[JRJ1970]

Those of you who have had the engine tick issue and have had your cylinder heads replaced, did it work?

[MrDummy]

I have a used 06 325xi and I have heard about these ticks, but have not Heard them yet myself, then again I heard that they really are loud in the winter time. I do know the previous owner Never had an issue with the ticking.

Is there a certain year or engine style that is more prone to it?

[JRJ1970]

Originally Posted by MrDummy

I have a used 06 325xi and I have heard about these ticks, but have not Heard them yet myself, then again I heard that they really are loud in the winter time. I do know the previous owner Never had an issue with the ticking.

Is there a certain year or engine style that is more prone to it?

Believe me, you'd know if you had 'em. I bet you're safe and don't have the issue. They can be of varying loudness. Mine occurs intermittently during warm up periods. I'm on the fence still to have any work done on it and am curious to see others' results with any work done. I've been told it's harmful, others have told me it's not.

[BK]

It'd be cool if this poll had expanded choices for those of us who never had ticking, just so we could see how the numbers compare. One thing I wonder is what is the % of owners that experience this -- mainly because I wonder whether it's inevitable that one day my lifters will start ticking. I'm nearing 40K and >3 years and no ticking, engine sounds great (06 E90 330i 6MT).

EDIT - Knock on wood.

[SebringS2k]

I have a slight tap/ticking sound on my 335i, not sure if this is the same issue? I just got my car last week used, so I'm not sure if all these sounds I'm hearing are normal.. It's slightly noticeable during warmup in the garage, not heard after warmed up though

[scanboy]

I had it done in march and still haven't heard it yet. It use to be really loud.

[JRJ1970]

I had it done six months ago, 7,000 miles ago. It worked! Not one single tick heard since. Push for it, guys, if you need it done.

[MrDummy]

^^ I am happy for you my friend, I think mine are the normal VANOS ones, but I have 2 years left on my CPO warranty to make sure

[ianthegreat]

Originally Posted by BK

It'd be cool if this poll had expanded choices for those of us who never had ticking, just so we could see how the numbers compare. One thing I wonder is what is the % of owners that experience this -- mainly because I wonder whether it's inevitable that one day my lifters will start ticking. I'm nearing 40K and >3 years and no ticking, engine sounds great (06 E90 330i 6MT).

EDIT - Knock on wood.

Mine starts ticking after about 30 seconds on a cold start-up. It usually lasts for a minute or two, or until the oil heats/properly circulates, then goes away. It is a very audible ticking on the outside of the car - can not hear it from inside the cabin.

[JRJ1970]

Originally Posted by MrDummy

^^ I am happy for you my friend, I think mine are the normal VANOS ones, but I have 2 years left on my CPO warranty to make sure

Do keep tabs on this.... If it does gets worse, you should have a good case to get it replaced. Good luck!

[SpmnE9zero]

When it is really cold out mine taps like a son of a bitch! I guess I should look into getting it fixed!

[davidk]

Yep, a new cylinder head took care of the ticking under the hood of my wife's X3 (2008 3.0si, N52). First the exhaust HVAs were replaced, then a few weeks later they replaced the head, when the ticking returned after about a week. If you think you need a new head, try the HVAs first, if/when that fails, a good recording of the ticking goes a long way to proving your case to the dealer, who is normally reluctant to replace the head.

[galahad05]

Sorry for the ignorant post, but...is this just an aesthetic (noise) issue? Or will there be serious (read: engine go BOOM) issue in the future if the ticking doesn't get fixed?

[davidk]

Well, it depends on who you ask. Some say no detrimental effects, some claim to have seen damage. Myself, I beleive since it is due to oil having drained down from the HVAs, it will cause damage sometime in the distant future. I really doubt BMW would have (1) redesigned the head without good cause, and (2) replaced the number of heads they have to resolve an irritating, intermittent noise which will not cause damage.

[JChenDMD]

just took my 335i in last weekend for ticking noise. SA said that noise was from fuel injector and that the ticking noise is not common for the 335i engine. Is that true? The ticking noise is not very loud, seems to be a very fast ticking, and I can hear it when engine sits and idles.

[mercury26]

Originally Posted by JChenDMD

just took my 335i in last weekend for ticking noise. SA said that noise was from fuel injector and that the ticking noise is not common for the 335i engine. Is that true? The ticking noise is not very loud, seems to be a very fast ticking, and I can hear it when engine sits and idles.

Sounds like an injector noise, which is normal.

Cheers,

Chuck

[pooskay]

the cylinder head replacement has been working so far for me....7-8K+ miles an no tick yet.

[Ryan323i]

Worked for me so far but it's been less than 1,000 miles.

[k3m0-330i]

im scaered i just bought my car it has 58,000 miles and i hear the ticking when out side of the car but in the inside i dont hear it? and it never gose away?? is this something to to be a frad of ? i never go over 3 1/2 rpms i like baby it almost i dont know what should i do?? it no loud but is can be heard soo please help me?

[rambalu80]

I had my cylinder head replaced almost 2 years back and have driven 16,000 miles since. Everything seems to be fine.

A friend of mine got the cylinder head replacement done on his 2006 E90 325i out of OEM warranty (but with his EasyCare extended warranty) about 3 months back and now his car is ticking again.

[jayhudson]

I just had all my exhaust lifters replaced under warranty to fix lifter tick. Not sure why they'd replace the head. Unless there's a different problem on some years/engines.

Hmmmmm....... I wonder if the heads were machined improperly and they designed some lifters with different specs to eliminate the problem. That's be a lot cheaper than replacing the head.

So far so good.

Jay

[rambalu80]

Originally Posted by jayhudson

I just had all my exhaust lifters replaced under warranty to fix lifter tick. Not sure why they'd replace the head. Unless there's a different problem on some years/engines.

Hmmmmm....... I wonder if the heads were machined improperly and they designed some lifters with different specs to eliminate the problem. That's be a lot cheaper than replacing the head.

So far so good.

Jay

I may be wrong but I remember my SA telling me that the old cylinder heads had larger oil drain holes that would let the oil drain faster, not leaving enough oil to lubricate the valve lifters and causing them to tick. The newer cylinder heads are supposed to have smaller drain holes.