KyleB

That link I posted was more to confirm that BMW changed the casting on the cylinder head. They wouldn't do that unless there was a reason for it; kinda the old 'where there's smoke, there's fire' mantra in action. As far as I know, there isn't a SIB out there that states 'if car presents with ticking lifters, replace head', and if I were BMW I wouldn't put one out there either.

BMW is a car company. I love them, but they're still a car company that has to watch its expenditures. Can you imagine if BMW put out an SIB that said 'noisy lifters - replace head'? that would open up the flood gates in a BIG way, and believe me no car company wants to do that unless they HAVE to (i.e. recalls). this N52 tick is something that BMW is addressing on a case by case basis. If they can change your oil for free and not see you for a year, great. If your car ticks so bad that it needs a head, they're doing it - but I'm sure they don't want to if they can help it.

The fact that BMW changed the casting on the cylinder head tells me there is a MAJOR problem with the original casting, BMW figured out the problem and changed the design. Now it's up to you to convince them why their design flaw is causing you problems to the point where that $5000 repair should be paid by them, not you.

This post isn't meant to be a dig at anyone, I wish everyone the best with his or her car and hope that everyone's problems are solved. But based on the fact people are on two and three replacement sets of lifters and rockers, I think the cylinder head is the real problem.

Here is an interesting thread I've been reading for the past couple of years if anyone is interested. Grab a cold drink and get comfortable!

E90 forum

deltabox

Well, I dropped off my car last Thursday and they still have it now. That is 6 days total so far. I hope they ARE giving me new head (cylinder that is) along with new lifters. I really miss my car now.

KyleB

id call and ask. BTW i like the E30 in your avatar, i have one too

tamer123

For people not under warranty. Use Sea Foam ....it does work if you apply it right through your vacum intake.

KyleB

how is seafoam going to get into the oiling system and clean out valve lifter bores?!?!?!?!? seafoam is going to go wherever intake air goes, and that's it. it's great for removing carbon deposits; N52 valve tick has nothing to do with carbon buildup.

AchtungE60

Use BMW LL oil and this should help ask others about it. Don't ask me why.

deltabox

UPDATE: So I called my SA yesterday to get update on my car. NOw in the shop for 7 days. He said they had to wait for the parts to come in. They are ONLY replacing the lifters. I asked if this doesn't work, then what? That's when he said they will replace the head. But he said from his experience, this should do the trick.

So the parts were to come in yesterday and they were to work on it yesterday evening. They wanted to leave it overnight and start her up this morning with a COLD start and make sure there's no ticking noise. They hope to have this resolved later today. We'll see....

leese8080

Which dealership is this? I dropped off mine yesterday for the same issue and my SA just called me that the lifters have been replaced under CPO.

deltabox

This is Savage BMW in Ontario, California. So your dealer swapped out new lifters for you in a day?

leese8080

Yes. I dropped it off at 7am yesterday and was done at 9am today. Perhaps they had the parts readily available and not too busy.

Hope you get yours back soon. I'll be picking up mine after work and look forward to see if my car performs better - I've heard it feels smoother after the lifter replacement reading from other posts.

After all, we are lucky that we have warranty.