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Engine tinkling noise when cold - 318i Saloon, manual, E46, '99

Hi,

It has been a while since my engine has started making a tinkling noise when cold but disappears when the engine reaches normal temp. The car is running on regular Shell petrol.

The frequency of the tinkling noise raises proportionally with the engine revs.

In the past I had asked a BMW technician and I remember him mentioning something about hydrolic engine lifter, blrp, blrp, jargon...

The noise is still there today.

The engine has a minor oil leak and following a recent visit to a BMW specialist he reported low levels off oil + the engine noise. He top up the oil and suggested this would cause the noise to soften.

He recommends to open the engine to investigate further what this tinkling noise would be.

I would appreciate your help on what the root cause of the noise problem might be and whether the specialist's approach is appropriate.

much appreciated, M

Reply to
Milev
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I'm not familiar with that engine and I mention this only as a pssability as it's a serious one. If that thing has a chain and a tensioner then one of the signs of a failing tensioner is a noisey mechanical clatter (tinkling? I dunno) upon startup that goes away soon after warmup. Lethat if it fails outright...

Reply to
Richard Sexton

My 1995 318i was doing the same thing....this is an easy and inexpensive repair.....don't let your mechanic tear your engine apart until you've tried this (besides, he should know this already). As the previous post suggests, it is the timing chain tensoiner that needs to be replaced....the oem part is only $80 Canadian (you'll have to convert into your own funds), an I did it myself in 15 minutes, all without tearing the engine down. Let your engine cool completely... I was going to explain the procedure, but I see your original post is from Britain, so I don't know the engine configuration from there, but I will say that it is very easy to do. Check and search some of the BMW forums on the net, you will find lots of people who have done this themselves....be forewarned, that when you restart your engine after the installation, the timing chain will rattle loudly for a few seconds until the new tensioner fills with engine oil and exerts pressure against the timng chain rail guide....don't worry, it is suppose to sound like that....your engine will sound very smooth, very quickly, and that annoying noise you were describing in your initial post, will be gone for good.

Reply to
RZ

Many thanks for the advice.

M
Reply to
gvelim

This is fairly normal. As the engine wears the hydraulic tappets tend to drain down when the engine is left to stand for a while. This means that the tappets will rattle (tinkle) when the engine is first stated. The tappets quickly refill and the noise will go away.

IMHO do not open the engine.

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

Many thanks. That appears to line up with the BMW dealer's "hydraulic" jargon. What IMHO stands for ??

Reply to
Milev

In my humble opinion.

BTW best not to rev' it too hard while it is cold and the tappets are loose.

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

Actually, a loose valve-train is much safer than one that is too tight. It will reduce performance somewhat (until the lifters pump up) but should not hurt anything.

Reply to
Fred W

And here comes the paradox...

My engine performs better when cold rather than warm !!! True, see previous posting on the issue.

Anyway, your advise is much appreciated.

M
Reply to
Milev

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