E46 330Ci - tappety sound

[Argybargy]

I've got a 2003 330Ci. Owned for 7 years and it now has 116K on the clock. FSH and recently has had an Insp II.
Oil and filter changed every 7.5K miles.

Recently, I have noticed a 'tappety' sound on start up which disappears after a few seconds. However, after a recent long-ish journey (during which the engine felt a bit below par) there was a constant tappety rattle at idle. The next day the car was fine.

Any ideas what this might be and should I be concerned?

[cslwannabe]

Low oil level? They use a bit and could normally tell when level was getting low in mine as used to sound a bit tapetty on startup in the garage before low oil level warning light would activate.

[Argybargy]

No - checked that and it was fine.

[banjowill]

Argy - possibly contaminated fuel? You say since the car has been fine and after 7 years one can tell just by different noises and response that something is not right.

Change the fuel filter: most don't. By your miles it should be clogged up.

Otherwise I suppose the wrong e.g. plugs could have been used at the Insp II?

[helix402]

Check spark plugs are tight, 30Nm.

[GaryThomlinson]

Does this engine have hydraulic lifters? If so it could be those failing or oil starvation to them?

[philmots]

I'd put money on it being your disa valve... It's the petrol 'swirl flap'

It's located on the right hand side of the inlet (as you look at it)

Get it sorted asap, if it lets go it'll lunch your engine. As the parts can go through inlet into the cylinders etc...

You can get a repair kit from i6automotive which I fitted to mine, when I removed mine the end pin was only mm's from falling into the inlet which would of released the flap in too!

My flap was also un-operational as the cam that controls it was stripped, now it works there's a nice gain in low down torque (that's kind of it's job) the cam being stripped also causes the rattling you can hear as nothing holding the flap steady.

If it's not this, I'd advise the repair kit anyway as a preventative measure.

[Argybargy]

Thank you all. I did wonder about the fuel. Always use V Power but that's no guarantee. The previous time I filled up it felt liked the pump was having to work extra hard (so in your mind you think the tank's nearly empty and it's sucking all the detritus up which sits at the bottom). Probably just my imagination but may well replace the fuel filter.

Plugs were replaced by main dealer at service 1000 miles ago - not that that's any guarantee they've been done right.

Disa valve is a new one on me which I will look into.

The odd thing is just before this started the car was going really well - pulling really well across the rev range and smoother with it too.

[roofer]

Change the viscosity of the oil to account for the mileage. Recommended grade is piss, i put 40 in mine and it shut it up after having identical symptoms.

[Argybargy]

Roofer - thank you. They put 0W-30 in at the last service.

[anonymous-user]

vanos or disa. get some you tube clips on vanos and check out drvanos and beisan systems. you can self diagnose easily if its vanos. if you have a mate try to borrow an obd ii reader or you can buy a simple one cheap enough off ebay. worth the investment.

[steve_bmw]

roofer said:

Change the viscosity of the oil to account for the mileage. Recommended grade is piss, i put 40 in mine and it shut it up after having identical symptoms.

I had the same issue as well, change the oil for a 5w40 and see how you go, mine was cured after the oil change.
Disa valve rattles all the time if it's the flap that's loose, simply unplug it and if it's faulty it will shut up immediately.

[philmots]

Unplugging it won't stop the bits from falling into the inlet if they're loose!

The flapping of mine had caused the end pin to work free.

Simply unplugging it is not a fix... Not that it worked for mine anyway, the cam that turns the flap was stripped, so disabling the bit that turned the cam to turn the flap is a waste of time as the flap still rattled about in the air flow.

0-30 is too thin when cold really, 5-30 is what's recommended iirc.. I last put 5-40 in mine (110k) and the change is nearly unbelievable.

[steve_bmw]

I didn't say it was a fix, process of elimination, if the flap is loose then unplugging it will cause the flap to close and not rattle.
Of course if the flap has snapped of the drive it will rattle all the time but doesn't fit with the op's discription.

[philmots]

I was thinking if the flap has come attached from the drive then it could at random be shut and slightly jammed, then the next minute free itself and cause more rattles.

Either way, for the sake of one wire and 2 bolts it needs removing and checking.

[sparks_E39]

5 40 fully synthetic oil made a difference to my 528i and it will be what my 530i will be getting come service time.

[Classic E46]

I have similar problem with my e46 330ci, I've been to BMW they quoted me £2k for the job. However, as there is a global pandemic as of now, they simply told me that they have 7 of the lifters at the site and the rest have to be ordered in from Germany.

It's been over 2 months since my car developed this issue and its just been sitting there on the drive with no hope in getting it fixed and running soon. This brings me to my pretty dumb question... are eBay lifters worth it? I myself find it stupid that I'm coming to this as I usually get my car serviced and any sort of repairs done at BMW as I have full BMW history and wish to maintain that. Also, in recent news we have been told that we may be okay to roam freely by the end of the year. I don't want my car to be sitting dead this entire time.

Any help, opinions are welcome.

[330ti]

Yeah change oil , warm right up and hold at 4000/5000 rpm for a couple of minutes to pump oil into lifters.

[Classic E46]

330ti said:

Yeah change oil , warm right up and hold at 4000/5000 rpm for a couple of minutes to pump oil into lifters.

I’ve already tried that, if anything it just quietens the sound for about 5 minutes. I’ve been told that the lifters definitely have to be replaced and then on to only use 10w 40 oil.

[nomis36]

As a few on this post 6 years ago said, DISA valve. I’ve just helped my son do this with a rebuild kit on his 320i. Definitely worth doing as it’s cheap and easy to do. They are very renowned for failing which could cause a rattle.