Clackity-clack on cold start-up
 

2000 4.4 with 125K. Sometimes, not always, I get a lot of clackity-clack lifter noise on cold start-up. My indy says don't worry, it's just the oil pick-up delay. My Hungarian mechanic friend says it's because my indy used a non-OEM oil filter last change which does not have the little gizmo that prevents all of the oil from draining down into the lower pan. Opinions on who is correct?

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The filter is just a cartridge that had no valving, but it could also be noise from the vanos. Likely the best way to get to the bottom of the noise is to get away from the guesses of indys that don't know all the ins and outs of BMW systems and bring it to the dealer for proper diagnosis. At least the techs there are trained on the BMW specific systems and have all the resources/special tools for isolating and diagnosing the weird problems.

I saw the trick of using a smaller oil filter(NOT cartridge) to reduce lifter noise on start up.
Would be cheaper to first try the OEM route to disprove your Hungarian mechanic friend.

Like Weasel said could be vanos related

Ah, another time that vanos can add noise and irritation to my life :-) My M3 had a similar issue, but it didn't go away once the engine ran for 2 seconds. I have a great aftermarket warranty that has been a life saver so I think I'll roll this one out on the dealership and see what they make of it.

Who is this aftermarket warranty company and why do you think they're grrrreat?

whats the name of aftermarket warranty?

my 2001 740i (same engine as your 4.4 - M62TU) started having the same problem at 135k. My friend who's a BMW Tech says that its normal with that engine at the age/mileage. Its just a slight loss in pressure seal in the engine somewhere so the valves are low of oil at startup. If it goes away in 1-2 secs then its normal and should not be bad. I usually get this after it sits 12-24 hrs.

Jaypete1, your Hungarian friend is correct. The use of non-OEM filters ABSOLUTELY causes this cold-start metal-on-metal contact for the first 10 seconds or so which results in the noise you've described. I've posted on this before, it's simply not worth any monetary savings by going with non-BMW branded oil filters. I also recommend BMW-only fluids for the cooling system and transmission at a minimum. Good luck!

Hey Dygital - you stole my favorite picture that I use as my desktop background ;-)

Switch to heaver oil....the valves need a certain weight to pump up at first. Not uncommon, my 540ith 200K does it for the first few min then goes away.

Hi All, sorry for the delay. The warranty is through Zurich bank and used to be called something else. Either way I got it when I bought the X5 years ago at a MB dealer. The have been great about coverage and the deductable has been an honest $100. I highly recommend them.

With a spin-on filter, which normally should contain an anti-drain-back valve, that would make sense. However, the cartridge filter on this model does not have an anti-drain-back valve, so I don't understand why the filter itself would cause this cold start noise.

I am a fan of OEM filters, as often filters from the same manufacturer have different micron specs for filter media, or slightly different specs that do impact performance. I just don't get it with this particular problem.

Question for you Weasel. Is there not an anti-drain-back valve in the oil filter housing? If so, could it not be tired/worn and a cause of this noise? The valve appears to be part of the housing, and not serviceable by itself, but it fits with the symptom. Just wondering if you have come across this before.

I had that very same thought about there either being a valve in the housing or the o-rings in the housing being hard / worn.

There is a valve in the housing... I haven't taken the valve itself apart just to see the design yet (as I have had the housings off many times for gasket leaks on the I6 motors) But I suspect a simple steel ball bearing/spring pressure into seat setup. And I don't care how good the valve is, it won't keep oil pressure in the engine. All it does is keep oil in the filter housing from draining down. I would usually suspect the individual components like the vanos, timing chain tensioner, HVA units (hydrolic valve adjusters, [lifters]), etc. bleeding down. Mainly I would suspect that the vanos units could have the oil bleeding out overnight allowing movement/clatter in them until they are pumped up again a few seconds after startup.

What weight oil do you use to make it go away? 10W30?

This is what my tech buddy told me happens as the engine ages.