Blind panic. '92 525i

[whiskychaser]

I stop at the ATM on the way home. Start the engine and get a horrible rattling noise. Ok, I've got a lazy cam follower but that quietens down after about five seconds. This is something else! I'm thinking maybe the timing chain tensioner has gone and the chain is hitting the casing. So I drive the quarter mile home with clenched teeth. The car drives absolutely fine. No loss of power and it changes gear fine(5 speed auto). But I have the rattle and there is a definite whir like a bearing picking up. I put it into reverse to back into the drive and the rattle and whirring stops. I stop the engine and restart it. No problems. Its like it never happened. But it did and I dont expect thats an end to it. Not much to go on I know but any suggestions appreciated

PS My windscreen wipers work fine. And I thought Becker was a tennis player :-)

[indierthanthou]

Maybe you had a gremlin in there, banging his tin cup against the bars of your grille.

Sometimes things like this come up and go away for no apparent reason, though I would definitely reccommend checking it out. Try popping off the valve cover if its not too involved (im an m30 man, and an extremely new one at that) and look to see if anything is out of the ordinary. Usually when I have a funky noise that goes away quickly I have to wait till it comes back before I check it out.

And do you have an extra set of 29" spinners i could have for cheap?

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

if you didn't pop the hood, but just heard this noise, it could have been the starter not retracting fully after your start up.

These cars have a plastic bendex lever and they sometimes fail.

[whiskychaser]

Maybe you had a gremlin in there, banging his tin cup against the bars of your grille.

Sometimes things like this come up and go away for no apparent reason, though I would definitely reccommend checking it out. Try popping off the valve cover if its not too involved (im an m30 man, and an extremely new one at that) and look to see if anything is out of the ordinary. Usually when I have a funky noise that goes away quickly I have to wait till it comes back before I check it out.

And do you have an extra set of 29" spinners i could have for cheap?

I just had a good look but did not find any gremlins or tins cans :-( There were no spinners either. But I will keep looking and if I find any spare ones that size you can have them free of charge.

PS Anyone tells you alcohol is not a remedy for shock is mistaken :-)

[whiskychaser]

if you didn't pop the hood, but just heard this noise, it could have been the starter not retracting fully after your start up.

These cars have a plastic bendex lever and they sometimes fail.

I did pop the hood but couldnt locate the exact area of the noise. To be honest I didnt want to run the engine any longer than absolutely necessary. What you say makes a lot of sense. The only real clue I have is it stopped when I put it in reverse. Think that might have cleared it?

[indierthanthou]

I just had a good look but did not find any gremlins or tins cans :-( There were no spinners either. But I will keep looking and if I find any spare ones that size you can have them free of charge.

PS Anyone tells you alcohol is not a remedy for shock is mistaken :-)

that thing with the spinners was a jab at the guy making a big deal about not getting answers...im not nearly as think as you drink i am

[whiskychaser]

that thing with the spinners was a jab at the guy making a big deal about not getting answers...im not nearly as think as you drink i am

I'm a bit more relaxed about the problem now. I know its very difficult to identify a problem from a noise, particularly if its as elusive as this one. But if nothing else this proved a point - there is a wealth of knowledge and humour on this site. And I spent an hour under the bonnet (sorry, "hood") looking for 29" spinners and I dont even have any little ones? :-)

[632 Regal]

I would venture a guess that your motor mounts and trans mounts are bad and the engine shifted and somehow gave you such pleasurable sound, the give away was that it went away after shifting to reverse... that is where I would start inspecting altho the mounts are most likely toasted anyways.

I did pop the hood but couldnt locate the exact area of the noise. To be honest I didnt want to run the engine any longer than absolutely necessary. What you say makes a lot of sense. The only real clue I have is it stopped when I put it in reverse. Think that might have cleared it?

[indierthanthou]

now, why didnt i think of that?

[whiskychaser]

I would venture a guess that your motor mounts and trans mounts are bad and the engine shifted and somehow gave you such pleasurable sound, the give away was that it went away after shifting to reverse... that is where I would start inspecting altho the mounts are most likely toasted anyways.

I know its near impossible to diagnose from somebody's description of a noise. What I can say, is that it wasnt regular -not like a tappet, big or small end. Thats why I thought it may be a loose chain. Think my bedtime reading will be the Bentleys under headings timing chain, camshafts and followers etc. First job tomorrow though will be check the mounts!