Terrible sound from the head.. M42 E30

[E30King]

This is actually my first time getting into so in depth with the M42 motor as I've never had run into issues, until now!

So about three weeks ago, I had purchased an E30 318iC that needed some attention to the motor. Turned out that the timing was completely done. Two of the half circle guides that hold the cam-shaft in place were broken, it was a mess. Anyways, we replaced the head, new chain, new tensioners, rails, shaft sprockets, new shafts and such. I filled it with Total 15-40 motor oil, and went to start it up. It started up right away, but I was getting this really bad clicking sound, just like if there isn't any oil going to the head - that sound. Let it warm up a bit, but nothing happened.

I checked the oil, and it didn't seem very thick at all, so I'm going to drain it, and find something better, probably Castrol. I don't know if that could be the issue or not? Could it possibly be an oil pump issue?

I plan on going off small, try some different oil, and see if that may work, if not, extra input would seriously be appreciated! I'm quite stumped for the moment, and I'm actually worried of driving the car haha

[DesktopDave]

Did you find out what caused the cam damage in the first place?  I'd worry that I missed something too.

I'm hoping you have a stuck lifter.  I've heard some old salts use ATF in the oil to get them filled.  I wouldn't advise that myself, just go with a reputable synthetic after you've broken the cam bearings in.

15w40 isn't very thin stuff.  I run 5w30 myself, full synthetic, year 'round.

[nanotech9]

have you pulled the upper oil pan off by chance?

We rebuilt my motor years ago because of horrible lifter noise - i.e. oil starvation to the top end. Turned out the only problem was the gasket between the upper pan and the block had a small break in the gasket right in front of the oil passage from the pickup tube and was letting air get sucked into the oil pump.   Might be worth a look if your lifters aren't filling up with oil.


My noise would come and go at lower RPM's... i.e. spin the motor up and it would pump more volume of oil through and the lifters would quiet down, but at idle to 1200RPM or so it would sound like someone pored a bag of steel marbles into the valve cover.

The sad part is i ran the car like that for probably 5K miles or more... just holding the idle a little high at stop lights to keep the motor "quiet" until i had a chance to tear it down.   I lucked out and there was 0 damage to the head.

[e30boarder]

How long did you let it idle? I just finished my rebuild the other week. When I first fired her up, the lifters were making all kinds of noise. I also lost track of the order they were in (my own fault) so I don't think that helped either. But after a few rides around town, she was quiet. I even let it idle for about 20 min hoping the lifters would quiet down. A BMW mechanic told me to hold it at about 2k rpms and within 10 min it should be quiet.... mine took a little longer.

[E30King]

Thanks for the input gents! I'll definately look into it! Well I have been driving this car for one entire day, and this is the first time it has fired up since I purchased it. We put in fresh oil yesterday after we put everything back together, and fired it up. Since last night, it has been ticking. I've been booting it around town all day today, highway and pretty much everything, but it hasn't seemed to quiet down. My neighbor (VW man) and myself checked out the head, and there is oil reaching the head. The only issue is that the valves are not shutting up.

Today I plan on draining the new oil we put in yesterday, and probably throw in some motor flush to hopefully clear out some possible debris that cannot be seen or reached. Pretty sure this entire day of driving it, HAS possibly cleaned something or at least I hope so! I bought some 20-50 oil today, but Castrol Synthetic. Hopefully this will be the trick. However, before I put in any sort of liquid, I'm dropping the lower oil pan, and making sure I don't have any loose bolts here and there!

Even my neighbor saw my oil and said that the 15-40 that I poured in looks quite thin and loose. We believe that it's having trouble getting to the head properly to get in through the valves.

When we finished it up, and put in the new filter and oil, we had let it run for about 25-30 minutes before shutting it off (we were bleeding the cooling system while we were at it). Took it for a little test drive, everything was fine, but that starvation is bugging me since last night..

[E30King]

By the way, if I were to have the 6 bolts above the lower pan, loose or fallen off, wouldn't I be hearing some pretty nasty sounds as if there was just a couple rocks circulating in the motor? =S

[DesktopDave]

That's the problem with those little upper pan bolts.  They make no noise at all, just sit in the pan & make little bolt-shaped imprints on the oil pickup.

Yeah, just drive it.  Those sounds will go away.  Synthetic seems very runny for the viscosity.  It's a lot better lubricant, except for breaking in a new or rebuilt motor.

If you think synth motor oil is thin, you should check out the 75w90 gear oil I use in the diff.  It's like olive oil!  It does pay me back with improved fuel mileage...but I do see a few more oil leaks because of it.

[E30King]

Well anyways, I think I'm quite a lucky fellow on this one! As I said, I did drop the pan, and I did find some shavings from what used to be the left side chain rail, and other little bits that were broken when I opened up the front chain covers. Anyways, all my bolts were where they were supposed to be, all nice and tight, and none loose. I even replaced the pan itself, as I assume that it was smashed before, and someone did a sketchy repatch job.

I also checked my tensioner just to be sure that all is well, and it was thankfully. Anyways, I poured in my new Castrol 20-50 oil, re-checked all the bolts, fired up. It didn't even take 10 seconds, and it was completely quiet! I was amazed by the difference. I swear, you cannot here anything going on in that motor, just incredibly smooth and quiet. Went for a little rip, and boy does it sound and pull good! Long live M42!

But, if anyone does run into these issues and have checked the usual mis-haps, definately look into the motor oil itself, it can be the culpret! Lesson learned, stay away from Total motor oil!

[DesktopDave]

Never hurts to be thorough.  I've also learned through the years that synthetics are usually worth the price difference.  I spend some time over in "Bob is the oil guy" (BITOG) forum as well.  Great info, though it can get a bit obsessive & uptight at times. I honestly prefer the cheaper Group III oils.  They're not true Group IV synthetics but price/performance is what I'm about.  I don't need turbine-grade lubricants at $10/liter.

That car will last a long time with a little bit of care.  BTW, that's quite the fleet you have there!  In particular I'm jealous about the wagon...always wanted one of those myself!  Our DOT is somewhat obsessive in the "land of the free" down here.

I had an '89 E34 525iM (M20) before my 318i...almost traded it on a pair of 635's but the deal fell through.

[E30King]

Oh yeah for sure! Usually when I'm stuck in situations like these, I try to look for the simplest way to repair any car. When I began reading all the common issues with bolts and such, I honestly had a broken heart, because it was going to drag some more time. At the time, the first 5L of oil definately seemed sketchy, even at the time of just pouring it in. I wasn't really too confident with it, but we gave it a shot. The Castrol oil has always done itself great with me and I guess it proved itself! Today I put about 300 km on the complete rebuilt head and clean system, and it's flawless! True joy to own something like this.

Yeah the wagon is quite the special car! It's actually one of probably about 10 or so in BC. Most have been imported from Japan, but this one was a Euro - the spots of rust on the tailgate can prove! It was a cool story how I stumbled upon it. It to proved to be quite the pain to get it running again, especially it being a M40B18, very slim readily available parts and if you need something it can only be bought through the dealer. After two months of getting it up and running, it hasn't disappointed me! I'm going to have to post some pictures of the fleet soon!

The US are quite anal about their importation laws. Isn't it like 25 years+ you can bring in something? Here in Canada is 15 years, so I guess we're quite fortunate to be able to exploit that haha

However, I haven't driven my E24 in sooo long. I've been caught up in too much and it has been quite neglected. It's a beautiful car, zero rust, only 110,000 kms, tastfully moddded. I miss the roar of the Euro M30. They're a cool car to own, but the only issue with them, is that you're going to have to keep it. Which isn't really a bad thing as there are so few clean examples, but some choose to drive and sell. The hardest part is selling, and having owned two other ones before, they sit! Not alot of people are in the market for a large, older German coupe.

[DesktopDave]

Yes, I'm told it's 25 years.  I'm not sure about the exact details, but that's what I've heard.  If I can talk my wife into driving an e30 I'll be heading out to an LHD market like Germany, Austria or France to pick up that early-90's wagon in five years or so.  Of course, by that time the X3's will be cheap used cars.  She prefers to sit up high...maybe I can talk her into a BMW that way?  No need for shipping or legalization either.  Decisions, decisions...

There are many points of Canadian law that make us Yanks envious...

I've only seen one single Euro e24 (at least I think that's what it was).  It was brand new in 1985-ish, likely a "grey market" import at our Vintage Grand Prix.  It was polaris silver, had the slender bumpers and a manual transmission.  It definitely stood out here, as Pittsburgh isn't a car mecca.  Though I prefer the style of the older e9 (like mostly everyone else), the e24 is a far better machine all-round.

Speaking of older BMWs, I just saw an e23 745i just last week.  I was waiting at a light and he turned into the intersection from a side street.  We nodded to each other as he glided by...then we both smiled.  I get that same look from mostly everyone driving an old Bimmer, in fact.

[E30King]

Definately try your best to convince her to get into any E30 or even E36 as their prices are coming down really nicely for rather fully loaded cheap luxury! As for the X3, I recommend you stay away from such a vehicle as the quality build is most likely the worst BMW has glued together after the Z4. That "era" of models were really sloppy. If she really wants a good SUV, may I suggest a lovely '98-'04 Mercedes ML320 or 350? Those things are bullit-proof, and definately one sweet ride to own!

Anything that seems Euro, and "local" since the early and mid '80s are definately grey market. All those E23 745i, E21 323i, even some E30 323i and the list goes on into E24 628CSi or 630CSi are most definately grey market. Their stories in particular are rather interesting to say the least of how they were able to make it to North America un-phased by customs laws. Here in Canada, especially in BC, there's a wide variety of classic European cars that you will find. Alot of hidden ones too, but you'll actually find something that you'd never think was even around. I've only seen one super clean E23 745i before! They're quite the car I must say, unfortunately, there are more down south than up here!

I don't understand why the US are so over-protective of their own automobile-market. It's like they think a 20 year old car or whatever is going to collapse the beloved American car! It's just like buying a used car..