Sylvester

Member
Good day all.. This is a list of things I've done to my car. Then I will ask if the sounds and the way my engine is acting is normal.

List:
Heads rebuilt and resurfaced.
New head gaskets- installed 22ft lbs and two 80 degree turns
New lifters(32)
New PCV and hose to valve cover
New oil Separator
New battery
New alternator and drive belts
New radiator and hoses
New water pump and valley pan gasket
New timing chain kit and timed with a Vanos timing kit.
New cam sensors
New spark plugs .
With that being said, the engine started right up, no apparent leaks. 9qts of synthetic oil before starting and BMW coolant (Blue). I torqued everything according to the manual specs. I turned the steering wheel left and right to clear the air suspension fault. No error/faults showed when left running for an hour. But there is a slight ticking noise and white smoke coming from exhaust. I not sure after such extensive work if this normal and there a period of time where these will correct themselves. Please advise?
 
Did you prelube the lifters in oil first?
You bathe them in oil and squeeze them a few times to get oil into them.
Could be burning off residue in the cylinders!
I hope so...:eek:
 
They would be covered in oil for transport reasons - to prevent then corroding.

They may need to be primed before fitting - that being said, they should pump up after a few minutes of fast idle running....priming them prevents loose-ness on first engine start up, but should pump up afterwards.
 
@holidaychicken did you rebuild yours?
I didn't replace my lifters, I did all the vanos and guides but didn't get as far as the heads.
Ticking could well be a lifter that hasn't bled itself as Saint says, there is a procedure for this but as it involves revving the engine at 3000 rpm for a number of minutes and repeating i wouldn't be doing that with white smoke coming from the exhaust which is normally a sign of coolant being burnt as in leaking headgasket.

Did you replace the vanos units or reseal them as they are generally a cause of start up rattle and knocking / diesel noise when the engine is warm ?

I have read about headgaskets leaking after they have been changed so you need to verify if you have excessive pressure or hydrocarbons in your header tank, lack of compression etc.
 
A ticking noise could be a leak on the exhaust manifold - can sound just like a tappet.
The white smoke is more of a worry. Are you losing any coolant?
 
Could be a faulty injector ticking and letting fuel in when it shouldn't thus it coming out as white smoke?
 
I changes the head gasket because I had an oil leak and couldn't find it. Turns out the head gasket failed cylinders1-4. I put new exhaust manifold gaskets on. I had the vanos rebuilt. I'm not getting any timing errors (it was advanced before I replaced the heads and head gasket. I have to go get it pressure tested?
 
I started it and let it sit idle for an hour and it smoked. I just took it out and got it up to 60 mph. I'm going to take it on the freeway tonight when its less traffic. I'm getting no error/fault codes. I have the RSW diagnostic software. the engine seems tight, maybe that's to be expected. I suppose I have to break it in.
 
It's the smoke we are all interested in, i suppose you could have condensation in the exhaust if it has been sitting around but that should disappear.
Keep an eye on your coolant level and these engines can be a pain to bleed the coolant correctly.
 
Smell it.....

Sweet smell is coolant, acrid is unburnt fuel, oil is easy to smell.....
 

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