digital_frankenstein

post up some pics!

Heh, I'm gonna do a proper intro in the intro thread, pics and all, just thought put this up and get the ball rolling asap.

Where is a good place to source a genuine oil filter?

yea listen to glenn and do the oil and filter again with the right oil and genuine filter. it might seem like a waste as the service was just done but trust me it will be money well spent.

also good on you for getting a 323 not a 320. big thumbs up!

Sweet, will do, thanks guys.

Yeah this was the best 3 series I could find.

Girlfriend is a bit annoyed at the engine size but it's costing me a lot less to drive in than bus in, which I endured for five years when my last car was stolen.

No idea about the oil as it was done as part of a service before I drove it off the yard.

No idea about the filter. Is there an easy way to find out?

i dont know what the ticking is, but warming a car up for 5 mins before driving is completely unnecessary and not recommended by any manufacturer. Get in, and drive it straight away, just go easy until its warm.

It's just a myth I always believed.

Just did some reading and it sounds like letting the car idle doesn't help it much.

Actually running the car warms things up properly.

Thanks for the advice!

Hey guys,

I bought a '06 323i a few weeks back. Great car, first BMW and I'm loving it!

But every so often and I mean about 5% of the time I start it up, there is a noticeable ticking sound from the engine bay.

Sound clip here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mcc2n97iil3xibs/ticking%20sound.m4a?dl=0
Driving the other day with the windows down, the ticking seemed to speed up with acceleration and my girlfriend was freaking out

It appeared again this morning.

I left for work with it ticking, realized I forgot something 2 mins from home and went back. Leaving the car running in the driveway, I got out and noticed the ticking was gone.

Seems almost like once the engine has warmed up it disappears.
But...since buying the car, I have instinctively warmed the engine up for at least 5 mins before driving anywhere.

Is this sufficient?

I know nothing about engines so looking under the bonnet would be a waste of time for me.

So wondering, anyone else had this issue?
Something I should be worried about?
Should I take it back to the dealer to take a look?

Cheers!