response_surface

Oil level?

highly doubt it has anything to do with the "oil level", if the sump pipe is below the surface of the oil in the pan then the passages are getting the same flow rate with respect to rpm since the pump is a positive displacement pump. what you might have done by adding oil is refresh the mixture a bit and increase the viscosity enough to fill a certain gap somewhere and stop the ticking.

ill get flamed by saying this, but i think this 5w super low visc oil coupled with extended drain intervals is a bad idea. of course bmw says its ok to do, but i'm sure they would love to sell you a new engine, or a new head with cams.

i haven't had my 545 long enough to need an oil change but still not sure what oil i will use. thinking about mobil 5w-50, it has a kinematic visc of 17.4cst at 100C, 5w30 is 11.3cst, and 15-50 has 18.1cst.

a german car mechanic that i know swears by pentosin 5w-40.

i've used mobil syn 15-50 in all my recent cars, 2 different 300zx TT, 1 audi A8....and have NEVER had any engine noise or other oil related failures. all the cars had 120 to 150k on them when they got sold and worked like new.

cmoore_

I agree with the relation of the flow of oil with a displacement pump. With a displacement pump the oil should be distributed evenly so why are the lifters/vavles making noise on cold start up (assuming they are getting oil instantly) but no noise at normal operating temps? Or for that matter, why isnt the passenger side making the same noise? Who knows, but you do bring up a great point regarding oil viscosity. I have always wondered why bmw recommends thinner oil and why not anything thicker. Assuming the ticking is due to normal wear, its easy to assume that thicker oil from the beginning would prolong these parts. Maybe I should give thicker oil a shot and see if that reduces the noise. Kinda makes you wonder if we would be seeing so many engine failures on the 545's if thicker oil had been used from the beginning. Then again, bmw loves large repairs on out of warranty vehicles.

On a side note, Ive always liked the 300z TT, those were cool cars. I come more from the domestic background having modded several mustangs and I remember always running thicker oil on sprayed cars for obvious reasons. If I become to worried, the new 5.0 mustang is looking very tempting

turboawd

if the noise is only there for the first few seconds to minute, then it's possible maybe you're hearing piston slap, where the piston is making noise, until the piston expands with heat.

and as for the arguement of oil viscocity, thinner oils flow better and use less energy to pump and flow. on the other hand, if you use too thick of an oil, you might get oil starvation in parts of your motor due to the oil being too thick and heavy to flow into the tight clearances.

Happy

This is a valve lifter.

cmoore_

This hasnt really crossed my mind. I listened closely again this morning on the way to the office. The ticking is audible for about the first 5 minuets of driving. It can be heard at low speeds (up to about 45-50mph) in a high gear under normal load. It really seems to be a very nosiy lifter. After about 5 minuets, the sound is almost gone. When I pop the hood after 30 min of driving, it is silent at idle.

I agree that thinner oils flow better, the other down side to thicker oil is a slight decrease in fuel economy. However this is small price to pay for enigine protection. I dont think a switch to 10w-40 or even 15w-50 would be thick enough to prevent starvation of parts.


This what Im thinking and I hope this is all it is. Im really starting to get that uneasy feeling though.

response_surface

i agree with the oil starvation possibility but keep in mind that the visc of 50wt oil is way less at 100c than 5wt oil is at 40c. my 545 has a very slight cold condition tick on the left side of the engine same as yours, goes away when its hot 5 to 10 mins later, and sounds perfect thereafter. the tick is very slight and doesn't worry me too much as it is, but wonder if its a distant early warning of a major issue.

1. a low visc oil would have an easier time entering the hydraulic lifter through the groove plenum on its OD
2. a high visc oil would have a harder time being squeezed out of the lifter and presumably keep a tighter gap on the moving elements.

but then again when the bmw 5w-30 oil in my car now gets hot and thin the ticking goes away.....damn confusing. maybe the first point is correct, or maybe its the thermal expansion of the elements that closes the gaps and makes it quiet. DAMN!

i am going to do an experiment. the oil in my car has 4k on it. this weekend i'm going to dump it, and put in mobil 5w-50 and let you know what happens.

i think those low visc oils are optimized for fuel consumption at the expense of engine protection. i was an engineer for 11 years working on fluid dynamic bearings for hard drive motors, we were always coming out with some new low visc oils to reduce the run current on the motor, and what do you know, the wear rates on the bearing was always worse by a micron or two. so we put on all kinds of fancy coatings DLC, SiN, etc to compensate for thin oils, just to save a few milliwatts of power.

yep z32 TT's are fabulous. my last one, a 1991, had 142k on the original engine and turbos when i sold it 2 months ago, used mobil 15-50 forever on it. only thing ever went wrong with that car was a wheel bearing! that engine made the same or less valve train noise than my 545 does with 37k on it. i wonder everyday if i've swapped reliability for bling bling and an idrive?

cmoore_

Yes it is confusing, the argument could really go either way. Its not surprising that you experienced more wear on parts with the thinner oil while you were an engineer. I wont be able to change my oil as soon as you so let us know what happens when you change it this weekend using the thicker weight. I couldnt have said it better regarding your last statement! Ive had the car right at a month and the honeymoon isnt over......yet

mhs525

I have had my 545i 2.5 years, bought CPO. Car has always ticked when cold. Had dealer look at it but they claimed the couldn't hear it. I change my oil every 7,500, it seems to tick less when I use Red Line 5-30. I keep meaning to change to a thicker oil. The car seems to run fine. No engine problems yet, CPO runs out summer of next year. I think BMW motors top ends all tick a little, valvetronic etc. There is a lot of stuff in the heads of these engines.

I have only read of one V8 and one I6 motor going bad in the time I have owned my E60 car. Motor failure is very, very rare.

response_surface

how many miles do you have so far?

thats very good news, i don't mind the cold tick as long as it goes away at temp and not a warning of a future engine grenade. the tick in mine is barely audible anyway.

mhs525

I have 57k, in the winter my son and I call my car the cement mixer because of the noise when the motor is cold so it sounds like mine is a little louder than yours. But its definitely a tick not a knock. I strongly recommend the Red Line oil, I get it from Turner Motorsport. I can always tell when I am running Red Line vs BMW oil that the dealers use.