I just bought a 525i. Ticking noise on startup normal?

[chapmanw]

Hey,

It's been great so far. Drives great; maintenance has been done. Maybe I'm just picky. I notice that on cold startup, it ticks for a few seconds. Is that normal. Is the oil not getting to certain parts? I'm going to switch to M1 soon. Hope that helps.

I notice this site is a great wealth of information for new e34 owners. Keep up the good work!


thanks,

[philbyil]

Nothing to worry about just your hydraulic lifters!

[bimmerd00d]

If you have a 89-90, get those valves adjusted. if it's a 91-95, you might try a thicker oil, i use Mobil1 15w50 in my '93 525i, and that ticking is virtually eliminated.

[Bill R.]

thick of oil not getting to the lifters quick enough. A thinner oil like mobil one 0w40 will pump quicker when cold to the lifters. Now if its tapping when hot then that would indicate too thin of oil or an air leak in the oil pump pickup or low oil pressure.. For cold startup I'd switch to mobil one 0w40 and see if that helps.

If you have a 89-90, get those valves adjusted. if it's a 91-95, you might try a thicker oil, i use Mobil1 15w50 in my '93 525i, and that ticking is virtually eliminated.

[chapmanw]

I think I will switch to M1 and see if there's a change.

My buddy who works on them says it's common. I'm just trying to gather more experiences. thanks.