Re: E36 318is annoying engine

[Herman Chan <hermanc2@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> My 93 318is with 75k miles has started making a metallic "chickety,
> chickety, chickety" noise while idling for about the first five minutes
> after a cold start. It seems to go away if I rev it up, but will return
> as it drops back to idle. After the 5 minute warmup, it completely goes
> away. It sounds likes it's coming from the general direction of the
> fan/belts sorta near the AC compressor. Does this sound familiar to
> anyone?
>
> Thanks very much, Andy Bommersbach...

Sounds like the timing chain tensioner is due to be replaced.  They 
are often replaced when the profile gasket repair is done, since the 
original old-style tensioners don't do too well after being removed 
and reinstalled.

(With 75k, the profile gasket should have expired already.  If not, 
you're living on borrowed time.  Expect it to go soon.)

If you're reasonably handy, the tensioner replacement isn't terribly 
hard to do yourself.

Herman

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