2009 120D very loud diesel sound

[HJG-E30]

My old man's 120D has become (to my ears at least) much louder than it used to be. Today when pulling onto the driveway it really did sound like an old van! It still drives fine and mpg is still good.

Can anybody think of a reason as to why it seems so loud?!

[scjimbo]

Depends on how you would describe the sound mate. Could be cam followers. Timing chain tensioner etc etc.

[HJG-E30]

Doesn't sound mechanical.... just diesel knock, but in my opinion overly loud for a '09 BMW

[scjimbo]

Bad fuel would be my only guess really. They chop it all with bio diesel and other stuff now so maybe its something that doesn't agree with his car in particular. The only other thing I can think of is maybe the timing is out a tiny amount.

[Cook318IS]

Dont diesels normally sound worse when flywheels begin to fail? Im sure thats a symptom my mate had on his '05 Saab 9-5. I expect bmw's build quality to be better though!

[scjimbo]

Dont diesels normally sound worse when flywheels begin to fail? Im sure thats a symptom my mate had on his '05 Saab 9-5. I expect bmw's build quality to be better though!

Possible I suppose. I would have thought a BMW flywheel would last longer than 3 years. I'm not sure if these are DM but they usually give the bag of marbles sound on acceleration before they go.

[B7]

Wheres Barry when you need him?

[Andyboy]

2009 may have the timing chain issue - is the noise more from the back of the engine? These can do all sorts of things such as crack the exhaust manifold - get the engine cover off and have a look/listen.

[capri_rob]

Its not been mentioned yet and I don't want to state the bleedin obvious but is there any oil in it

My mondeo TDCi was very sensitive to oil levels - it didnt use much but anything much off the top of the dipstick and it was noticeably noisier

[HJG-E30]

The car covers many motorway miles. The oil level is fine, but looks a little old! The computer is saying oil change in 250 miles - so it's due up for a change anyway.

What's this timing chain issue that's been mentioned?!

[Andyboy]

N47 diesel from '07 ish on had the timing chain at the back of the engine and a number of them had the teeth machined incorrectly on the crank. It results in an odd growling noise and the chain can break. Best advice is to take it to a dealer.

[daimlerman]

N47 diesel from '07 ish on had the timing chain at the back of the engine and a number of them had the teeth machined incorrectly on the crank. It results in an odd growling noise and the chain can break. Best advice is to take it to a dealer.

Some-one both Andy and i know told me that these 'last for ever' chains are sourced in China....and can randomly fail....

[Andyboy]

Not sure about that - BMW still use Jwis chains.

[HJG-E30]

It's beyond me how a company such as BMW can allow for " teeth being machined incorrectly on the crank". Or is my faith in BMW's present day engineering too high ?!

[aimlessrock]

It's beyond me how a company such as BMW can allow for " teeth being machined incorrectly on the crank". Or is my faith in BMW's present day engineering too high ?!

the fact BMW is now operated by accountants as opposed to engineers has a lot to do with it....why do you think we are mad about E30's?..they (and other models of the timer) were built properly.!

[Andyboy]

A combination of cost cutting and making too many cars for proper quality control to cope with. They're no different to Ford or GM really. Most issues are down to substandard bought in parts such as coils, injectors and suchlike. Overall reliability is okay but they don't make them like they used to.

[B7]

A combination of cost cutting and making too many cars for proper quality control to cope with. They're no different to Ford or GM really. Most issues are down to substandard bought in parts such as coils, injectors and suchlike. Overall reliability is okay but they don't make them like they used to.

I'd concur with dat! F*cking french modules in a german car? WTF is all that about. E39 sat navs are a case in point. Notoriously shite in reliability. When I pull it out, it's got Made in France on it.......

[Andyboy]

F*cking french modules in a german car? WTF is all that about.

War reparations?

Bit like Valeo radiators in Mercedes - the bastards leak coolant into the auto trans oil cooler. Good car tainted with modern French rubbish.

A mate sent me a pic of a 54 plate Laguna 11 dci in a garage yard. Not been taxed since mid 2010. Engine in the boot in bits, driveshafts on the back seats. 5.5 years old and it's scrap.

[pacerpete]

F*cking french modules in a german car? WTF is all that about.

War reparations?

Bit like Valeo radiators in Mercedes - the bastards leak coolant into the auto trans oil cooler. Good car tainted with modern French rubbish.

A mate sent me a pic of a 54 plate Laguna 11 dci in a garage yard. Not been taxed since mid 2010. Engine in the boot in bits, driveshafts on the back seats. 5.5 years old and it's scrap.

Sounds like an ideal project car for Car Mechanics mag !

[B7]

F*cking french modules in a german car? WTF is all that about.

War reparations?

Bit like Valeo radiators in Mercedes - the bastards leak coolant into the auto trans oil cooler. Good car tainted with modern French rubbish.

A mate sent me a pic of a 54 plate Laguna 11 dci in a garage yard. Not been taxed since mid 2010. Engine in the boot in bits, driveshafts on the back seats. 5.5 years old and it's scrap.

Sounds like an ideal project car for Car Mechanics mag !

When Barry worked for Renault, he had some right horror stories. reletively new Lagunas written off for auto gearbox faults?

[Andyboy]

Oh they're utter rubbish. They destroyed Renault's already fragile reputation which is why they are dropping the Laguna completely - they only sold about 1300 of them last year. Once bitten etc. Manual and autoboxes, turbos, injectors, various electrical nightmares.......you just wouldn't.
If you really had to have one of these toilets, you'd have a 1.8 petrol manual and a Bible in the glovebox. They make Peugeots look good.

Even the French have cottoned on to the fact that their cars are shite! Expect Renault and PSA to be in serious bankruptcy style trouble is 3-4 years.

"Let your Body drive - but only if your brain lets it"

[mcbonio]

HJG-E30,
I think a oil change with a good quality oil will quieten down a lot. Its very dangerous to leave modern diesels running on old oil, it sludges up and blocks oil pump, oil pickup then causing irreparable damage to the engine due to lack of oil to vital components.

Same thing happened to my brothers Passat, was left with a heafty bill.! Get the oil changed and change it twice a year.

[bss325i]

I will reply to this thread in great detail later today, off out now.

[bss325i]

The N47 Diesel 4 cylinder engine as used in 1, 3 and 5 series *16d *18d and *20d models made from 2007 to 2009 suffers from a problem with the the timing chain sprockets and guide rails which manifests itself in a scraping noise circa 1500-2000 rpm.

The noise can be heard best from the rear of the engine near the gearbox bell housing as the timing chains are at the rear of the engine. Remove the plastic engine under tray/splash shield and have a listen. Its quite obvious when they are noisy.

The cause of the noise is premature wear of the crank shaft sprocket, high pressure pump sprocket, timing chain guide rails.

In extreme cases the chain can snap causing the pistons to hit the valves which in turn forces them up and breaks the rockers and/or camshaft but does not bend the valve as the are vertical in the head, not set at angles in the head.

The repair to cure the problem if one of the chains has not snapped is to replace the 3 chains, the guide rails, the high pressure pump sprocket and the crank shaft sprocket for modified parts.

The thing is, and its pretty crazy imo is that the crankshaft sprocket is machined on the crankshaft ie it one part so there for to replace it means you have to replace the crankshaft!

This is engine out and complete strip down, head off, balance shafts the lot!

I have done about 8 of these now on 1's 3's a a single 5 series, you get approx 16 hours to do the job start to finish which is pretty much impossible to do in that time, normally takes 20-25 hours.

BMW are aware of the problem and cars outside of the manufactures warranty period of three years are normally repaired FOC under BMW's goodwill practice. In some cases only a contribution will be made ie parts paid for but not labour. FBMWSH is a must to stand the best chance of a full FOC repair.

Your best bet is taking it to a BMW dealer and asking them to investigate excessive noise from engine, you may have to pay an initial diagnosis fee.

[mcbonio]

Good answer, although he did only say the engine was louder than normal at idle, not a scraping noise at 1,500-2,000 rpm.!

In my experience, diesels get loud when they need a service....

[bss325i]

Good answer, although he did only say the engine was louder than normal at idle, not a scraping noise at 1,500-2,000 rpm.!

In my experience, diesels get loud when they need a service....

The OP has not mentioned the noise at idle, he stated that it sounded loud "when pulling onto the drive" which to me would mean low RPM but not idle speed rpm.

The noise is described by BMW on the technical information as "scraping" but in reality its excessive mechanical noise.

[e30topless]

Good answer, although he did only say the engine was louder than normal at idle, not a scraping noise at 1,500-2,000 rpm.!

.

the 120D is a turd sadly... anyway welcome back Barry

[maggspower]

I have no opinion on the BMW 120D engine, sorry.

Welcome back Barry