10W40 Weight Causing A Lot Of Tapping.

[ross1]

…I still believe you need to check oil pressure in hot state condition.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

THIS^ is what needs to be done.
If the valve train noise diminishes when revving(increasing oil pressure) and returns after idling and is present when hot this tells me it is one of two things, perhaps both.
oil pressure is inadequate or worn lifters are bleeding down under certain conditions. The various methods you've used for "thickening" the oil haven't helped.
If you find the oil pressure too low you are in for opening up the bottom end.
If oil pressure is good the either open up the engine and start replacing lifters or continue with short succession oil changes in effort to clean it up. Have you removed the valve cover? It would be telling about this car's maintenance history too see in there.
If you decide to open this up I can offer up cams and lifter tray assemblies, bearings etc. I have littering my workshop.
The oil pressure check is vital and will determine health and a future tack.
Good luck, sir

[ross1]

I suggest going to realoem.com. Click the link to seach Classic BMW models. Specify your car and look for the oil pressure sensor or sending unit on the diagram. Then the process would be to pull the sensor, take it to an auto parts store to match the treads with something that will go in the hole WITHOUT hurting the threads. Rent/buy a pressure gauge from the store and test the pressure, especially while the engine is at operating temp.

Now that you've replaced the questionable oil filter with the right one, and thickened the oil, you're moving away from oil as the problem, and instead you're looking at what the various noises are, how serious they are, and what you can/should do about them.

Ticking valve lifters can be annoying but they won't hurt anything (not themselves or anything else). They could be ticking because they are old and somewhat dirty inside. Or they could be ticking because the oil pressure is low. Personally I'd give fixing them them a lower priority while looking into the causes of more serious noises.

Remember the procedure you were going to do to check for worn bearings, with a dowel or screwdriver in the plug hole? I still think that's worth doing. And remember how one of the knocks seemed to go away or get quieter when you unplugged that coil pack? I'd start your test with that cylinder and then try others. Repeat the tests as needed until you'e confident you've noticed any play and keep track of the results.

Again, all bearings on a car that old will be worn somewhat. The question is how worn -- whether they are worn enough to knock and let oil escape from the pressurized oil passages so fast that other parts aren't getting enough oil under pressure. (If you find that you have play in one or more bearings, then the life of that engine is more limited unless it gets major repair. If you can't find any play, some might still be there of course, just hard to notice. But that would be encouraging and make me want to look at other causes for the sounds.)

The videos you posted of the sounds helped. I suggest posting some new ones too, preferable after those tests. Move the camera around to different parts of the engine so we (and you) and see if/how the sound changes as you do.

And of course, if any sounds are coming from a belt-driven component, that would be good news at this point.

I missed this about a possible cylinder knocking. Not sure how one is going to diagnose a worn rod bearing using a dowel but am all ears. Remember there is a "dead" spot at each end of the rods travel which, if what I am envisioning about this dowel method is so, could be mistaken for "play" or excessive clearance, which by the way is measured in very small amounts, hundred thousandths of an inch.
@ OP Loose rod bearing noises behave differently than anything else. If you gently rev the engine and notice a rattle on the over run(as you release the throttle) chances are very good the bearing is the culprit.
It's been mentioned since post #18 to check the oil pressure. Until this is done you are just speculating and muddying the waters of this already spectacularly polluted thread.

[drewusmaximus]

THIS^ is what needs to be done.
If the valve train noise diminishes when revving(increasing oil pressure) and returns after idling and is present when hot this tells me it is one of two things, perhaps both.
oil pressure is inadequate or worn lifters are bleeding down under certain conditions. The various methods you've used for "thickening" the oil haven't helped.
If you find the oil pressure too low you are in for opening up the bottom end.
If oil pressure is good the either open up the engine and start replacing lifters or continue with short succession oil changes in effort to clean it up. Have you removed the valve cover? It would be telling about this car's maintenance history too see in there.
If you decide to open this up I can offer up cams and lifter tray assemblies, bearings etc. I have littering my workshop.
The oil pressure check is vital and will determine health and a future tack.
Good luck, sir

I watched a good video on a guy explaining lifter tick sound. He cleaned the original lifters to no avail. Then he replaced his lifters, ending with the same result, lifter tick. It turns out the bores in the lifter trays had wear, thus the new lifter rattling in the bore. In addition, his cams were a bit scarred from wear as well. He explained the same symptoms when the car is cold and when it warms up, as my symptoms to the T. He even replaced the rod con bearing with no change. His fix was replacing both lifter trays. He said if there is wear on the cams, they can be machined.

I haven't pulled the VC yet but, the wife and kids are off the entire week so, I can use the truck and work on Grandpa throughout the week.

So, it looks like I just might be grabbing those lifter trays from you.

Oh... You guys might be mad at me. Don't beat me up too bad but, I completely forgot I had a clone Dinan chip.
Today, I pulled the chip and installed the original. Started up nice and quiet. Let it idle for 15 minutes until warm, quiet. Drove the car 30 miles and one light lifter tick.
I think the chip was causing premature detonation.
I know. I'm sorry that I forgot about that damn chip.
Either way, since the engine has 284646k miles, I want to replace the lifters, trays, vanos, possibly cams, and rod con bearings.
It's something I haven't done yet. And I think I will feel better knowing those new parts are on. The engine still runs great...

Let me know about those trays and cams. Thanks!

[Sir Montalbon]

Man, at this point, it sounds like swapping in a low mileage replacemnt engine would be the most efficient in both time, cost, and effort.

Good luck in whichever route you choose!

[drewusmaximus]

Man, at this point, it sounds like swapping in a low mileage replacemnt engine would be the most efficient in both time, cost, and effort.

Good luck in whichever route you choose!

True but, I've been searching for another M50 and I can't find any less than 700.00. If I can find one for about 300.00, then I would buy it and refresh parts on that one while the engine is out. Either way, I would have to replace parts on either engine. The difference is, one is in the car and the other isn't but, either one will need to be refreshed because both engines would be as equally old.

[EstorilB]

True but, I've been searching for another M50 and I can't find any less than 700.00. If I can find one for about 300.00, then I would buy it and refresh parts on that one while the engine is out. Either way, I would have to replace parts on either engine. The difference is, one is in the car and the other isn't but, either one will need to be refreshed because both engines would be as equally old.

I've been watching thread myself as Ive been chasing a lifter tick now on my lower mileage schrick cammed s52 and having mixed results but I thought Id say something about your pricing of an m50 at 700. They shouldnt be more than 350-400 for a decent shape m50. I may be able to find one here in Atl if its helpful but at 700 Id be looking for an m52. Shoot, really Id be looking for at least an m52 anyways with the gains involved and if youre doing a motor swap anyways you might as well get a little more for your effort and time as well as if you ever wanted to mod it later on as well. Also on that note for the money you'll probably spend just on cams and lifters alone close to the cost of the m50 itself. Just my 2 cents worth. Maybe worth considering before pulling the cams and all out which then would be time to do a refresh on timing components too. Lmk I probably have an m50 or m52 available but shipping could be another 300 or so depending on where youre located.

Sent from my LG-M153 using Tapatalk

[ross1]

True but, I've been searching for another M50 and I can't find any less than 700.00. If I can find one for about 300.00, then I would buy it and refresh parts on that one while the engine is out. Either way, I would have to replace parts on either engine. The difference is, one is in the car and the other isn't but, either one will need to be refreshed because both engines would be as equally old.

Having recently been in the market for a M52 I feel your pain. Having sold TWO of them for peanuts in the past year makes it especially frustrating. Every cheap car was one that "just needs a head gasket". After giving up and putting the car to the side(mine had a cracked head) I stumbled upon an entire E36 325 dirt cheap. I didn't please my wife to drag another shitbox home but I'll have the other car going again by weeks end and will offer up the remains of the E36 to the vultures who will gobble most of it up and I'll probably wind up with the motor for nothing aside my labor.
I guess what I'm trying to say is be patient and keep your eyes open, the motors are out there, just a bit fewer these days.

[fo3]

There's a lot fewer down here as well. 2 years ago I could choose between 3 cars to buy or drag 4 wrecks home every month (if I had somewhere to put them). All dried up, nothing available anymore as they've all been picked apart and crushed.

Different story on my east coast though. 3400kms away I could get most things if I wanted to go that far or pay a huge amount in freight costs.
But this side of the country there's only 4 still around and I think in 5 years everyone will forget what an e34 even looks like. I think I bought in during "last call" and it's a shame I couldn't store any parts cars while they were around.

[drewusmaximus]

Having recently been in the market for a M52 I feel your pain. Having sold TWO of them for peanuts in the past year makes it especially frustrating. Every cheap car was one that "just needs a head gasket". After giving up and putting the car to the side(mine had a cracked head) I stumbled upon an entire E36 325 dirt cheap. I didn't please my wife to drag another shitbox home but I'll have the other car going again by weeks end and will offer up the remains of the E36 to the vultures who will gobble most of it up and I'll probably wind up with the motor for nothing aside my labor.
I guess what I'm trying to say is be patient and keep your eyes open, the motors are out there, just a bit fewer these days.

At the very least, I would like to grab the lifter assemblies. That way the lifters and assemblies are replaced. Even new lifters are not guaranteed but, I still want to replace them. It would be nice to replace the assemblies at the same time.

[bluptgm3]

Are you looking at www.car-parts.com?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk