Coins in a cat tubo? 65kmiles?

[shah269]

Googling “That odd sound from your BMW” is like going to your doctor’s office for a slight headache…reading WebMD while in the waiting room and thinking you are going to die of cancer!
So here is the thing, car has 65k miles on it. BONE STOCK! I drive about 25 miles each way to work. I push the car..maybe once a month.
And every now and then when I pull the car into the garage I hear this….like 4 quarters in a tin can sound from the right side of the car…no code no hard idel….what do I do?
Should I go to BMW and say look the car has 65k miles on it and this warrantee dies at 80k…give me new turbos? I tried recording it but the phone…just didn’t get it and as I said it’s intermittent. I get it one day out of maybe 10.
Thoughts?

[froop]

Sounds like something is loose. Wastegate rattle?

[edisapimp]

Are there any quarters under the car after you shut it off?

Right side front, rear? Is it getting worse? More frequent?

You can go to BMW and tell them to give you new turbos.. but they don't have to listen.

[cheshirecat79]

This sounds exactly like wastegate rattle.

[Zombie1]

i got the same thing car still holding boost, does in every now and then.

[shah269]

This sounds exactly like wastegate rattle....but it's holding boost and no code?
The theck when i was there last week for a valve cover check told me "You should come in in two weeks and say that the car is making an odd sound around the turbos and we will find a way to get you new turbos...." i was like..."HUH? WTF?"
So.....yeah i hear it...i can't record it...the car doesn't show it....so i'll go in a week or two and say....Hey the car is making an odd sound when i pull into the garage and it's comming from the right hand side and for the love of me i can't freaking record it and it's not throwing a code.

[Lmaiuri]

IMO you should sound educated when you go back to the dealer and tell them you know the story of the N54 and the common leaky/worn wastegate turbo situation and the campaign that BMW opened to fix the situation. Get the shop foreman involved if need be. I would first test drive it with him and then have them remove the belly pan and take a look at the waste gates. I got mine covered for free with no problem around 73k because I was intermittently shooting blue smoke out of my exhaust. Couldn't replicate the issue, but if a trained BMW tech looks at the turbo, they're going to notice the waste gate looks like Ava Devine's twat.

[shah269]

blue smoke out of my exhaust...yeah i'm getting that every now and the...holy poop thanks bro! no wonder he was telling me to bring it back in. I'll have it in next week. =)
thanks guys!

[edisapimp]

Originally Posted by Lmaiuri

Couldn't replicate the issue, but if a trained BMW tech looks at the turbo, they're going to notice the waste gate looks like Ava Devine's twat.

BURSTED out laughing.

[shah269]

i'm going to go but i feel really messed up....i can't replicate the sound or the blue smoke 100% of the time? i hope they don't laugh me out of the freaking room!
It is a 09 with 65k miles on her.

[Lmaiuri]

Originally Posted by shah269

i'm going to go but i feel really messed up....i can't replicate the sound or the blue smoke 100% of the time? i hope they don't laugh me out of the freaking room!
It is a 09 with 65k miles on her.

My bro, it's a well documented issue that everyone and their brother knows about. They've been doing n54 jobs for the past 6 years at the dealership. If you're blowing blue smoke out of the exhaust it means that your turbo seals are definitely leaking; and they'll find evidence of that. They'll also find that your waste gates are rattling. That means your turbos are really going to hell. I only had a leaky turbo, my wastegates weren't shot.

[shah269]

ok well i'll go next week when i have time...darn this job thing ;-)
But yeah...i hope they understand when i say
"oil changes every 5k miles and now i'm getting a rattle and blue smoke...and i'm worried can you take a look?"

[Reapur]

Originally Posted by shah269

ok well i'll go next week when i have time...darn this job thing ;-)
But yeah...i hope they understand when i say
"oil changes every 5k miles and now i'm getting a rattle and blue smoke...and i'm worried can you take a look?"

Don't say anything that doesn't pertain to the waste gate rattle. Don't mention your service intervals or anything.

Just tell them you have waste gate rattle and some blue smoke. Tell them to diagnose the problem and go from there. Do not mention anything unnecessary. Just remember when dealing with warranty anything you say can be used against you, especially when you're not following the prescribed service schedule.

If they offer to update the waste gate duty cycle to fix the problem, decline it because your throttle response and drivability will suffer. But hey the noise will be gone!

WG rattle will not hurt performance at all, just an annoying noise.

[shah269]

Thank you....but wow is this silly or what!
Why does VW have this figured out and big BMW can't figure out turbos?

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by shah269

i'm going to go but i feel really messed up....i can't replicate the sound or the blue smoke 100% of the time? i hope they don't laugh me out of the freaking room!
It is a 09 with 65k miles on her.

They will be able to check the wastegates themselves when the car is up on a lift. Bring it over and don't be shy about it. It's a *very* well-documented issue that's covered on your vehicle. You deserve the fix. Don't feel like you're trying to get something out of the dealer that they shouldn't cover.