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E30 318i valve lifter ticking

Hi,

Having just bougth a 1990 E30 318i at 105k with the M40 engine

First job was to change the oil.

There then appeared a fairly loud tic tic tic from the cam area that wasnt there before.

This noise is worse when cold, becoming only intermittent and not nearly as loud when the engine warms up.

A friend told me it was probably a sticky valve lifter, [it is only one or two, not the whole lot] and as I changed the oil all the gunk that was keeping it quiet was now flushed out by the clean oil.

Question is, am I damaging it by driving with this fault or is it one of those things that are annoying but do little damage?

I intend to sort it soon but neeed to keep commuting 300 miles a week [mostly motorway] until I fix it.

Any advise appreciated,

Cheers

Andy

andy at palm hyphen mail dot fsnet dot co dot uk

Reply to
Andy
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They all do that.

All M40s sound like a sowing machine. I had one that needed a new camshaft due to a worn lobe. I fitted new cam, lifters and tappets - it still ticked. I've come to the conclusion it's valve guide wear. I've heard the same story from other M40 owners who've done the same work and still have noisy engines.

I'd turn the stereo up a bit and ignore it.

I'm not a massive fan of the M40. The M42 1.8 of the same vintage is a FAR better bit of kit. I have 186k on my 1990 M42 and it's nice and quiet.

Reply to
John Burns

"John Burns" wrote

Don't you mean "sewing"? I doubt you could hear a "sowing" machine due to the tractor's noise. ;->

FloydR

Reply to
Floyd Rogers

Thanks John,

I have had a proper look on the web and found many others with similar problems.

I'll check the cam for visible wear at the weekend, can I run it with the cover off of or will everything get covered with oil? I want to check the spray bar...

It drives like a dream on the motorway but I have been worried there might be a big bang then silence...it seems that is not the case.

Cheers

Andy

Reply to
Andy

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