I just got an '87 non-turbo. It's awesome. The engine is quiet, except for a persistent tick, tick, tick at a frequency of 3-5 ticks per second. Before I get, ticked off, is that anything to worry about?

My car ticked a lot, which i thought was badly adjusted valves, but was mostly the little rubber valve dampers under the cam followers. they were hard as rocks and didn't provide any damping anymore, so I replaced them for a buck or two each while replacing a valve spring a month or two back, and then engine has never sounded so wonderfully quiet! However, these aren't something that are a big deal, they just make a ticking noise. Oh, does your ticking noise speed up with the engine? if it doesn't, then ignore this...good luck
nate gundy
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'86 240DL, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, working on my valve spring compressor website...

You didn't specify the mileage on your car, but if it is high mileage, near 200K or above, you may need the valves adjusted. It really depends on how the car was treated whether or not the valves will have too much play in them, but it is a posibility. An easier way to tell is if it is starting to sound like a diesel engine.

The FI noise is normal, like was said.

Also, the b230 engine has a knock sensor which means there was a bit of piston slap engineered in the engine, for the reason I forgot, but a little slapping noise is normal, if it is really bad your knock sensor may need replacing.

Good luck
chuck
'88 244 170K
'87 BMW 325e 170K

.

they're a set of solenoids popping open and closed once every
engine revolution. Interestingly, all of the injectors squirt
in unison, not sequentially as one may assume.
.
-b.

I always wondered about that - why there was a single line coming out of the ECU to drive the injectors.

Can anyone explain the logic behind this? I would have thought that fuel would only get injected at the exact time the intake stroke was occurring. If there's no airflow directly in the path of the injector's jet while it is squirting, wouldn't the fuel simply hit the surface on the opposite side of the manifold?

the fuel actually hits the fairly toasty (not as hot as exhaust)
valves and vaporizes quickly.
.
-b.

Very few fuel injected engines pulse a squirt of fuel into the cylinder. Diesels and some old aircraft radial engines do this. No modern gas FI engines do this as far as I know. But I'm way behind the times. I mean, I drive a car that is almost 17 years old.
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It's Jim (in Hartford CT)

Sure, I believe Mitsu had a gasoline direct injection engine in their version of the 40 series (Charisma?).

- alex

'85 244 Turbo