil changes. Ask the mechanic to do an oil pressure test using BMW Diagnosis System.

I don’t know which oil you use but you could try different oil with a higher viscosity like 5W40 (BMW LL-01 approved).

Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W40

Also make sure there is enough oil.

[Andrew30azs]

Originally Posted by G4BR13L

A little bit of ticking is ‘normal’ after oil change. The S55 uses hydraulic valve adjusters, hence rely on oil pressure. Too low viscosity can make it tick. Hearing it with cold start when the oil is thicker is IMHO less normal, warm oil becomes thinner. Ticking sound should go away after several 1000 kilometer as the viscosity of the oil changes. Ask the mechanic to do an oil pressure test using BMW Diagnosis System.

I don’t know which oil you use but you could try different oil with a higher viscosity like 5W40 (BMW LL-01 approved).

Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W40

Also make sure there is enough oil.

Change like 1000 miles Ago oil from 5w30 to motul 0w40 and after I made it this 1000 miles the tick is still there , like I said when the car is fully warm up the tick goes away

[G4BR13L]

Originally Posted by Tobiasz17azs

Change like 1000 miles Ago oil from 5w30 to motul 0w40 and after I made it this 1000 miles the tick is still there , like I said when the car is fully warm up the tick goes away

The number for the W is the viscosity when cold the lower this number the lower the viscosity and the more ticking you will hear. I would not care too much especially since you say the ticking goes away when on temperature. Do you hear the ticking when warm and running the engine idle?

I would stick to 5W30 (USA, Canada, Mexico) or 0W30 (Europe) which is recommended by BMW.

[Andrew30azs]

Originally Posted by G4BR13L

The number for the W is the viscosity when cold the lower this number the lower the viscosity and the more ticking you will hear. I would not care too much especially since you say the ticking goes away when on temperature. Do you hear the ticking when warm and running the engine idle?

I would stick to 5W30 (USA, Canada, Mexico) or 0W30 (Europe) which is recommended by BMW.

Maybe next oil change I will use 0w30 what oil are you recommend ?

[G4BR13L]

Originally Posted by Tobiasz17azs

Maybe next oil change I will use 0w30 what oil are you recommend ?

I would stick to 5W30 (USA, Canada, Mexico) or 0W30 (Europe) which is recommended by BMW.

[Andrew30azs]

Originally Posted by G4BR13L

The number for the W is the viscosity when cold the lower this number the lower the viscosity and the more ticking you will hear. I would not care too much especially since you say the ticking goes away when on temperature. Do you hear the ticking when warm and running the engine idle?

I would stick to 5W30 (USA, Canada, Mexico) or 0W30 (Europe) which is recommended by BMW.

No when I’m driving everything is fine . Just 10 minutes after night is ticking after like I said when the car is fully warm
Up noise goes away. Now will be summer so I will stay 0w40

[fabulousprofound]

feeling gutted right now.

so my factory warranty has since expired. i've gone to different dealership for service this time instead of the one i regularly go to.

i got a call from the service advisor just now. The shop foreman heard my car come in after a cold start because i dropped it off the day before. He said that lifter tick is bad news and he thinks he knows what the cause is. the advisor tried his best to explain it to me over the phone and it got too technical for me, but it has something to do with a camshaft bearing plate, 6 bolts that were not torqued down to spec at the factory and is now starting to loosen up that is causing this noise. it's not something that can be ignored just because the noise goes away after 5 minutes and it magically fixes itself, and is a progressively worsening mechanical issue until it finally lets go and something breaks.

like i said before my factory warranty has expired. it's $175/hr canadian to do this and i don't have a time estimate. i'm choked because i brought this up before at the last dealership i went to and they said there was no problem. i have a third party warranty but they need a failed part as proof in order to cover the repairs, and 6 loose bolts may not qualify for that.

there is a civic holiday/long weekend where i am right now. so i have to wait until next tuesday for the good/bad news. stay tuned...

[Fast4d]

take it else where for second opinion

[yasavguy]

I've had the same concern when I was checking out mine.

The mechanic who did my PPI has confirmed that the noise is normal. It's fuel injectors. He mentioned that he used a special tool to listen to the engine (forgot the name) to confirm the injector noise, as opposed to something more serious, like a rod knock.

[yasavguy]

Originally Posted by fabulousprofound

feeling gutted right now.

so my factory warranty has since expired. i've gone to another dealership for service this time because of convenience instead of the one i regularly go to.

i get a call from the service advisor just now. shop foreman heard my car come in after a cold start because i dropped it off the day before, and he said that lifter tick is bad news and he think he knows what the cause is. the advisor tried his best to explain it to me over the phone and it got too technical for me, but it has something to do with a camshaft bearing plate, 6 bolts that were not torqued down to spec at the factory and is now starting to loosen up, causing this noise. it's not something that can be ignored just because the noise goes away after 5 minutes and it magically fixes itself, because this is a progressive issue until it lets go.

like i said before my factory warranty is expired. it's $175/hr canadian to do this and i don't have a time estimate. i'm choked because i brought this up before at the last dealership i went to and they said there was no problem. i have a third party warranty but they need a failed part as proof in order to cover the repairs, and 6 loose bolts may not qualify for that.

there is a civic holiday/long weekend where i am right now. so i have to wait until next tuesday for the good/bad news. stay tuned...

+1 for 2nd opinion. Your mechanic's explanation sounds like a load of B.S.

[fabulousprofound]

got the car back last night.

the engine is so quiet now. it's more quiet when cold than what it used to be when fully warmed up. i've never heard it like this since the day i bought it used, and i hope it stays that way.

my car was two weeks out of warranty. the service advisor went to BMW Canada for me and i had past record from the other dealership showing i had brought this up before while it was still covered. The total bill was $4500CAD, and BMW Canada covered 80% of this under goodwill and i paid the remaining 20%. they gave me a brand new X3 service loaner for a week.

so this is my experience with this. hopefully this might be of help to others who might have similar issues. here is the copy of the RO:

[PK1]

Originally Posted by fabulousprofound

got the car back last night.

nothing but silence from the engine. i've never heard it so quiet since the day i bought it used, and i hope it stays that way.

my car was two weeks out of warranty. the service advisor went to BMW Canada for me and i had past record from the other dealership showing i had brought this up before while it was still covered. The total bill was $4500CAD, and BMW Canada covered 80% of this under goodwill and i paid the remaining 20%.

copy of the RO:

What did they tell you the problem was? Under "cause" it shows codes, and reading the correction measures sounds like they had to do some adjustments to the exhaust camshaft?

[fabulousprofound]

Originally Posted by PK1

What did they tell you the problem was? Under "cause" it shows codes, and reading the correction measures sounds like they had to do some adjustments to the exhaust camshaft?

i'm not mechanically inclined, so i could not grasp the technical explanation they tried to give me. all i know is that whatever assembly that is holding down the exhaust cam is done with six bolts, and those bolts were not torqued down properly at the factory. over time the tolerances from those bolts loosen up, and you start to hear the noises when cold until it warms up.

i was also told this problem is more known to the 2014 (in europe) and 2015 builds. they kept changing/updating stuff until 2016 when it was supposed to have been fixed, but i know someone with a 2016 who has the same noise, so i dunno.

[PK1]

Originally Posted by fabulousprofound

i'm not mechanically inclined, so i could not grasp the technical explanation they tried to give me. all i know is that whatever assemblies that is holding down the exhaust cam is done with six bolts, and those bolts were not torqued down properly at the factory. over time the tolerances from those bolts loosen up, and you start to hear the noises when cold until it warms up.

i was also told this problem is more known to the 2014 (in europe) and 2015 builds. they kept changing/updating stuff until 2016 when it was supposed to have been fixed, but i know someone with a 2016 who has the same noise, so i dunno.

That's a big bill for tightening a half dozen bolts, but then again it takes a while to get to them!

Either way, glad the problem is resolved.

[fabulousprofound]

Originally Posted by PK1

That's a big bill for tightening a half dozen bolts, but then again it takes a while to get to them!

Either way, glad the problem is resolved.

it's all labor. the bolts were replaced because one time use only, but like you said the top of the engine has to come off to get to them.

of that $4500 total, only about $750 of it was just for the parts that were replaced.