E46 325i Ticking Noise "Lifters, DISA or Vanos"

[skullandbiscuits]

I recently bought a E46 325i Sport Touring, knowing it had a 'ticking noise' as a project car, common M54 stuff.

It comes on after warming up but cannot be heard under 20mph, I suspect general road noise takes over.

The noise appears to be coming from the top head rather than the front of the head, Vanos area (hard to exactly pin point).

I've tried a couple of cheap fixes, lifters bleed and some Wynn's lifters treatment. So far it hasn't really improved the situation.

I've scanned with DISV57 and it returned Vanos exhaust camshaft & position errors.


Now I can investigate the DISA and upgrade the flap kit. Perhaps DIY the Vanos seals. No idea about the lifters. Has anyone had any success with a engine flush and fresh oil?

I don't really want to just Chuck in thicker oil, as that seems a tad Noddy.

[d_a_n1979]

Does sound like it could be the DISA

Take it off and see if the flap is damaged/loose and see if the diaphragm works as it should too... IMO if it's the original DISA, it'd be an ideal time to rebuild it with the X8R kit c£60 and a much better design than the OEM plastic internals

[naturalaspiration]

The errors are saying that your exhaust sensor is off and thus the exhaust side of vanos is stationary. If vanos seals have never been changed most likely changing sensors will not help much as oil will be passing by the hardened seals anyway. A cheap alternative to buying sensors from a dealer is to go for aftermarket make Febi - they are repackaging genuine sensors form Siemens. This however has very little to do with the noise.

If there is some Vanos/lifter noise try using Ceratec - it's a rather ingenious mixture of hexagonal boron nitride ceramics, coating the metal surface and cushioning the metal to metal contact and a Moly friction modifier which in turn will make everything very slippery. I have been using it for years both in engines and gearboxes (not automatics as they require friction in order to change gears).This assumes your oil pressure is ok - I had a lifter noise as my mechanic had been very enthusiastic about using a gasket makes sealant - and a piece of it ended up in the oil sump, and then attached itself onto the oil pump suction pipe wire filter...it was so bad that oil pressure warning went off. If the car has had regular oil changes throughout its live the oil pump lasts forever. I inspected mine and it was as good as new - more than 200k miles.

Disa is more rattling than ticking - check videos on youtube and compare to yours; regardless inspecting it (easy to remove) is a time well spent.

[skullandbiscuits]

Thanks for the Ceratec tip, that could be promising. Plenty of oil services in the logbook and paperwork. I think when I come to its next service I will take the pan off and have a look at the oil pickup

I have inspected the DISA and the diaphragm is holding, but not correctly. I have just ordered a X8R repair kit to rectify this. Whilst I am there, I will attempt to clean the ICV, as this popped up on DISV57.

DISV57 also popped up with 1D DME (Spark duration too short). I did check for loose spark plugs when I bought it as a easy rule out.
NGK BKR6EQUP plugs ordered as well.

I'm hoping the above, plus a engine flush and good service will improve the tapping issue.

Vanos wise, "68 DME exaust camshft end position not reached", I will tackle that on a rainy day....

[Krikkit]

Perhaps the clicking is the VANOS solenoid? Would fit with the cam position errors.

VANOS is really to replace, I did mine with fresh seals and checked the clearances, reinstalled with new gaskets and spark plugs in an afternoon at leisurely pace.

I'd pick up an exhaust solenoid on eBay and do the lot.

[naturalaspiration]

At this age it's all but guaranteed that vanos o-rings are hard and unable to provide the necessary seal - the proper solution is to replace them with Beisans Viton kit. Failing that you may try with Liqui Moly Oil Saver which might help soften the rubber a bit - provided the seals are not cracked. If you have access to INPA you can view in real time how/if the pistons move - ideally a smooth motion as opposed to stationary/bouncy.

Edited by naturalaspiration on Monday 18th November 20:26

[skullandbiscuits]

Update:-

I did my Vanos seals and VCG last week. It's made a huge difference, most noticeable is the mpg improvement.

I would have thought after a Vanos seals rebuild, it would be prudent to reset the Adaptations values?


Annoyingly it is still going into limo mode. I have to unplug the MAF to make it driveable. I've checked all the codes, still got the same DME error code. I've ordered a new vanos solenoid for the exhaust from BMW.

Hopefully this will be the end of my M54 woes.

P.S - Liqui Moly Ceratec didn't cure my lifter noise.

Edited by skullandbiscuits on Friday 7th February 11:01

[Touring442]

skullandbiscuits said:

P.S - Liqui Moly Ceratec didn't cure my lifter noise.

It's snake oil. See also: Slick 50.

However, MAF problems on M52TU and M54 engines will often not bring up a fault code. I've had it a few times and a new or good used MAF cures it.

[g3org3y]

skullandbiscuits said:

Update:-
Annoyingly it is still going into limp mode. I have to unplug the MAF to make it driveable. I've checked all the codes, still got the same DME error code. I've ordered a new vanos solenoid for the exhaust from BMW.

Which code?

Touring442 said:

However, MAF problems on M52TU and M54 engines will often not bring up a fault code. I've had it a few times and a new or good used MAF cures it.

When I had MAF problems ( documented here) I was getting Trim Bank codes:

[skullandbiscuits]

I haven't got MAF issues, intake boots, Disa (serviced), throttle body, idle valve control problems, that was all fixed when I changed the MAF for a Siemens one a couple of months ago. (Plus I've done several DISV57 MAF test).

The only error I have now is "68 DME - Vanos exhaust camshaft position not reached" after doing my Vanos seals, hence now purchasing a Vanos Solenoid.

I still have a feeling the Vanos adaptions values need to be reset post Vanos seals procedure. (DISV44).

MAF plugged in, limp mode will run with very reduced power. Clear codes in DISV57, unplug MAF, will still produce limp mode but with slightly reduced power. So the Vanos definitely prefers the default air intake value.

Edited by skullandbiscuits on Friday 7th February 22:11

[g3org3y]

skullandbiscuits said:

The only error I have now is "68 DME - Vanos exhaust camshaft position not reached" after doing my Vanos seals, hence now purchasing a Vanos Solenoid.

I still have a feeling the Vanos adaptions values need to be reset post Vanos seals procedure.

Yep, sounds like new solenoid would be a sensible next step. I'd suggest buying original BMW Vanos solenoids rather than cheapo aftermarket stuff.

Does your code reader allow you to reset Vanos adaptations?

[skullandbiscuits]

Yeah I'm hoping that should do the trick. I always go genuine, cost me £106 with the o-ring from Dick Lovett Bristol.

You can reset the Vanos adaptations in DISV44 under DME function in expert mode. Cant work out how to do it in DISV57.