E46 316i 2000 engine rattle

Well i have now officially had enough of the noise. I have decided to get it booked into BMW or someone who specialises in them to find the rattle for me as i dont have a clue what it is
 
jarrus said:
That's a tappet noise that.... how many miles has the car done?
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hello the its only done 101850 its strange how it vanishes some said it could be a valve lifter i just dont now an me being a female ont want to take it in to a garage and have them try con me i know not all garages are the same but you do get them
 
defo tappet noise.i think they are hydraulic and need oil pressure to operate fully,when they are worn the oil thats in em drains away when the engines not running and stood for a hour or so,when you restart the engine it takes a minute for oil to fill em back up and thus operate correctly hence the tapping.
please note this is a very simplistic explanation and based on cars i have owned with same symtoms as yours,
hope this helps.
 
Might be, but it could be also be a bent valve, could be a worn camshaft,

When was it last serviced? Has it been well cared for? I've heard of these engines going much more miles before lifters or tappets becoming worn which would suggest it has gone a while between servicing previously.... No disrespect to you of course I'm just trying to get a picture of things....
If I has been ill maintained then I would think things like that can ware out much more quickly,

I'll ask Prince to have his input on this one as he owns a
BMW 318i which is similar and he knows some stuff about them as well
 
Hi not sure of the last service or how well it has been care for only owned the car a week. I have put 3 cans of hydraulic lifter fluid through an also a can of engine flush. going to get it booked into BMW for a oil and filter change and also see if they can find the rattle. I have given up hope of finding it myself and me being a woman i am staring to panic as i really dont know what is causing it.
 
It's not a timing chain is it perhaps? Not sure if your car has one, or if it's belt driven but my sdix cylinder 5 series definitely uses a chain to drive the camshafts.

Don't worry about being a woman. I am a bloke and my mechanical skills are purely armchair type :) You're far from alone on that one.
 
HDi fun said:
It's not a timing chain is it perhaps? Not sure if your car has one, or if it's belt driven but my sdix cylinder 5 series definitely uses a chain to drive the camshafts.

Don't worry about being a woman. I am a bloke and my mechanical skills are purely armchair type :) You're far from alone on that one.
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lol yip it has a chain
 
You've put engine flush in!

Engine flush should be put in just before a service, please check your oil level ASAP as with 3 cans of lifter fluid as well you might have overfilled it!
 
A few things come to mind...

- What oil is it using atm? Change it as the wrong oil can cause a tapping noise. Do this ASAP! Even more so as you know nothing about when it was last done.

- It may be the tappets. Get the oil changed first and go from there. This will be a process of elimination unfortunately.

- It could also be that the chain tensioner needs replacing as they tend to need to changing every 100,000 miles. £40 will either solve the problem, or elimate a possibility (as this may be a trial and error case). It shouldn't be the chain itself, not at that sort of mileage. Although they do use a backing plate. This could cause the noise too, but will involve a lot more work to fix.

Find an indy to use instead of BMW. They charge stupid amounts of labour per hour.
 
In the 6 cylinder cars it's in a canister (black plastic bucket) right at the top of the engine next to the PAS reservoir. I think yours is the same.
 
Noise still there after oil change so got it booked in with a BMW specialist next week who will strip down the engine and find out what the exact problem is but he suspects that it is the hydraulic tappets. Unfortunately i am going to fork out the bill as the noise is driving me round the bend :sad2:
 
Re: 316i

Hi there, I think you need to check were you posted this as you seem to be talking to yourself! :blink::)


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Does look that way doesn't it?

Such a shame because BMWs are not expensive to maintain or run and they are arguably good to drive even as they years and miles accrue.

The engineering and build quality is a strong point for the brand (though BMW is not exclusive in this) but the myth about servicing costs is just that in my opinion. A Myth!

Hopefully your car will be back with you soon running sweetly and benignly.
 
Hi guys a quick update just to let use all know i have solved my noisy car. I got my lifters replaced with a local BMW specialist at the sweet cost of £285 that was labour lifters oil and filter oh and VAT so i am a very happy bunny. Only thing is i have now noticed i have a whine coming from the back drivers side so think it may be my fuel pump but that i can live with. i spent an absolute fortune on oil and engine flushes and hydraulic lifter cleaners. You name it my engine has had it and not one thing worked so dont be buying all these snake oils to put in its just a waste of money. Just bite the bullet and get them replaced.
 
kerriannec31 said:
Hi guys a quick update just to let use all know i have solved my noisy car. I got my lifters replaced with a local BMW specialist at the sweet cost of £285 that was labour lifters oil and filter oh and VAT so i am a very happy bunny. Only thing is i have now noticed i have a whine coming from the back drivers side so think it may be my fuel pump but that i can live with. i spent an absolute fortune on oil and engine flushes and hydraulic lifter cleaners. You name it my engine has had it and not one thing worked so dont be buying all these snake oils to put in its just a waste of money. Just bite the bullet and get them replaced.
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Alternatively leave the snake oil alone and have a car that doesn't need engine work. The whole idea of self adjusting tappets is that they should never need replacement.

Use the servicing indicator as a guide to service intervals.
 
Thats so true but unfortunately the previous owners didn't follow this advice and i had to deal with the problem but hey its done now and it will be regularly serviced as it is supposed to be.
 
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