Rattling when cold / idle

[Bmwfan87 2]

hey all, i have a 2010 116i and have noticed rattling could be a timing chain, is there anyone in Wellington who. Could help with titining it? 

[KwS 2425]

There is no tightening it.

If the chain is making noise, it likely needs the chain, guides and tensioner replaced. Unfortunately those engines are known for issues with the timing chain (amongst other things).

[Bmwfan87 2]

Thanks for letting me know. 

[Eagle 1662]

You really need to take it into someone to get diagnosed. Those engines are common for heatshield rattle on the turbo among other things. 

[Bmwfan87 2]

So u mean it may not be the worst case? 
 

[Palazzo 477]

2 hours ago, Eagle said:

You really need to take it into someone to get diagnosed. Those engines are common for heatshield rattle on the turbo among other things. 

2010 116i = e87? No turbo?

[Bmwfan87 2]

Nope no turbo, i am taking it to the garage  tomorrow, hopefully its not the chain as its only done 116 k kms 

[Eagle 1662]

2 hours ago, Palazzo said:

2010 116i = e87? No turbo?

Haha yeah sorry, the 4's start blending to one another from the period.

2 hours ago, Bmwfan87 said:

116 k kms 

Lower mileage ones tend to be worse off these days. Typically jap imports that have used mostly for stop\start short trips so lots of heat cycles and higher run time. Very rarely maintained properly either which adds to the issue.

[Bmwfan87 2]

What do you think I could get for it, I’ll try and sell for around 5-5500 k 
 

[Eagle 1662]

Id value a tidy condition one with no major issues at around 4k give or take. I dont think you'd get more than $1000 if it has timing related issues as that's a 2-3k job to do properly if you paying someone.

[Bmwfan87 2]

Ok so car is fine,  was the Alternator belt, clutch and Pulley. All replaced and now it’s fine. 

[Bmwfan87 2]

Could that issue also be related to burning oil? 

[KwS 2425]

5 hours ago, Bmwfan87 said:

Could that issue also be related to burning oil? 

Congratulations, you have discovered another extremely common trait of those engines.

Its easy to tell what engine is in that generation of BMW when they pull away from an intersection. If it leaves a cloud of blue smoke, its a 4 cylinder.

[Bmwfan87 2]

11 minutes ago, KwS said:

Congratulations, you have discovered another extremely common trait of those engines.

Its easy to tell what engine is in that generation of BMW when they pull away from an intersection. If it leaves a cloud of blue smoke, its a 4 cylinder.

lol. No blue smoke. I was just simply asking if the burning oil could be related to the alternator belt, and pulley, I have owned heaps of BMWs in the uk and never had oil issues with any. 

[KwS 2425]

7 hours ago, Bmwfan87 said:

lol. No blue smoke. I was just simply asking if the burning oil could be related to the alternator belt, and pulley, I have owned heaps of BMWs in the uk and never had oil issues with any. 

If its "burning oil" its not just magically turning it into clean air, unless you mean its leaking it and burning externally (which is also a big possibility with those engines).

I hate the be the bad news bear, but those engines are well known to just be junk. Search this forum and its been brought up countless times. It wasnt a high point for BMW.

The V8s of that era were kinda trash too and riddled with serious issues. In comparison, their 6 cylinder engines, although not as reliable as the older ones, were damn near bullet proof in comparison.

Unless you're specifically wedded to that car, if its going as good as it can, i'd probably try to sell it.

[Bmwfan87 2]

17 hours ago, KwS said:

If its "burning oil" its not just magically turning it into clean air, unless you mean its leaking it and burning externally (which is also a big possibility with those engines).

I hate the be the bad news bear, but those engines are well known to just be junk. Search this forum and its been brought up countless times. It wasnt a high point for BMW.

The V8s of that era were kinda trash too and riddled with serious issues. In comparison, their 6 cylinder engines, although not as reliable as the older ones, were damn near bullet proof in comparison.

Unless you're specifically wedded to that car, if it’s going as good as it can, i'd probably try to sell it.

So it’s not leaking, it is burning oil roughly 1 litre every 1k kms. I definitely prefer the older cars. I will probably sell it at some point, probably 5.5k 

[Vass 831]

It'll be the valve stem seals... No idea how you're claiming it ain't blowing smoke out the exhaust if it's burning through that much oil either.

For comparison, I replaced the valve stem seals on a mate's car ($1,500+ job if you take it to a garage), replaced brake booster (another typical problem on these), replaced some leaking coolant lines, thermostat and coolant plug at the back of the head. Tidy well looked after car overall. Has been up at $5k for 4 months, only message received was a scam, zero interest otherwise. The market is dead. $5.5k for a car with issues is optimistic, if not outright deceitful. 

[Bmwfan87 2]

Thanks for that. I will see if I end up selling. Thanks for that info though.  I have spent heaps on this car, the only smoke I noticed is white when it’s cold. 
 

I will see what the garage recommends in terms of what you mentioned. 
 

I am in the car trade, just a bit atm. I’m not deceitful at all, sold heaps of cars in the UK. 

[Bmwfan87 2]

Also I have read online that the 1 series has that problem where it will burn a lire every 1k kms it’s annoying but yer. 

[KwS 2425]

Jesus, if my car burnt a litre every thousand ks I'd scrap it.

You'd need to top it up a a couple of sumps worth of oil between changes!

[Bmwfan87 2]

1 minute ago, KwS said:

Jesus, if my car burnt a litre every thousand ks I'd scrap it.

You'd need to top it up a a couple of sumps worth of oil between changes!

It’s really annoying, I got the service done and so it’s an electronic dip stick so we don’t know how much oil is actually in, I’m hoping it still has the 4.5 litres and it’s only using that 1 litre. As I said this is common, and I have seen hundreds of people having the same issue. 

[Bmwfan87 2]

I’m wondering if anyone can help with this as it’s about 5-9k to to do the stem valves, I have also looked and have seen heaps of information that it’s nothing new for some BMWs to burn a litre every 1k kms 

How much is too much? Audi, BMW, and Subaru stick firmly to the statement that oil consumption is a normal part of a car's operation. Subaru considers a quart burned every 1,000 to 1,200 miles to be acceptable. Certain Audi and BMW cars' standards state that a quart burned every 600 to 700 miles is reasonable.

[Vass 831]

You see plenty of people ignore the problem and drive around in a cloud of smoke for years on end. Common does not equal normal. There's really nothing normal about it, a well designed, properly operating engine will not be burning anywhere close to that much oil. Those manufacturers claiming it to be "normal" are just trying to cover their ass and not take responsibility for putting poorly designed products into circulation. All those faults are fixable but often not financially viable, hence them trying to normalize it.

Not sure where you're getting the $5-9k figure from, might be the case for a V8 or V12 engine, no way it costs that much for a 4-cylinder. I asked the local BM Workshop for a quote for valve stem seals for an N42/N46 earlier this year, got told $1.5k + GST.

As a DIY it'll be a weekend of work, $100-200 in parts depending on any extras you want to do at the same time (spark plugs, vacuum pump seals etc) and a few specialized tools (https://bimmerzen.com/store/product/3/BMW-N42N46-VSCT-Full-Kit).

[Bmwfan87 2]

3 minutes ago, Vass said:

You see plenty of people ignore the problem and drive around in a cloud of smoke for years on end. Common does not equal normal. There's really nothing normal about it, a well designed, properly operating engine will not be burning anywhere close to that much oil. Those manufacturers claiming it to be "normal" are just trying to cover their ass and not take responsibility for putting poorly designed products into circulation. All those faults are fixable but often not financially viable, hence them trying to normalize it.

Not sure where you're getting the $5-9k figure from, might be the case for a V8 or V12 engine, no way it costs that much for a 4-cylinder. I asked the local BM Workshop for a quote for valve stem seals for an N42/N46 earlier this year, got told $1.5k + GST.

As a DIY it'll be a weekend of work, $100-200 in parts depending on any extras you want to do at the same time (spark plugs, vacuum pump seals etc) and a few specialized tools (https://bimmerzen.com/store/product/3/BMW-N42N46-VSCT-Full-Kit).

Gheez.  Anyone in Wellington willing to assist? Or any recommendations? 

[KwS 2425]

5 hours ago, Vass said:

Those manufacturers claiming it to be "normal" are just trying to cover their ass and not take responsibility for putting poorly designed products into circulation. All those faults are fixable but often not financially viable, hence them trying to normalize it.

Its all about warranty claims.