[SCM2C]

Hello Everyone, I thought I might get on here and share my expirience with the S55 ticking noise. To me, I didn’t really notice it at first until winter came and the temperatures were in the 50’s. I searched the forums to find I wasn’t the only one with the issue. I found many things on either side of the story. Some people got it fixed, some people didn’t and some claimed it’s how the engine is supposed to sound. Most of what I found was the issue was with the torque specs on the exhaust camshaft from factory. I didn’t accept it as fact but still took it into BMW for what would be my first of many headaches with the dealer. The foreman and the M performance mechanic both told me they couldn’t hear a noise, telling me that if anything it was the injectors (It isn’t). So they tried to send me on my way after paying my diagnostic fee of course. I wasn’t satisfied with this so I pushed and got the foreman to come on a little ride along with me and he finally acknowledged the metallic flutter when I let off the gas and said it was faint and a non concern, he even acknowledged the tick at idle. I asked him to look it over for another day and he did. I then got a call saying they were going to attempt to solve the issue (why haven’t they been from the beginning?) they kept the car for a total of 3 weeks and I heard very little. The only thing they were able to come up with as possible issues was that it could have been the lifters but they told me they didn’t need to fix it because “It’s a noise problem and not a mechanical problem” (yes, they said this) and the car runs fine. Under my warranty the dealer would not fix the car unless it was a “mechanical issue.” They told me it’s fine now but sometime down the line the car is going to need a new engine, not in the next year though. I then collected my car, and took it to 2 independent euro shops that both told me they could hear the noise but have never heard of it causing catastrophic damage to the engine. I got some quotes and a 4th specialist 5 hours away told me he’s heard of the issue and I might as well get the crank hub done since retorquing the bolts on the exhaust cam would be part of the process. I got some quotes for this all ranging from 3-6k. Broken out it looks like labor for the camshaft fix is more or less $1,000 and parts are about $200 in the southeastern USA. It took me 3.5 months 4,200 miles on my odometer and 4 shops to get this information. (Ask your local BMW Facebook pages for help earlier on.) literally one day later, I saw a post on M2 Owners Facebook page that layed out the cause and the fix. (Will link at the end). I sent the post to the owner of an independent shop nearby and he said he’s fixed that before. (now all of a sudden everyone knows about this?) I took the car in today. He heard it IMMEDIATELY when I started the vehicle and knew the issue, and already began repairs. This expirience has taught me 3 things; 1. Im relentless and annoying. 2. Go to a mechanic you trust the first time or ask other people in the community for one. 3. This game isn’t about the issue at all. It’s about what questions you ask and how you ask them.

During this whole endeavor I did change the oil and no shavings or debris were found. If you have this issue, yes it’s annoying and yes it’s going to suck but wait until you find the right person to fix it properly. It deserves to be well sorted. Your car shouldn’t spontaneously combust. Heck, if it were up to my local techs at BMW I’d still be driving around with the tick after they had 3 weeks to rectify it.

I will update accordingly if anything changes in the process but if I don’t, assume everything went as planned.

Let me know your expirience.

Here’s the link to the Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/JqsPk...ibextid=WC7FNe

YouTube Vid I found helpful:

A final word to my out of warranty friends:
It’s not the end of the world, you can afford the fix and there are good people out there that want to help you fix it. Your job is just to find them. Smile, you drive an M car. Good luck!

[SCM2C]

Here’s the post literature in case the link doesn’t work for anyone: We had this lovely BMW M2C in due to hearing a rattle from the top end of the engine when cold. ⁠
⁠
This is a common issue with the S55 engine, it comes from factory as the bolts which hold the exhaust camshaft and carrier come loose from the cylinder head as they haven't been torqued correctly. This allows the camshaft to rattle inside the carrier. ⁠
⁠
After removing and inspecting the camshaft and carrier, there was no major wear found so we resolved the rattle by carrying out a camshaft alignment, using genuine BMW tools. ⁠
⁠
Due to the strip down required to carry out this job, the customer opted to carry out a crank hub fix at the same time. Another common fault on the S55 is that they like to spin the crank hub and cause major engine damage 😩 To prevent this happening, we fitted an Insane Performance 4 pin one piece crank hub. ⁠
⁠
We recommend carrying this out to any S55 engined vehicle such as F8X M2C, M3 & M4. We do this because, even on a stock vehicle the crank hub isn't locked to the crankshaft and the gears on the crank hub are free to spin. If the crank bolt becomes loose or the friction washer between the gears of the crank hub break it will allow the crank hub to spin and cause excessive engine damage. Once you tune one these vehicles, there's more pressure put on the crank with harsh gear changes and harder driving - this job is a must if you plan to go stage one with an F8X model. ⁠(J&A Automotive, 2024)

[SCM2C]

Pic of the S55 Top End for those curious

[SCM2C]

FIRST UPDATE:

After taking apart the Top end mechanics easily saw that the issue was with the bolts on the exhaust cam. There was significant scoring on the cam and the car is either going to get a new engine or cylinder heads. So turns out this is a bigger issue than I initially thought. I think if you catch it early enough you should be okay but It’s definitely best to get it checked. Will keep this thread updated with prices and such when I know more.

[chmura]

Attach pictures of the said bolts and scoring.

[Delm2c]

Originally Posted by SCM2C

Hello Everyone, I thought I might get on here and share my expirience with the S55 ticking noise. To me, I didn’t really notice it at first until winter came and the temperatures were in the 50’s. I searched the forums to find I wasn’t the only one with the issue. I found many things on either side of the story. Some people got it fixed, some people didn’t and some claimed it’s how the engine is supposed to sound. Most of what I found was the issue was with the torque specs on the exhaust camshaft from factory. I didn’t accept it as fact but still took it into BMW for what would be my first of many headaches with the dealer. The foreman and the M performance mechanic both told me they couldn’t hear a noise, telling me that if anything it was the injectors (It isn’t). So they tried to send me on my way after paying my diagnostic fee of course. I wasn’t satisfied with this so I pushed and got the foreman to come on a little ride along with me and he finally acknowledged the metallic flutter when I let off the gas and said it was faint and a non concern, he even acknowledged the tick at idle. I asked him to look it over for another day and he did. I then got a call saying they were going to attempt to solve the issue (why haven’t they been from the beginning?) they kept the car for a total of 3 weeks and I heard very little. The only thing they were able to come up with as possible issues was that it could have been the lifters but they told me they didn’t need to fix it because “It’s a noise problem and not a mechanical problem” (yes, they said this) and the car runs fine. Under my warranty the dealer would not fix the car unless it was a “mechanical issue.” They told me it’s fine now but sometime down the line the car is going to need a new engine, not in the next year though. I then collected my car, and took it to 2 independent euro shops that both told me they could hear the noise but have never heard of it causing catastrophic damage to the engine. I got some quotes and a 4th specialist 5 hours away told me he’s heard of the issue and I might as well get the crank hub done since retorquing the bolts on the exhaust cam would be part of the process. I got some quotes for this all ranging from 3-6k. Broken out it looks like labor for the camshaft fix is more or less $1,000 and parts are about $200 in the southeastern USA. It took me 3.5 months 4,200 miles on my odometer and 4 shops to get this information. (Ask your local BMW Facebook pages for help earlier on.) literally one day later, I saw a post on M2 Owners Facebook page that layed out the cause and the fix. (Will link at the end). I sent the post to the owner of an independent shop nearby and he said he’s fixed that before. (now all of a sudden everyone knows about this?) I took the car in today. He heard it IMMEDIATELY when I started the vehicle and knew the issue, and already began repairs. This expirience has taught me 3 things; 1. Im relentless and annoying. 2. Go to a mechanic you trust the first time or ask other people in the community for one. 3. This game isn’t about the issue at all. It’s about what questions you ask and how you ask them.

During this whole endeavor I did change the oil and no shavings or debris were found. If you have this issue, yes it’s annoying and yes it’s going to suck but wait until you find the right person to fix it properly. It deserves to be well sorted. Your car shouldn’t spontaneously combust. Heck, if it were up to my local techs at BMW I’d still be driving around with the tick after they had 3 weeks to rectify it.

I will update accordingly if anything changes in the process but if I don’t, assume everything went as planned.

Let me know your expirience.

Here’s the link to the Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/JqsPk...ibextid=WC7FNe

YouTube Vid I found helpful:

A final word to my out of warranty friends:
It’s not the end of the world, you can afford the fix and there are good people out there that want to help you fix it. Your job is just to find them. Smile, you drive an M car. Good luck!

This my car that’s was fixed at J&A I’m glad sharing my garage post was helpful

[SCM2C]

Originally Posted by chmura

Attach pictures of the said bolts and scoring.

I’ll see what I can do

[SCM2C]

Originally Posted by chmura

Attach pictures of the said bolts and scoring.

here is some of the scoring. I’m not a mechanic but it looks pretty gnarly to me.

[David1]

Replace the caps that are the worst and install the new bolts and move on. I have seen worse. I can polish that cam (and the caps except for the one pictured) in the head in less than an hour. Your not going to spend 5k to 10k to make it perfect. Something else happened to that motor to do that kind of scoring on that one cap.

[Yngdubu]

I was literally about to sign papers on a 2020 m2comp and I somehow see this post. Do I abort ship? LOL. I was going to buy the extended warranty 6yrs/75k miles. Someone chime in, please.

[nismosao]

Originally Posted by Yngdubu

I was literally about to sign papers on a 2020 m2comp and I somehow see this post. Do I abort ship? LOL. I was going to buy the extended warranty 6yrs/75k miles. Someone chime in, please.

You're fine. This is literally the first case I have seen of this.

[SCM2C]

Originally Posted by Yngdubu

I was literally about to sign papers on a 2020 m2comp and I somehow see this post. Do I abort ship? LOL. I was going to buy the extended warranty 6yrs/75k miles. Someone chime in, please.

Mine is a 2020. I’d watch the above vid and make sure it isn’t making the tick. Drive it with the windows down and listen for noises. I’m still keeping the car after this, I absolutely love it. There’s plenty of S55s in the older M4 and M3s that are high mileage, as far as I know they are pretty stout engines and can handle quite a lot of power on stock internals. It is important to remember, however, that it is not a Toyota or Honda. They are expensive to fix, and expensive to maintain. If you can stomach that buy it but use your own judgement. I knew what I was signing up for when I bought the car.

[Yngdubu]

Originally Posted by SCM2C

Mine is a 2020. I’d watch the above vid and make sure it isn’t making the tick. Drive it with the windows down and listen for noises. I’m still keeping the car after this, I absolutely love it. There’s plenty of S55s in the older M4 and M3s that are high mileage, as far as I know they are pretty stout engines and can handle quite a lot of power on stock internals. It is important to remember, however, that it is not a Toyota or Honda. They are expensive to fix, and expensive to maintain. If you can stomach that buy it but use your own judgement. I knew what I was signing up for when I bought the car.

Thank you, man. There's something about how the m2c drives it just can't be replicated. I was close to buying a supra but the m2comp to me just feels soo good. So I can't understand where you are coming from. First BMW so I was a bit nervous seeing this.

[SCM2C]

Originally Posted by Yngdubu

Thank you, man. There's something about how the m2c drives it just can't be replicated. I was close to buying a supra but the m2comp to me just feels soo good. So I can't understand where you are coming from. First BMW so I was a bit nervous seeing this.

To me it’s unmatched. I was also between the two. It was the 718, supra, M2C or GT350. Not once have I questioned if I bought the wrong car.

[Yngdubu]

Originally Posted by SCM2C

To me it’s unmatched. I was also between the two. It was the 718, supra, M2C or GT350. Not once have I questioned if I bought the wrong car.

Love to hear it brother. Signed the paper work, waiting on seller to sign and we're golden.

[SCM2C]

Originally Posted by SCM2C

No pics of the bolts but here is some of the scoring. I’m not a mechanic but it looks pretty gnarly to me.

So in conclusion, I am getting a new engine… opting for a built variant instead. Comes with a bunch of performance goodies that should improve the longevity this time (I hope).

[chris719]

I suspect this is far more common than people know of. Not catastrophic, but could be an issue over time.

[SCM2C]

Not the best pics but some of the new pics of the (new) built engine from the shop. My engine is built, all the cp Carrillo forged parts are in, SSR 4pin crankhub is installed as well. I believe anything that wasn’t sourced from CP was sourced from APR? Not totally sure tbh until the final parts list but also going with some bolt on goodies while the engine is out, no fueling changes for me this time. Install should be late next week. Timeline for me was about a month for everything to be built and ship. New engine is rated for about 1100 hp if any of yall are looking to up your strength.

[m2ss]

Originally Posted by chris719

I suspect this is far more common than people know of. Not catastrophic, but could be an issue over time.

Is this "ticking" sound only on start up or at all times even when warmed up?

I have to check...

[SCM2C]

Originally Posted by m2ss

Here is my car on start up, don't hear any clear ticking but what do I know...is it about to blow? lol

That’s sounds fine. Just injectors. Mine was very pronounced and rhythmic.

[m2ss]

Originally Posted by SCM2C

That’s sounds fine. Just injectors. Mine was very pronounced and rhythmic.

Just compared it to the video you uploaded and you are correct, clear distinctive clicking sound in his video.

Will have to keep an ear out going forward...

[Fred Conoway]

I have been following this thread along with the other threads that have been posted about this same issue. Unfortunately, I did start to notice a very faint ticking over the weekend, but wasn't able to verify it until last night when I was messing around in the garage and popped the hood. Mine isn't as loud/pronounced as in the link in the original post, but it is definitely a distinct noise that is different than the injectors, a sound that I am very familiar with after owning a couple turbo BMWs. Will have to get this checked out by the dealer before my warranty is up.

For the questions about when this occurs, I could hear it about minute or two after cold start once the revs drop to 800rpm then 600rpm. It's not very noticeable until that point.

Will provide an update when I get mine diagnosed.