[Iniquity]

mentioned this a couple months ago..

Just wondering, any of you ZHP people.. or 330 people for that matter getting a rattling sound from your engine at around 2k RPM.. it's always around there..

It makes the noise regardless if you have a load on the car or if it's in nuetral and being held at 2k. It's loudest when you rev it past 2k and let off the gas and as the tach dips passed 2k you can here it. Standing in front of the car and facing it, the sound seems to come from the bottom left corner of the engine, the protrusion in that section.. which I guess is the vanos unit (see below).

I took it in once and they said it was the vanos unit. They replaced it and a bunch of other stuff.. the noise disappeared, or was very quiet... but now it's back and loud as ever..

i've heard others have been told by dealerships it's a normal thing..

So when I'm driving in a parking structure and people are looking, I wonder, are they checking out the car, or wondering why a $40k car is making rattling noises.. so what do I have to tell them? "Uh.. it's normal?!?"

I'm just wondering, what does pinging or knocking sound like?!? Are they the same thing? Are they loud? I just hope it's not.. I'm gonna try mixing some 100 octane with 91 (1:4 ratio) to get that magic 93 mix..

TIA

 

[GeNR8Zn]

Check the 1st pic I posted, is the noise coming from that area? If so, I'm getting that same noise too, it sounds like my car is messed up.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=199904&highlight=dealership+noise

 

[Iniquity]

YES! That's exactly where the noise comes from...

the vanos unit..

when i brought it in the first time they replaced the vanos unit, the timing chain, etc, etc..

it went away or got quiet.. but it's been back for awhile now.. i'm only complaining about it again because the weather is getting nice and I drive with the windows down.. so I hear it EVERY DAY!!!! :banghead: ..

to the dealerships fft: ..

one thing i forgot to mention.. it only happens when the engine is warmed up.. on cold start.. i can bring the engine to 2k.. either just neutral and revving or actually just starting up and driving out of my apartment at 2k-ish.... nothing.. but as soon as the engine warms up.. rattle rattle rattle..

let me know what your dealership says.. i've got my 15k interval coming up soon.. i'd say by the end of this month.. gonna hit em up for sw39.. also (39.1 if they got it) , irregular fuel guage readings (up and down.. i can go from half to 3/4 full.. or full to 3/4 or whatever within minutes!)

 

[GeNR8Zn]

YES! That's exactly where the noise comes from...

the vanos unit..

when i brought it in the first time they replaced the vanos unit, the timing chain, etc, etc..

it went away or got quiet.. but it's been back for awhile now.. i'm only complaining about it again because the weather is getting nice and I drive with the windows down.. so I hear it EVERY DAY!!!! :banghead: ..

to the dealerships fft: ..

one thing i forgot to mention.. it only happens when the engine is warmed up.. on cold start.. i can bring the engine to 2k.. either just neutral and revving or actually just starting up and driving out of my apartment at 2k-ish.... nothing.. but as soon as the engine warms up.. rattle rattle rattle..

let me know what your dealership says.. i've got my 15k interval coming up soon.. i'd say by the end of this month.. gonna hit em up for sw39.. also (39.1 if they got it) , irregular fuel guage readings (up and down.. i can go from half to 3/4 full.. or full to 3/4 or whatever within minutes!)

Yup, after my car fully warms up is when I can hear the noise. If I just start the car in the morning and rev the engine to 2k rpms, no noise, even having the car started for 2-3 mins and reving to 2k, still no noise. Only after a 5-10 min drive is when I hear it.

I can only hear the noise with the hood open, my intake and exhaust drones out everything when I'm driving. I think the noise happens starting at 2k rpms all the way till 4k rpms, maybe all the way till redline, but the noise was soo bad that I just stopped.

 

[GeNR8Zn]

Oh yea, does your car have a slight vibration at idle?

 

[chuckc]

mentioned this a couple months ago..

Just wondering, any of you ZHP people.. or 330 people for that matter getting a rattling sound from your engine at around 2k RPM.. it's always around there..

It makes the noise regardless if you have a load on the car or if it's in nuetral and being held at 2k. It's loudest when you rev it past 2k and let off the gas and as the tach dips passed 2k you can here it. Standing in front of the car and facing it, the sound seems to come from the bottom left corner of the engine, the protrusion in that section.. which I guess is the vanos unit (see below).

I took it in once and they said it was the vanos unit. They replaced it and a bunch of other stuff.. the noise disappeared, or was very quiet... but now it's back and loud as ever..

i've heard others have been told by dealerships it's a normal thing..

TIA

Mine does the same thing. The VANOS system was replaced but that did not resolve anything.

Has anyone been able to get this resolved ?

 

[rendered]

I've had had this problem looked at and corrected 5 times already. I'm on the sixth attempt by the dealer...

timing chain tensioners, vanos units, control modules etc have been replaced. The noise just seems to come back after a month. try this with the hood up. have someone rev the car to approx. 2200rpm, while you look under the hood... the rattling noise sounds like metal or plastic clanking together.

This noise is not normal by any means. I don't care who the car manufacter is.

 

[Forknmybut]

My 03 zhp does the same...

I purchased mine used from JMK in october 05 and there was no such noise. Only after an oil change did I notice the clicking. Now it seems to be getting louder as I can hear the engine idling while sitting inside my car. Also the engine is vibrating a lot more then when I first purchased it. Something is definately wrong. I only changed the oil to Castrol Syntek 5w 30 and started hearing the sound because of the hood being open. Bayside BMW says it's normal. Gonna take it back to JMK for oil service and see what they say.

 

[mikeson]

I have a taping noise like 'tap, tap, tap, tap,..'
Do search under taping noise.

It's lifter noise.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=279397&highlight=lifter+noise

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=241340&highlight=lifter+noise

 

[Ervin87]

The only noise I have is @ idle , and it's like a cricket noise.
For example, if the fan was spinning and you put a piece of paper inside you would hear the paper. (like a cricket lol) > ANyone have this before and had it fixed?

 

[sean96gsr]

Did anyone ever get this problem resovled? I'm trying to get it fixed before my warranty expires. The noise drives me crazy!

 

[tturedraider]

MUST READ - If it is VANOS, there may have been further damage to cam shafts and other parts. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197799

 

[jiigan]

got the same thing, 4 trips to the dealer, they replaced some parts in the vanos and the bearing on the tensioner pulley,
noise got quiter for a couple days.. now its back on again.
Going to take it to the dealer next week probably..

It sounds like I am driving a damn beetle with a bmw body on it... very not "ultimate driving machine"

 

[xavi330i]

i have the rattle too. may be a tensioner or the timimg belt guides.

 

[tomjrau]

rattle

i had a DISA valve replaced on my '03 330i zhp at 31k miles. The rattle however, was only audible at idle and occurred in no relation to whether the engine was warm or cold (ambient temps included). It would disappear when i blipped the throttle but return when the engine settled back to idle. When the dealer replaced the DISA valve, they simply wrote in the report "Customer claims of excessive engine noise at startup, DISA valve broken and replaced." Not sure if this helps any of you out.

 

[BMW04E46]

MUST READ - If it is VANOS, there may have been further damage to cam shafts and other parts. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197799

good info here

thanks!