Please post your engine idle videos/sound

[LVP]

Looking to see if you guys have videos you can post of what normal idle sounds like for something at or near my mileage and specs. Specifically/ideally looking for 2004 4.4 idle sounds from the driver and passenger sides for an engine with approximately 185,000km on it. I'll get a cold start-up and warm idle video posted of mine so I have a baseline and to share with you guys. I've done a lot done to the top of the engine since I got it about a month ago, but I want to see if the noises I'm hearing are normal for the age or if I should be taking out another mortgage. The engine pulls consistently and well through all the ranges. I have to drain the tranny, do the filter/seal and reset it to hopefully get rid of the hard shift from 1-2 when going uber slow, but other than that, no issues. Other shifts are like butter, so I'm not terribly worried - yet .

Recent fixes include:
- water pump, gaskets, some coolant hoses, expansion tank, rad and flush
- idler pulleys
- ccv's (complete with bank 1 new valve cover and cold weather ccv relocate)
- valve cover seals, gaskets, o-rings
- intake gaskets
- coolant tube repair
- valley pan and gasket
- spark plugs, tubes
- fresh oil, filter
- air and cabin filter

Ton of other stuff non-engine area related, but the above should be all that affects the general engine bay area.

Stay tuned for my videos. Post yours if you have.

Cheers.

[beamertruck]

I can post up a video, if you want to quiet the engine a bit, run a bottle of the P.i. and our 5W-40 euro oil. difference is almost immediate. Also let me know if you want the transmission fluid and filter. I am running a nice spring time sale so you can cash in on phenomenal deals!

[LVP]

Here is a cold start idle. Getting the phone in there real close exacerbates the sound. Let me know if it sounds normal. Oil is at top of dipstick. If you open the oil fill cap, the noise/rattling on the passenger side gets louder.

BMW X5 2004 4.4 185,000km Idle - YouTube

Thanks.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by LVP

Here is a cold start idle. Getting the phone in there real close exacerbates the sound. Let me know if it sounds normal. Oil is at top of dipstick. If you open the oil fill cap, the noise/rattling on the passenger side gets louder.

BMW X5 2004 4.4 185,000km Idle - YouTube

Thanks.

I apologize if my posts concerning advertising irritate you. The problem is that there is no thread that is a good thread to get the issue addressed and it should be.

I think other videos will only confuse the issue further so I will stick to the videos you have posted. In the cold start video the left bank (the first bank) sounds normal to me. The right bank does not. By how sharp the noise becomes it sounds like it is coming from the middle of the right bank. Since I don't know what the temperature was or what oil you are using etc. I can't be sure it really is a problem and the second video with the engine up to operating temperature sounds normal.

I troubleshoot rather than speculate the core cause of an issue. My first check would be to see if/and how long it takes for the sound to go away from an idling cold start, no reving. The longer it takes the more likely a problem. In addition I would use an automotive stethoscope to pinpoint the loudest point to further narrow the cause possibilities. If you don't have one you can use a length of hose, anything with a hole through it, even a piece of metal that will carry the sound from the point of contact on the engine to your ear. Since sound travels so easily, once you have found where it seems the loudest and most crisp, move to all areas adjacent to that point to be sure you are at the right spot.

I think it would be very beneficial if you did another video. Start from a cold start--have someone else record the video so we can hear it just as it starts. Then record what it sounds like when the oil is at operating temperature. In both recordings do both sides of the of the engine and get close to the valve covers to eliminate as much wind noise as possible going front to back, back to front. Go very slow. In the cold start video it don't sound like you need to spend much time on the left bank since the noise seems far more prominent on the right.

[beamertruck]

thats because your releasing the pressure, can actually hydrolock the motor, so try not to remove the cap while its running if you dont have to, if you do only do so for a little while. Injectors on our 4.4s can get pretty loud with age, usually its due to build up, mine have been running decently quieter since ive started the Amsoil treatments. Nice thing is it will also bring oil consumption down if not eliminate it, since it also has Upper Cylinder Lubricant you eliminate the need for oil to have to go through. (little known fact behind oil consumption)

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by beamertruck

thats because your releasing the pressure, can actually hydrolock the motor, so try not to remove the cap while its running if you dont have to, if you do only do so for a little while. Injectors on our 4.4s can get pretty loud with age, usually its due to build up, mine have been running decently quieter since ive started the Amsoil treatments. Nice thing is it will also bring oil consumption down if not eliminate it, since it also has Upper Cylinder Lubricant you eliminate the need for oil to have to go through. (little known fact behind oil consumption)

Are you within the forum rules with all these sales pitches for Amsoil?

I certainly hope not as I think it is destructive to the intention of the forum and counterproductive to your goal.

[LVP]

I saw another video of the noise when the cap was opened, so I did it for a brief 2 sec and closed it. Didn't want to do it again just for a video.

As for oil, the last shop put in the 5w40 amsoil. What is the P.i.?

[beamertruck]

its the fuel adeditive, Performance Improver, It lubrciates the upper cylinder, pump and fuel lines, and does a deep clean of your valves, injectors and the combustion chambers. Its also used as emissions passer (had a friend who had a catalytic converter issue, ran the P.i. 3 months later without any issue or engine light). Good man! Next time buy from me and save :P

[beamertruck]

I just watched the video, unfortunately im not 100% since sometimes videos can actually make things sound worse then they are but you got quite the rattle there sounds like the timing chain, could just be piston slap, injectors maybe. does the rattle go away at all? get louder as your driving or just packed? Is it just on start up? do you get a ping every so often?

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by beamertruck

I just watched the video, unfortunately im not 100% since sometimes videos can actually make things sound worse then they are but you got quite the rattle there sounds like the timing chain

Agree. Having had the timing chain guide failure and heard the resulting noise, I will never ever forget that sound. It sounds like something in the timing chain system is not right and the chain is hitting something it should not. Check your oil filter for any metal shaving - another sign of chain hitting metal that it shouldn't.