E30 Zone

Hi all, i got a tapping head (318i), When i drive its always there, but can sometimes stop for a few seconds and then come back.

I have read a few threads on here about it and thought ill change oil and clean the spray bar and see if its any better.

I cleaned the spray bar as the outer two holes were blocked, fitted it and changed the oil to some 5w40 synth. no change

I coudln't see any way of adjusting the gaps but it was dark

Was going to try a new spray bar just to make sure, and try turning it over with no rocker cover on to see if its working properly and the oil pump is working too.

Question is can they be adjusted? and/or can the oil pump not be working right as the tap can go for a few seconds now and again.

Thanks for any help

They're self-adjusting hydraulic tappets. Can be replaced but it's an expensive cure.

How expensive we talking?

Cant they be taken out and cleaned or can new kits be bought and fitted myself?

mull3tt wrote:How expensive we talking?

M40 Camshaft Kit costs £199.00

M40 Camshaft Kit includes:1x Camshaft,8x Rocker Arms,8x Hydraulic Tappets.

This is the Minimum you must replace when fitting a replacement for a noisy camshaft,otherwise you will not cure the problem.

found it, thanks

Is it a case of the tappets need cleaning or are they buggered? Can they be cleaned and reused? (student)

As far as I know the only way of gettin rid of the annoyin tap is 2 fit new ones
But is it very loud, cos its completely harmless, this can start happenin on the m40s with as little as 50 thousand miles

yeah its quite loud, i know its harmless but sounds like im driving a shitter maybe no exhaust will drown the sound out haha

mull3tt wrote:Is it a case of the tappets need cleaning or are they buggered? Can they be cleaned and reused? (student)

If they're clogged, then cleaning will improve them. If they're just worn, then cleaning will make them worse.
I improved one of my E30s considerably by running it with a cheap diesel oil for six months, and then refilling with a decent mineral oil.
Best cure is to find an engine that doesn't knock and swap engines. M40s only cost slightly more than £0.

Cheap alternative = 1 x Bag of Sawdust!

Ive got a M10 (160k) tappety as buggery, but the blowing exhaust covers that up

yeah its quite loud, i know its harmless but sounds like im driving a shitter maybe no exhaust will drown the sound out haha

Ya, I know the feeling, my 316 is the same, sound reminds me of an old ford fiesta at times . Was goin 2 get a load exhaust but now thinkin of the best cure availible, selling it and getting an IS

Right i can get the lifters for about £55, rockers about the same. If i was going to buy them seperate would it be worth getting a high-lift cam or not? And where/which?

High-lift cam for m40? worth it or not?

when i started out in my 318 with the same annoying tappety noise i was like you dead set on curing the problem..but the bmw dealer technicians told me that it wasn.t worth replacing the old ones with new ones as in their experience the new tappets began rattling only a few thousand miles later anyway....something to think about?

eltel wrote:new tappets began rattling only a few thousand miles later anyway....something to think about?

Thats very much the case. I changed mine at 100,000 miles and at 112,000 it's starting to bug me again. It's not loud at all but I can JUST hear it. I reckon by 130,000 it'll be back to as bad as it was. (with regular servicing)

With mine, the camshaft was very worn. You could actually see the scoring on the lobes. It was VERY satisfying starting her back up after the change though!

Geo1400

Yeah the lobes are scored on mine too. Aslittle as 12k? thought someone said about 50k

cmon lads
lets have some honesty here

the only real longterm cure to this problem is to fit a 6pot

haha, no time, money or place atm

mull3tt wrote:haha, no time, money or place atm

may well be worth suffering the noise for a few months and doing the swap tho

bits are easy enough to come across and im sure someone will have some space you could use

its gonna cost 200plus every 12k so prob work out cheaper in the long run and think of the grin factor when done

True, have to wait til the next student loan suppose

OBs wrote:Cheap alternative = 1 x Bag of Sawdust!

aahhhh the oldest of oldskool sales tactics

mull3tt wrote:Aslittle as 12k? thought someone said about 50k

Like I said, I can JUST hear... no-one else can hear it but it's there I tell ya!!

Or maybe it's the voices in my head again...

Mine has got fairly load arite but has alot to do with the car being driven with a stuck open thermostat when I got it, damage of cold running was already done then, ah well its only my 1st car, lookin 4ward now to selling it and getting an IS , wouldnt mind the sound of a 325 with a scorpion but I think the insurance company would mind

Dave_M3 wrote:Mine has got fairly load arite but has alot to do with the car being driven with a stuck open thermostat when I got it, damage of cold running was already done then, ah well its only my 1st car, lookin 4ward now to selling it and getting an IS , wouldnt mind the sound of a 325 with a scorpion but I think the insurance company would mind

Think my stat is stuck open too, it just goes over the blue when driving and will go slowly up to half if standing and heaters off. Sound stuck open?

What damage will this cause? just takes longer for the oil to get around so less lubrication from cold?

Dave_M3 wrote:

yeah its quite loud, i know its harmless but sounds like im driving a shitter maybe no exhaust will drown the sound out haha

Ya, I know the feeling, my 316 is the same, sound reminds me of an old ford fiesta at times . Was goin 2 get a load exhaust but now thinkin of the best cure availible, selling it and getting an IS

When i bought mine it was silent, 10k miles of driving from me and it sounds very tappety, makes people turn arround in town .

A loud exhaust simply makes the tapping worse, it amplified my problem. Im back with a standard exhaust now.

Solution, leave it, turn up the music . M40's are not in short supply.

mull3tt wrote:What damage will this cause? just takes longer for the oil to get around so less lubrication from cold?

Pretty much right. But also with the engine never getting up to temperature, the oil never gets that thin and doesn't reach all the nooks and crannies that it would if hotter and thinner.

I have had very good results with an engine flush (Wynns do one). Add it to the oil, run the engine for 5-10 mins and give the car an oil and filter change.
I Slick 50'd mine too - this is where someone says NOOOOOOOOO!!!

I did a flush when i changed the oil, no change.

What needs to be changed on the stat then? This is the worst time to have a fooked stat too

Some card in front of the rad this time of year may help a bit...
Yeah, I know, Pikey suggestion...

Lol, how much is some? 50% coverage? or should i just experament?

Running that cold, full coverage. Will still get cold air underneath. Experimentation is the key mate.

Ok, will try when i get home, thanks.

Btw, doesnt it get soggy with rain? or should i find some proper waterproof cornflake box stuff?

That's the best idea. Yes it will get wet, so if you can find something that won't be too affected, so much the better.

if the engine runs cold it normally uses more fuel!!!!

gortour wrote:That's the best idea.

I think the best idea would be to change the thermostat!!