New 740... and new engine problems. Video inside.

[nmlss2006]

Well, I got another 2001 740i. Long story short, I'm trying to decide whether to keep it or to just take the parts I need and scrap the rest.

It's got 178kmi on it and had been sitting outside since about May. This is not the first start since, but it is the first start this morning. I do not like the sound, but I can't tell if it's guides, VANOS or just empty lifters...

Here goes, link because the system seems to have a mind of its own:

https://youtu.be/PH6NVE1i28M

[oldroller]

Lifter tap or possibly an exhaust leak at the header. Warm it up good and see. Doesn't sound like guides.

[HOFFMANN707]

Is there any fault codes?

[nmlss2006]

I will have to make it mobile to warm it up, right now ... that would be difficult.

Fault codes, I will have to check again. There were none back in May per the PO.

I did a tour of groups, forums and youtube and from what I can tell failed guides sound a LOT louder that the noise I am hearing. For completeness' sake, I'll drop the lower oil pan and take a look, just in case...

[SergeBMW]

I will have to make it mobile to warm it up, right now ... that would be difficult.

You can warm the car up just by letting it idle...

Doesn't sound like guides. To me it definitely sounds like lifter tap, typical sound especially when running low on oil. Check the oil level.

[Jamos]

+1 to new oil, or top off. Also that SAP is so noisy!!

[shanecarmaster1]

Wow, please add oil to that poor thing - mine sounded almost like that once and was 2 quarts low somehow.

Possibly some exhaust header leak along with it, but see what happens. Also either your secondary air pump is blocked, or about to take a dump. That thing is cranked! Mine got loud, started smoking, and went kaput.

[nmlss2006]

First of all, thanks for helping, folks. This particular car is a voyage of discovery in so many ways. A separate post will detail 'how to fu... mess up an E38 door in three easy steps and do it so well you accomplish it on three doors out of four'.

The thing is... I did add oil. There's a bright sticker which you can sort of see in the video which says that the oil was changed - with Mobil1 5W30 no less - very shortly before the PO parked it, in May.

So I started it the first time, two days ago, and there was a MAGNIFICENT clatter. I used a few choice expressions, blamed myself for not checking the level, and added a little over two quarts (!!)... and almost a quart of ATF in the PS. The pump howl for that is unmistakable. I have not yet have the courage to remove the underbelly pan and look at how bad the leaks must be, but in two days there has been no dripping to the floor, so it can't be awful (and yes, there's a reason for that - the tow truck people dumped it but they dumped it at the wrong angle and I can't put it on the lift that way... it can't move until the suspension is fixed and I'm going to pick parts up this weekend...).

Started it again and it quieted down to what you hear there. The video is taken the following morning, in ~30F, with the engine stone cold from overnight.

You will also note that it stalled the first time - and that it took three tries to get it to start the prior day. True, the gas has been in there since May, so it's separated and all sorts of nasty stuff, but it should not behave that way.

Keep in mind, if you add all three runs (yesterday, first try, low oil, yesterday, second try and today), it probably ran for... four to six minutes total? My hypothesis, confirmed IIRC by a discussion I had with Tim a while ago about a different car and by what you are all saying, is that part of it is that the lifters are still empty from the previous oil starve, doubly so because I suspect between the oil change and when the car was parked, it must have run on low oil. If you go and actually listen to the ticking in person, you can tell it's coming from the top of the heads... but it seems to be from where the VANOS is, if I had to make my best guess. Still, sound does travel.

And I can't warm it up at idle because it's in the garage ass end first... and can't move. If I idle it for more than a (very) few minutes at a time I'll end up getting rid of myself

Finally, as to the air pumps, out of several E38s that I own and have owned... that's the only sound that is consistent. If you tell me that that's a 'bad pump' sound, I have a few replacements to perform... though I can certainly stick my head in there and see what the status is. IIRC, you have to drop the front bumper to do that, right?

More later today, if I have time I'll stick my nose under there and start to take pictures. The weird thing is, the underside of the car is not rusty.

[SergeBMW]

I apologize on my remark about letting it idle then... Whoops lol

Ok so I would say in my opinion, yes, lifters because the engine has yet to fully warm up in all this time and the fact that it ran on low oil. They will need some time to bleed the air out and there is a procedure for when you can move the car around and let it idle/rev. The cold temperature and also that it sat since may isnt helping either. This is a great article from Timm: http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e38/Tappets.htm

Regarding the initial stall, I believe that would be due to bad VANOS Seals, O2 sensor, vacuum leaks. My M62 non TU had that issue, it got better with an intake reseal but still had a slight issue starting in colder weather.

So in summary what you need to do is:
- Turn the car around
- Run the engine and let it idle until it is warm. Tapping should go away, if not
- Do the lifter bleed procedure
- I would also highly recommend you replace the timing chain tensioner itself just to be on the safe side. When these start to go bad, they can also cause a slight chain noise which eventually will get worse and.....
- Check for vacuum leaks using flammable brake cleaner. Spray around the intake, especially where it bolts onto the valley or heads (I dont remember).
- Grab a cold one, or a warm one in your case!