stratman

Hello All,


I started my '13 C63 yesterday after having not driven it for one day and it made a tapping or ticking sound as if a lifter was flat. It never did this before and it as <2600 miles on it. After driving it a bit on the freeway and in town the noise was gone. Now I did take it to about 6800 rpm in third gear before shifting to fourth (in M mode) the day before it sat and I added a quart of 0-40 wt Mobile synthetic oil on the same day. The oil level is now midway between the upper and middle plastic indicators on the dip stick. I started it this AM with coolant temp @ 101F and oil at 93F there was no noise. Could it be that the oil drained out in the one day of sitting and the lifter just needed to pump up or is this a potentially bigger issue? Also, I'm assuming that the lifters are hydraulic is this correct?
Thanks for any and all input.

papashango

Well I can't really comment but the only thing I am thinking about is that I haven't driven my car in 2 1/2 weeks now and probably won't get a chance until this weekend. I hope it doesn't do anything stupid. I'll update here later if anything happens

I can tell you this though, my car has sat for a couple days before and when I started it up at that time, I didn't hear anything abnormal etc.

PkB2014

This happens sometimes. It's been discussed a few times before. I forget all the details, but you can search around the forum and read the info. It happened to mine early on as well, but only maybe 2-3 times since I've had it (9 months 9k miles). Went away after a few minutes. I can't remember the last time it happened, it's been a while. I'd think if it happened often then it could be an issue though.

m a x i m u s

stratman, this happened to me about a month ago. my oil was a smidge low, so I filled it up. happened again a week later. hasn't happened since though.

abcut973

Yeah common issue on our cars. Lifter would stay stuck causing that ticking noise. Once warm it will be gone.
When this happens I usually drive the car easy until oil temperature settles. Then I stomp on it

rage2

It's not just temperatures. You can idle the car for an hour the noise will still be there. You need to start the car up, and go for a drive with a bit of load on the engine. Don't have to floor it, but you need to load the engine up a bit.

whoover

There has also been a lot of discussion about 5W-40 Formula M ESP avoiding the ticking. Know that it's controversial because it's not clear what the mechanism would be or why the slight difference in cold viscosity between 0W-40 and 5W-40 would matter. But people have reported that it helps and my dealer only uses 5W-40.

Petakii63

Completely normal. Don't worry about it.

m a x i m u s

I use 5w40 esp formula m, and had ticking last month. so far the only 2 incidents of ticking I've had.

Petakii63

The reason for the ticking is because, when the car sits, the engine oil starts to bleed down from the lifters. This basically causes space between the camshaft lobes and lifters. The ticking is a soft metal hitting a harder metal. It's a common problem between all M156 engines.

Ingenieur

Pretty much all engines with hydraulic lifters do it
Normal
Depending on how long it sits and how many ports align when it spins down after shutdown (random) the more pronounced when restarted

I like to use a can of lubro-moly moto-flush every other change to control sludge which can increase pump up time

-Marlin-

Happened to me. Not worried about it. Common issue that seems to be inherent in the engine design.

I'm ok with it......until it breaks. Then I'm pissed.

HardC63

Yep!

Common and totally normal.

Speaking of oil, as far as my car (2009), I swear I must have some tight rings seal or something because the car is driven daily (~ 70 miles) round trip and it has not used one bit of oil.

I changed the oil with M1 0w-40 in mid April and the oil level reading stays right on the upper marking of the dipstick...it hasn't move from there.

I kid you not, I've been checking it every Sunday night in preparation for the upcoming week drive since mid May and she has been reading the same level every time.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Petakii63

My car also doesn't burn oil. I have the weistec oil and air separator and it hasn't collected any oil either. Just smells like fumes. It also depends how you drive it. If you redline it ever chance you get I'm sure you would burn some of it off. I also change my oil every 5k miles. And, I use 5w-40.

HardC63

Hmmm, okay. I don't her like miss daisy...that's for sure. Like you, I change it ~5K no IF's and BUT's about it. I use 0w-40 M1 oil.

I also let the oil warm up every time...in the AM, I go to the garage to crank it; letting her run while I'm getting my few last things (2 mins or so of idle) then drive away. And if I romp on it, it happens after oil temps reaches 176 or higher.

Ingenieur

I used <1 qt in 6500 miles which I consider to be great
A lot of short in town trips
And the diameter of the pistons x 8, relatively high comp ratio and revs pretty high which all contribute to oil consumption

m a x i m u s

interesting. how many miles have you been running the air oil separator?

Petakii63

I installed it on my last oil change. Have about a 1400 miles logged with it now. I keep checking it every so often. Not a drop. Just smells like exhaust fumes.

Ingenieur

The car has an efficient pvc system from the factory
They pay particularly good attention to it because it impacts the emission numbers
They want to avoid burning oil

t4orce

My car does this after sitting around not having been driven for a few days. I was concerned as well after reading a thread on this issue. Now I realise it's just normal and stops after driving for a bit.

Tinbucket

Mine doesn't tick but it roars, at half throttle on. Could something be wrong? People look at you.

m a x i m u s

I have the AOS also, but was wondering if we even needed it at all. kinda late for that now, tho.

m a x i m u s

do you know of the pcv valve vents to the atmosphere at all? wondering if it's a bad idea to have it jammed up into the firewall insulation with the catch can hoses in place.

Ingenieur

most modern ones are closed system
that is why a loose connection causes a vaccum leak

kimeran

Something is definitely wrong there.

Had the lifter noise issue once, used the car more often and never heard it again.
Seems to be a common issue