Hey everyone,

Still kind of a newbie here, so please don't be too harsh! My car has developed chattly hydraulic lifters -- I have a 04/95 BMW 525i with the M50 motor. I have taken this to an indy for a brief diagnosis and this is what he has told me.

I took the car to a dealer and get them to listen to it and pull out an estimate on the job -- AU$2400!

A friend of mine told me that he has used Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabiliser in his car after it was burning oil and ranted on about the results -- he seemed pretty happy. I played with that little gear demonstration that they have in the Auto stores, I just wanted to know what people in here think about fixing or minimising chatty lifters -- I'm a little sceptical on a $16 bottle of miracle tonic to fix a problem that could cost over 2k to fix.

I am using Caltex GTX2 oil, I forget the viscocity of this but it should be somewhere like 20W-50, which seems OK to my climate (Melbourne - coldest it gets is about 3C, hottest is 43C last year).

I don't mind spending the 2k if need be, it's just I want to know my options -- of course, by asking a dealer the same question they're going to recommend the 2k option.

Cheers,
-- George