Bottom end

[Bunker]

I have devolped a loud tapping sound from my engine and the dude in the garage says he thinks its my bottom end. He wantsto charge me £180 (about $320) just to have a look and then the same again to fix it. Does anyone know if i can check the bottom end myself and if so how do i go about it....
cheers

 

[Kirby]

I'm not trying to be a wise ass, but if you have to ask the question about HOW to check the bottom end, you definitely can't do it yourself.

He's telling you that he thinks a crankshaft bearing or connecting rod bearing or similar has failed. Just to check this it involves pulling the oil pan off, which sometimes means pulling the engine, and looking for visual clues or measuring tolerances in the engine.

This is not the same as a water pump replacement or tune up.

 

[epj3]

Easy. You have the sohc m40 right? That motor is known for eating through cams/valvetrain components every 100k miles. I doubt it is in the bottom end.

 

[Bunker]

I've got a E30 318 i. I originally thought it was the tappets or the cam, but after being told wot i was told by the mechanic it sent me into a bit of a panic. There is still loads of power and pull in the car it just makes this bloddy loud tapping sound when i hit about 2500 revs. Is this a sign of wot it could be, I dont really want a huge bill to pull my engine out and then find out its not wot they said it was.

 

[epj3]

I highly doubt it's in the bottom end. Bottom end of those 4's are near bulletproof.

 

[nadroj]

mine ticks every now and then, its the valves they are loud do you have enough oil in there lol

 

[Bunker]

I had a crack in my sump (again) and lost a bit of oil although i kept topping it up.The valves have always made a noise since i got the car but this is a new noise, a lot louder.

 

[Bunker]

I have seen another 318 i for sale, its automatic, but the guy says it sounds as if you are riding the clutch in a manual car, he also said when this first started the car cut out and he had to wait 5 minutes before he could start it again. Any idea wot this could be because I might buy it. A mate of mine says it could be the torque converter ?? . Dont know anything bout automatics, could this be right.

Also, is it possible to put a manual gear box onto an automatic engine. (if it is i'll get a garage to do it)

 

[epj3]

I don't know, never heard a "riding the clutch" sound. Very easy to put a manual into an auto car, just not necessarily really cheap. But, probalby is fairly cheap.

 

[Bunker]

cool..thanx . i think i'll pick up the auto and stick my manual on it..