clicking sound from the engine

[houstonm3]

recently i've been getting a clicking sound from the engine along with very mild vibration.
it starts clicking faster as i press on the gas, its like click-click-click-click....
the car has over 130K and i've never experienced this sound before.
sounds a little like my old porsche 944 or an old VW Bug.....
:help

[wsmc831]

judging by your description, I would say the fratostat is going out.

[houstonm3]

and what on earth is this fratostat.....
how hard is it to get that replaced and what kina cost associated with it and what if i dont replace it.....

[chandlerseattle]

and what on earth is this fratostat.....
how hard is it to get that replaced and what kina cost associated with it and what if i dont replace it.....

I think he is pulling your chain.....;)

[houstonm3]

i could kinna tell from "frat" but you never know, i thought there may be such a part, also googled it with no results.......
oh well....

[akdmx]

when in doubt
vanos

[akdmx]

seriously tho, it probably is, i got 92k on mine, i started hearing sounds and i was pretty sure it wasnt the vanos, i bought a timing chain tensioner but put on the vanos instead

problem solved

[gtomarty]

I have had this for two reasons, the first time was easy it was the ps belt was worn had a bad spot, made the perfect click click sound. 2nd my vanos died after an autocross, anyway take the belts off it only takes a min before you look any further, if its the vanos check out Dr Vanos.
Marty ps hope its the belt

[Novacaine]

need more description, at what rpm's does the sound come in at. give as much information as you can. did you change anythign recently? any other known problems? have you had an oil starvation problem? did you just run the car hard for an extended period of time before this thing came up? did you overheat? mis-shift? does it happen while cold, while hot, all the time? only while the clutch engaged, disengaged or both? only while actually driving?

that is why you got a joke response first, a click can be just about anything from a loose spark plug, bad rod bearings, valve tick, vanos, belts, pulleys, water pump, fan nicking the shroud, exhaust leak, low power steering fluid, bad clutch, bad flywheel, bad throw out bearing, etc.

[Alexandre VTS]

bump, to see what people will write.

[giterdone]

could be lifter tick. Is your oil low?

[houstonm3]

okay, the sound starts as soon as I start the car, low or high rpm, it gets louder with high rpm, get the sound idle or running. The car doesn't heat up at all, I'm actually replacing the thermostat this weekend so it reaches the half point mark. The check engine light comes on and off as well but that's an ongoing issue before this sound started. Is Venos a high price item to replace?

[giterdone]

If you have to replace the vanos, use this:

http://www.drvanos.com/

has had good reviews from members on the board.

When the venos goes out, usually it sounds like marbles in a tin can.

If it is a "tick tick tick tick" it might be lifter tick. Have you checked your oil lately? If you are low, you'll get lifter tick (or when you have thin oil and the car has been driven really hard for a period of time, but that is neither here nor there.)

[Alexandre VTS]

Is it possible for you, save this sound and put on youtube? I think it would help everybody in diagnosis what is going on.

[houstonm3]

oil change is due, I'm down to one green light and the engine has been running cold ever since I've been in delaware (about a month), no marble in a tin sound, sounds a lil like the old vw bug or porsche 944. Anyone think it may be solonoid?

[giterdone]

oil change is due, I'm down to one green light and the engine has been running cold ever since I've been in delaware (about a month), no marble in a tin sound, sounds a lil like the old vw bug or porsche 944. Anyone think it may be solonoid?

whether you need to change the oil or not, does not make a difference. If your oil is low, that could make a difference.

Also there is a good chance to get lifter tick upon start up, when the weather is cold out, because the oil hasn't been able to circulate though everything.

Now please, before we start recommending expensive replacements/repairs, go check the damn oil. YOu may realize you don't need to replace anything ( especially the solenoid, vanos, lifters, engine, transmission or anything else you might end up asking about) except a quart or two of oil. These vehicles are known to consume oil between changes. BMW recommends they get checked between changes. Some people consume no oil, while some consume a quart every 3000 miles, and some guys consume 1 quart every 1000 miles. You won't know how your car is, until you start checking the oil.

I have no clue what a porsche 944 sounds like, and I barely remember a VW bug. But lifter tick will make your car sound almost like a diesel engine.

[95RedBMWe36M50]

Could very possibly be lifters. Sometimes, and I mean only sometimes, the click will go away if it's the lifter. I had one stuck once after running the engine very hard and if eventually went away.

Good luck

[houstonm3]

how big of a deal is getting the lifters replaced if it is the lifters, the oil level is normal by the way

[fiveightandten]

how big of a deal is getting the lifters replaced if it is the lifters, the oil level is normal by the way
FWIW, the maintenance paperwork that came with my car indicated that it had a lifter tick issue a few years ago. The previous owner had all work done at the dealer and had them diagnose it. Before replacing the lifters, they removed the valve cover and cleaned the oil sprayers, which apparently were gunked up a bit.

Diagnosis after the work performed was that the lifter noise was gone, but the car would probably need new lifters if it came back. It had no lifter noise when I got it, and still does not.

Just thought i'd mention that, as it indicates that lifter noise doesn't always mean they need to be replaced.

-Nick

[SaamS]

Check your plugs. Believe it or not, I had one plug that wasn't torqued down properly that was causing a tick. Just a thought.

[houstonm3]

it does sound like a diesel engine, if it is the lifter, how much does it cost to get them replaced or get fixed

[IronButt II]

Here's a nice long thread that might be of interest to you...

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=738737&highlight=lifter

In there, somewhere, is a video clip with the lifter noise. Take a listen, see if that's what you're hearing from your car. If it is... there's plenty of info in there to help you resolve the problem.

Good luck...

[weneversleep]

Yes, lifter tick is what it "sounds" like, diagnosing from a written description.

I get the same thing, but only when I come off the track after a hard run. Overfilling the oil by ~3/4 quart makes it go away. I've never heard the ticking lifter on the street, though.

Moot point for me: my head is coming off to replace the head gasket, and I'm going to have the lifters inspected and replaced if necessary, in addition to a valve job.

[houstonm3]

oil change took care of the issue, might have been a lil low on oil but when i checked last night it seemed okay.
the sound for now is gone, just to be on a safe side i bought an extra quart of oil..
thanks for everyone's input.

[giterdone]

oil change took care of the issue, might have been a lil low on oil but when i checked last night it seemed okay.
the sound for now is gone, just to be on a safe side i bought an extra quart of oil..
thanks for everyone's input.

to make sure, you know how to read the dipstick on our cars right? the oil should fall between the two "notches".

[bhallid]

IF you are down to 1 green - have you added any oil - we burn oil quite frequently - you have probably waited too long - I definately 1+ on the vanos, but make sure its not just a lifter tick. The very first month I had my M3 - didn't know a ton about them - was driving down the freeway (quite quickly) and heard the tick/click. The dealer said it had its last oil change about 8K ago. I took it in for an oil change and dealer said there was 1/2 quart of oil in the system. After oil change - no more ticking - PS I do my own oil changes now - it may not always be cost effective - but at least I know what I'm getting and I enjoy doing it - once you get air you never go back!!

[EurotunerM3]

my car has been doing the exact same thing for about a week now. i just bought more oil ( it is due for a change in about 1000 miles ) but haven't had a chance to change everything out. just curious though... right now im running a 20W-50 because i used to live in palm springs cali, and the summers here are absolutely hell. i now go to school in san luis obispo cali ( about an hour north of santa barbara ) and my question is, should i change the weight of my oil to prevent this problem from happening again?

[ultimate99m3]

low oil

[giterdone]

my car has been doing the exact same thing for about a week now. i just bought more oil ( it is due for a change in about 1000 miles ) but haven't had a chance to change everything out. just curious though... right now im running a 20W-50 because i used to live in palm springs cali, and the summers here are absolutely hell. i now go to school in san luis obispo cali ( about an hour north of santa barbara ) and my question is, should i change the weight of my oil to prevent this problem from happening again?
weight of oil won't make a difference if it is low. Your oil is plenty thick, if you have full oil, you shouldn't get lifter tick.

[phantom3]

Start small, like checking oil , then check spark plugs they could be worn or oil on them or even loosened or not torqued properly (yes its happened to me) . Then move on to the major vanos items .

[anM3itbe]

weight of oil won't make a difference if it is low. Your oil is plenty thick, if you have full oil, you shouldn't get lifter tick.

just want to clarify here that the thickness or viscosity of the oil DOES make a difference when it comes to lifter tick even if the oil is filled to the right level. a conventional oil will reduce a lifter tick over a synthetic. I remember on my first car, 1991 eagle talon turbo...decided that I should try some synthetic oil instead the regular castrol drive hard 10w-30. As soon as I started the car...TICK TICK TICK TICK. I drained that oil and put the conventional castrol back in and the ticking was gone. I know for a fact that it was lifter tick as well because all DSM's (eclipse, talon, lasers, g-vr4s) suffered that issue. Also I put the metal end of the screwdriver onto the cylinder head and listened thru the plastic part and the noise was blatenly obvious.

[resisTm3]

guys, he already said he had the oil changed and the problem was gone.

for everyone else who experiences the "ticking" always check oil and spark plugs before replacing any major parts.

[giterdone]

just want to clarify here that the thickness or viscosity of the oil DOES make a difference when it comes to lifter tick even if the oil is filled to the right level. a conventional oil will reduce a lifter tick over a synthetic. I remember on my first car, 1991 eagle talon turbo...decided that I should try some synthetic oil instead the regular castrol drive hard 10w-30. As soon as I started the car...TICK TICK TICK TICK. I drained that oil and put the conventional castrol back in and the ticking was gone. I know for a fact that it was lifter tick as well because all DSM's (eclipse, talon, lasers, g-vr4s) suffered that issue. Also I put the metal end of the screwdriver onto the cylinder head and listened thru the plastic part and the noise was blatenly obvious.

I know, I was telling the guy I was replying to, that if his oil was filled to the right level, his oil is plenty thick, but if he was low, then he'd still most likely get lifter tick.