Oil change on the 318i. Started the engine to let the oil warm for a couple minutes and from under the valve cover comes tap tap tap tap tap which changes to taptaptaptapttttttt when rpm goes up. After it runs for a few minutes it's gone at idle but still there when rpm goes up.
Changed the oil with Mobile1 10w-30 and the noise was still there and then was gone after a drive around the block. Since then it's been consistent with that pattern. The tick is there on start up then goes away after driving a short ways.
Come to find out the BMW manual recommends 15w-40 for summertime temperatures. What? That's what my buddy dumps in his old diesel F-250.
Dunno if that's related to the noise or not but using different oil to see if it makes a difference seems worth a try. Maybe that would cut down on the leaks from oil pan gasket too.
Any recommendations for a heavier oil for this application?
Yes, heavier oil is likely the answer. Most M1 oils are light in-grade, which makes it worse. I'm running M1 10w40 High Mileage in my M54-powered 525i right now, which is an ACEA A3/B3 oil that's heavy in-grade. On earlier cars I often used Rotella or Delo 15w40 or the 5w40 synthetic variants.
wbjones
MegaDork
4/27/15 11:17 a.m.
it's a BMW … I thought that they all went … tapatapatapatapa …….
M1 0w40, run it year round.
Now I just have to find somewhere to buy this stuff. All the places I've been this week seem to have a limited selection.
Oh and thanks guys, for answering my noob question graciously 
Walmart (hate them all you want, but they've got a good oil aisle) generally stocks the 0w40, and the 15w50, for under $25 a jug.
I too run M1 0w40 Euro formula. Its like the only off-the-shelf oil here in the states thats bmw long-life approved, if that means anything to you.
FWIW, if you drill down into the specs of BMW's LL-01, you'll find it based largely on ACEA A3/B3, which is why I noted it in my previous response. That said, rigid adherence to specs is not always necessary, particularly when not also adhering to the ridiculous interval between changes. M1 0w40 is OK, but I've found to promote greater consumption than some of the other options, and it apparently shears down quite a lot with little use. If you insist on an M1 product, 5w40 TDT is probably a better choice and is available in the US (yes, even at Walmart).
I doubt the viscosity has anything to do with the lifter noise.
15w-40 or 20w-50
BMW used to "make" 15w-40 (Castrol product with BMW container). They've dropped Castrol and moved to Shell for their oil products, so no BMW 15w-40 on the dealer shelves for now.
02Pilot wrote:
M1 0w40 is OK, but I've found to promote greater consumption than some of the other options, and it apparently shears down quite a lot with little use.
Who told you that? I've run the stuff under pretty severe service and it stayed in grade, just barely, but it starts out a very light 40 (13.5 cST) to begin with. Never had a consumption issue with it myself, I guess the 0w might up it a little, along with being a light 40.
My UOA, this was a lot of Detroit city miles, many in winter. Many short trips in below 0 conditions. Flogging it often in the warmer months. The Toyota ZZ family are said to be hard on oil. Only lost 1.5 cSt.
http://i.imgur.com/1s3T4Ap.png
I saw the consumption increase myself, but that's admittedly a small sample size. I recall seeing more than one UOA over on BITOG (when I was trying to solve an oil-related issue and was poring over lots of data) that showed shearing down to something like 30w in M1 0w40 in a few thousand miles, IIRC. I don't have direct links to the data - sorry.
So... Some sort of 15w-40 might be ideal for an older 4 cylinder? It's a '92 with well over 100k on the engine. I'm not set on a specific brand. If I communicated that I didn't mean too. It's not a track car or anything like that. I know there's likely not one right answer that we'll all agree on so I'm just trying to get pointed in the right direction.
Do not put 0w oil in a motor that was not built for it. Use oil weight called for in owners manual for your model.
Lifter noise is caused either by wear or dirt in the lifter. My Dakota 4.7 (Mercedes/Daimler) motor with 190K miles on it has rattled the lifters on startup for years now. I'm not going to replace them until they break or I have another reason to be in there.
If its something you cant stand or is really obnoxious shop around for a new set of lifters. If it wear you cant fix them, if its dirt you can clean them. But very labor intensive, I would just install new lifters and use good (correct) oil from here forward.
With a motor that exhibits a propensity for lifter problems I would not use an oil with a higher than SJ rating. It needs the additives that have been removed from the modern oils. I'm guessing your 318 was built long before the advent of LE oils.
Shell Rotella T, Brad Penn, Royal Purple, Valvoline Racing, Silkolene, Honda GN4, no LE oils....
I don't think much of Mobile 1, I'd put Lucas oil in my junk before that doo doo.
0w oils are an engineering attempt to reduce emmissions, thinner oil less drag, easier warm ups.
But you are depending on the chemistry of the oil to work with the clearances and oil delivery system on a motor not designed for it.
On top of that a 0w oil is most likely a LE oil and not suitable for an older motor.
I wouldn't call a 318i an "old motor" in that sense, it has no design characteristics that necessitate older "non LE" chemistry. And in terms of the blessed "zddp" M1 0w40 has plenty of it, not that anything besides a pushrod V configuration engine generally needs it. Chemistry has nothing to do with clearances and delivery systems, viscosity does, a lower start up viscosity is superior, for reasons you mentioned and more. It's almost like starting the engine with preheated oil. If the technology existed to make a 0w40 oil in the 80s that wouldn't shear into water or turn to tar, BMW would have recommended that.
I hate the amount of superstition and witchcraft that surround lubrication, which is from the consumer standpoint, actually a very simple science.
