[Cruiser124]

Does this seem normal or a little excessive? This is the second bmw I've owned with the N52. The other one being 06 330. With the 06 I remember the lifter tick going away after the car warmed up, and usually seemed to stay away with spirited driving.

This car is an 08 328. I just changed the oil with castrol 5w-40. The video was taken after a 40 mile drive and fresh oil change. I was sure to get the revs up past 5k multiple times. I know it's a common problem, but like I said the noise would go away on my 330, but doesn't seem to on this one.

I Thought about trying the bleed procedure but doubt that will help, thoughts?

[Eric_M328i]

Originally Posted by Cruiser124

Does this seem normal or a little excessive? This is the second bmw I've owned with the N52. The other one being 06 330. With the 06 I remember the lifter tick going away after the car warmed up, and usually seemed to stay away with spirited driving.

This car is an 08 328. I just changed the oil with castrol 5w-40. The video was taken after a 40 mile drive and fresh oil change. I was sure to get the revs up past 5k multiple times. I know it's a common problem, but like I said the noise would go away on my 330, but doesn't seem to on this one.

I Thought about trying the bleed procedure but doubt that will help, thoughts?

I have an 08 328 N51. A while back I had excessive tick too. It sounded exactly like yours. I was making too many short trips recently so I drove more spiritedly and drove abit more. Its gotten rid the excessiveness of it. Youll be fine.

Edit: The excessive ticking for me was also right after an oil change

[Cruiser124]

Originally Posted by Eric_M328i

I have an 08 328. A while back I had excessive tick too. It sounded exactly like yours. I was making too many short trips recently so I drove more spiritedly and drove abit more. Its gotten rid the excessiveness of it. Youll be fine

Only problem is mine doesn't go away. I drive 100 miles per day and I don't drive like a granny either. Hot or cold it's there. I know BMW says it's acceptable, but it seems like more than just an annoyance. I mean that's metal on metal from lack of lubrication ðŸ˜*

[mecheng77]

The car I bought I believe had the head changed under warrantee. I think your only option is to ignore it or replace with revised head

[nsjames]

when I got my car I had a stash of mobil 0-40 that was ll-01 certified and I used that. It was quiet.
I changed to castrol on the next oil change because it's the easiest ll01 oil to get. Tons of valvetrain noise.
I changed back to Mobil 1 even though it's not ll01, no more noise.
All with Mann filters.
It's not like I'm every going to do a 15k mile oil change, so whatever. I suggests you try another oil.

[Cruiser124]

Originally Posted by nsjames

when I got my car I had a stash of mobil 0-40 that was ll-01 certified and I used that. It was quiet.
I changed to castrol on the next oil change because it's the easiest ll01 oil to get. Tons of valvetrain noise.
I changed back to Mobil 1 even though it's not ll01, no more noise.
All with Mann filters.
It's not like I'm every going to do a 15k mile oil change, so whatever. I suggests you try another oil.

Good to know. I usually use Mobil or Castrol 0w-40 for my Audi's. Saw the 5w-40 at Walmart and thought I'd give it a try. I will go back to Mobil for the next oil change in 5k. I think it's crazy that when resetting the oil service it gives a 16k interval.

[Cruiser124]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

The car I bought I believe had the head changed under warrantee. I think your only option is to ignore it or replace with revised head

I will have to ignore it for now :

[tlow98]

Sometimes OEMs will even recommend a half quart of ATF fluid in the oil before you do your next oil change. GM did this in the mid 2000s for their LS engines that were having ticking issues.

Might be worth it after you exhaust other options.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

The car I bought I believe had the head changed under warrantee. I think your only option is to ignore it or replace with revised head

There has been a number of SIBs and procedures tried over the years by BMW to fix the lifter noise, and even head replacement has been hit or miss. At this point, you can as well just ignore it. Many cars go for 200k with lifter noise.

As for the oil brand, I have the reverse experience than njames: M1 0w40 was -very- noisy. Castrol A3/B4 10w40 euro is much quieter.

[desertman123]

The early motors all do this, my 2008 rarely gets any tick - Castrol 0w40 euro blend

I also hit redline often

[bimmerzeit]

Did an engine flush, oil change, and hydraulic lifter additive and it did improve the ticking on my 328i with 269k miles! I think a fresh oil change is the best first course of action if you are on extended intervals.

[lowrydr310]

I bought my car with 220K miles on it and the first week I had it, it was ticking whenever the engine was idling. I did an oil change right away with Mobil 1 0w-40 and the ticking was lessened, sometimes not at all but usually when stopped at a traffic light I could hear it. I've since done three 4000 mile interval oil changes with Belgian Castrol 5w-40 and now it doesn't tick at all. I don't think the oil matters, but the cleaning properties of fresh oil at shorter intervals had to have helped.

[53N30W]

Bmw changed the head casting some time in 2008 I believe. If you search enough you can find out by your build date if you have the new one.

Saw this lifter bleeding procedure. Lots of threads on this


https://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320299

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

I bought my car with 220K miles on it and the first week I had it, it was ticking whenever the engine was idling. I did an oil change right away with Mobil 1 0w-40 and the ticking was lessened, sometimes not at all but usually when stopped at a traffic light I could hear it. I've since done three 4000 mile interval oil changes with Belgian Castrol 5w-40 and now it doesn't tick at all. I don't think the oil matters, but the cleaning properties of fresh oil at shorter intervals had to have helped.

I too swtiched from the mobil to the castrol 5w40 and it has gotten better.

the castrol 0-40 was terrible.

it does indeed seem to get loud at around 6-7K miles of oil life.
so when she starts ticking I just change the oil.

[ctuna]

my 06 ticked a little bit when I let it set for awhile .
Went away I soon as I drove it on the highway never came back.
I noticed when I switched to mobil 1 it wasn't ticking but the
Engine did get quieter. Now running liquid molly 0 40 seems good so
far.

Also the big tick sticky heads this forum page.

[bimmerzeit]

Lots of good responses here! I agree, here are the things that increase lifter ticking noise:

1. letting the car sit unused for an extended period of time (a week or two)
2. long oil change intervals, contaminated oil

Mine is a 2007 model year build date 10/2006 so I assume it has the early version head. I have no records to indicate the head was ever replaced under recall or warranty.

However, it has made it to almost 270,000 miles of service which is impressive. Car is running better after the fresh oil change.

[ctuna]

It also may be that auto transmissions don't run the Rev's
High enough often enough.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by ctuna

It also may be that auto transmissions don't run the Rev's
High enough often enough.

could be it in deed.

Mine got 250 000km , which is high, and I was surprised how the engine is quiet.
6mt.

I use liqui moly 5w-40 and lucas oil stabilizer.

[calicolorado]

This happens when the car has been driven at low revs for a while, maybe a couple of days or week. Just keep the revs up and drive it harder. My car runs as good at 206k as it did the day I bought it. My thoughts on this are that higher engine speeds increase oil flow and circulates it more thoroughly. It's a reminder to me that the car likes to RUN

[enriqxxx]

Originally Posted by Cruiser124

Does this seem normal or a little excessive? This is the second bmw I've owned with the N52. The other one being 06 330. With the 06 I remember the lifter tick going away after the car warmed up, and usually seemed to stay away with spirited driving.

This car is an 08 328. I just changed the oil with castrol 5w-40. The video was taken after a 40 mile drive and fresh oil change. I was sure to get the revs up past 5k multiple times. I know it's a common problem, but like I said the noise would go away on my 330, but doesn't seem to on this one.

I Thought about trying the bleed procedure but doubt that will help, thoughts?

hello what happened at the end?: confundido2

[Volasko]

I didn't go through all the replies, but my 06 330i has had the revised head replaced when under warranty (many years ago) and my car sounds exactly like your does at idle after a proper warm-up. I wouldn't stress about it, my car it reaching 300k km's (187k miles) and I've been beating at the track lately and my latest oil analysis came back perfect. If there was metal on metal contact you would have seen it in the analysis.

[jmnew911]

there were issues on some of these cars with lifter noise. I looked up and read that the first thing the dealership service department would do to address this lifter noise is to hold the rpms at around 2500 for 5 minutes or more while in park.
My 2007 328i has never had this noise but my son's 2008 328i has. He mostly drives short distances and doesn't get on the highway much. So I did the above a few months ago. Sat in the driveway with car in park and revved the engine to 2500+ rpms for 5-10 minutes. Tick went away completely. The tick is back now in his engine after several months. I think it is primarily because he only drives short distances.
I would make sure you have good oil in your car before attempting this.