Loud tappet like noises from Engine....

mr wilks · Post by **mr wilks** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:28 pm

It can be difficult to know 100% even stood next to the car .
There was a forum ZMC making similar noises that went into BMW for repair under warranty some years ago ( car now owned by another forum member ) after bottom end was replaced the noise was still there so ended up with cams + followers done too

Your dilemma even after the actual fail is diagnosed will be whether to bend over just the once & bite hard to have both top end + bottom end done together or just the repair the current damage ? Tough decision ahead

Z4M-2006 · Post by **Z4M-2006** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:36 pm

Just call them and have them remove the cam cover and inspect the cams and follewers..

Its an hours work and will give a good indication of what to to next...

Beedub · Post by **Beedub** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:17 pm

be warned if these people try and call a spun bearing and followers too.... thats very unlikely..... not impossible but very very unlikely.

Who are you taking it too again? sorry if this has been posted elsewhere,

tomscott · Post by **tomscott** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 3:31 pm

Might as well get the engine mounts and bolts done too.

Hope all works out

For anyone that is reading and worrying... it does happen but it is relatively rare for this engine, in the 5 years ive been on here I can think of 5-6 give or take but can think of hundreds of cars and owners. Obviously as they get older these issues will become more common but not even close to that of the Porsche camp.

These engines are excellent but common sense when buying is important, make sure it has good service history and done within the time scales and have preventative maintenance done.

Although the only preventative maintenance for this is routine oil changes.

Otherwise these are very reliable engines for the sort of tolerance and performance.

Z4M-2006 · Post by **Z4M-2006** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 6:27 pm

How many Z4M's are they out there ? Is it about 1000 ?

MrPT · Post by **MrPT** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 11:39 pm

mr wilks wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:28 pm There was a forum ZMC making similar noises that went into BMW for repair under warranty some years ago ( car now owned by another forum member ) after bottom end was replaced the noise was still there so ended up with cams + followers done too

My car now. Bearing shells weren’t great but in hindsight looked unremarkable for a 50k mile S54. Cams were fine, followers were comedy bad; I mean, actually quite painful to look at.

Hope you get some feedback soon, OP. I would also be sceptical of the “top or bottom end” diagnosis as these failures are relatively well understood now (albeit root cause unknown or inconsistent) and the top is an easy inspection. A “spun” bearing shell or two - if that really is what they are calling it - would also be a totally different category of failure, with potential for serious damage to the crank, con rods etc.

T1berious · Post by **T1berious** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:05 am

MrPT wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 11:39 pm
mr wilks wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:28 pm There was a forum ZMC making similar noises that went into BMW for repair under warranty some years ago ( car now owned by another forum member ) after bottom end was replaced the noise was still there so ended up with cams + followers done too
My car now. Bearing shells weren’t great but in hindsight looked unremarkable for a 50k mile S54. Cams were fine, followers were comedy bad; I mean, actually quite painful to look at.

Hope you get some feedback soon, OP. I would also be sceptical of the “top or bottom end” diagnosis as these failures are relatively well understood now (albeit root cause unknown or inconsistent) and the top is an easy inspection. A “spun” bearing shell or two - if that really is what they are calling it - would also be a totally different category of failure, with potential for serious damage to the crank, con rods etc.

^This^

Garage is Autobahn, was well recommended.

From the conversation I had Monday night it sounded like it might be a spun bearing and mentioned hoping the crank isn't damaged. Hopefully I'll get some new soon.

In other news. SWMBO is already pricing up a 718 Cayman. Test drive Saturday. I think she's quite keen to get rid

Fishy Dave · Post by **Fishy Dave** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 10:49 am

tomscott wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 3:31 pm For anyone that is reading and worrying... it does happen but it is relatively rare for this engine, in the 5 years ive been on here I can think of 5-6 give or take but can think of hundreds of cars and owners. Obviously as they get older these issues will become more common but not even close to that of the Porsche camp.

These engines are excellent but common sense when buying is important, make sure it has good service history and done within the time scales and have preventative maintenance done.

Although the only preventative maintenance for this is routine oil changes.

Otherwise these are very reliable engines for the sort of tolerance and performance.

i completely agree Tom

MrPT · Post by **MrPT** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:53 pm

T1berious wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:05 am
In other news. SWMBO is already pricing up a 718 Cayman. Test drive Saturday. I think she's quite keen to get rid

Ah jeez, man. At least steer her in the direction of a nice 981!

T1berious · Post by **T1berious** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 3:28 pm

Right,

Good News the car is being fixed. The bad news, damage was bad but could have been much worse. Crank undamaged

SUMP GASKET 1
SHELLS GENUINE 12
BOLTS 12
CAM COVER GASKETS 1
OIL PUMP 1
OIL & FILTER 1
REPLACE BIG END BEARING SHELLS 12
VALVE CLEARANCE CHECK & ADJUST 1

All that =

ALOT Should be ready next week, good news is since the engine was opened up anyway its been given a good bill of health. Well apart from the Shell going.

I dread to think what BMW would have charged.

MrPT · Post by **MrPT** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 3:50 pm

T1berious wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 3:28 pm I dread to think what BMW would have charged.

Might make you feel better if you knew! Best part of £3k.

Does sounds like good news (and I don't want to question Autobahn's reputation unnecessarily - don't know them), but I'd still be a bit wary until you know the exact nature of the failure. I'd ask about whether the shells were replaced due to excessive wear or because a shell spun, and whether the cam followers were worn. If a follower is flattened, there's a fair chance it will continue to wear very quickly, even if valve clearances have been adjusted back into tolerance.

T1berious · Post by **T1berious** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 4:24 pm

I think it was excessive wear as he mentioned it today. He also mentioned that some use up rated parts (HackEngineering) but he said unless was using it regularly on the track stick with OEM.

He seems like a good bloke and to be honest I have tempted to take the 3 there if needs work rather than go to BMW. Still use BMW for regular servicing though.

You'd be surprised at the number of garages I contacted last Friday that point blank refused to look at it!

T1berious · Post by **T1berious** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 4:26 pm

Might make you feel better if you knew! Best part of £3k.

Than I've saved myself a grand

BMWZ4MC · Post by **BMWZ4MC** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:54 pm

Why a new oil pump?

RedUn · Post by **RedUn** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:33 pm

They can collect debris and particles, only to release them again at some point in the future. Not worth the risk basically!

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com