[Dtheking87]

So just a quick question here. I change my oil every 3-3500 miles and usually use liquimoly but I forgot to order the stuff last payday and was getting over the 3k I like to change it at, so I got the Castrol euro car blend and filter but there’s a very slight feint tick coming from the bottom end by the headers. Never noticed it before when running liquimoly. So I guess I’m just wondering if when I change the oil again in 3k with liquimoly do y’all think it’ll go away? Or if it’s even an engine tick with me only hearing it by the headers could it be some sort of exhaust tick? There’s zero ticks when I rev it up or am driving so I’m leaning towards it could be that. No engine lights or engine issues 2010 328i n52

[Efthreeoh]

Save yourself some money and make sure you use a MANN HU-816x oil filter, BMW LL01 spec oil and change your interval up 3x.

Changing oil in a modern car at 3,000 miles is unnecessary. On the N52, using the OE or OEM filter is the critical protocol to follow.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Dtheking87

So just a quick question here. I change my oil every 3-3500 miles and usually use liquimoly but I forgot to order the stuff last payday and was getting over the 3k I like to change it at, so I got the Castrol euro car blend and filter but there’s a very slight feint tick coming from the bottom end by the headers. Never noticed it before when running liquimoly. So I guess I’m just wondering if when I change the oil again in 3k with liquimoly do y’all think it’ll go away? Or if it’s even an engine tick with me only hearing it by the headers could it be some sort of exhaust tick? There’s zero ticks when I rev it up or am driving so I’m leaning towards it could be that. No engine lights or engine issues 2010 328i n52

The N52 is known as a bit of a noisy engine. There's a sticky posting on it. It's probably always been there, but you're looking for it now, so noticed it. Confirmation bias. At your next change, why don't you send a sample to Blackstone and check the wear. Then ask them how long an interval you should be going with. Will probably provide some peace of mind. As a random non-metalurgist nor petroleum engineer on the internet, I've found 10k intervals with the proper oil & filter (see Efthreeoh above) works just fine.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

The N52 is known as a bit of a noisy engine. There's a sticky posting on it. It's probably always been there, but you're looking for it now, so noticed it. Confirmation bias. At your next change, why don't you send a sample to Blackstone and check the wear. Then ask them how long an interval you should be going with. Will probably provide some peace of mind. As a random non-metalurgist nor petroleum engineer on the internet, I've found 10k intervals with the proper oil & filter (see Efthreeoh above) works just fine.

Yup, the OP has BMWitis. It's a form of OCD, but the letters are in the correct order...

[eljay]

I came here to read about how protect your BMW from getting lime disease after an oil change.

... and I leave disappointed.

[autoAER]

I find that switching to a heavier weight oil reduces or eliminates the ticking, but I also see that some N52’s have the “tick” no matter what, and others do not. My old E90 330i had a loud tick no matter what I did, but my current 330i has no tick I wouldn’t worry too much unless you notice a change in engine behavior. Change oil with a quality oil and an OEM filter every 8-10k miles and you’re already better than 99% of BMW owners

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by autoAER

I find that switching to a heavier weight oil reduces or eliminates the ticking, but I also see that some N52’s have the “tick” no matter what, and others do not. My old E90 330i had a loud tick no matter what I did, but my current 330i has no tick I wouldn’t worry too much unless you notice a change in engine behavior. Change oil with a quality oil and an OEM filter every 8-10k miles and you’re already better than 99% of BMW owners

Early production N52 had a lifter tick as a known issue. BMW issued a TSB on it and would replace cylinderheads if the owner was troubled by it. There was no associated engine damage with the noise. BMW did redesign the head to eliminate the noise on later production N52.

Internal combustion engines make noises because they are machines with moving parts within.

I've seen an N52 with a 12,400-mile lifetime OCI, with several individual intervals as high as 18,672 miles. It still runs like a scalded dog.