Hello, My 2003 D2 taps inconsistently at idle. At acceleration, tapping/ticking goes away. Engine has 135K, using 10w-40, added oil treatment but sometimes engine still taps at idle. When oil is at dipstick level at times it ticks/taps louder. Maybe I have the incorrect dipstick?
Help!!!

 

Try 15w40 Rotella, You need thicker oil unless your are in the Arctic.

 

Thank you Dave, will do.

 

What temperature do you run at? Do you have the 180 thermo or the inline kit installed?

 

Tapping at idle is typically the result of either low oil pressure (caused by walked cam bearing or broken oil pump) or slipped cylinder liner. Get an obd gauge to monitor temperatures, notice what temp the ticking starts at. A low temp thermostat might solve the problem if it is a slipped liner. An oil pressure test is relatively simple to do, you should have at least 15 at idle to keep it from ticking.

 

I have 180 a thermostat. Starts ticking about 15 minutes after startup.
Thank you.

 

Correction, stock thermostat.

 

You need more detail than that, get an OBD scan tool and look at teh exact temperature it starts tapping at. BTW, if you have a stock thermostat you are asking for trouble, read the inline thermostat mod post at the top of this forum.

 

I have exactly the same tick symptoms since I bought my Disco at 100k miles and I am now at 130k miles. 15W40, a 180F thermostat and an added oil cooler (oil runs 20 deg. F lower with that) didn't make this going away. Oil additives didn't make any difference. My oil pressure is OK (I have a permanent gauge). Changing the oil more frequently and using engine flush (LiquiMoly), every 2-3k miles, reduced the tick but doesn't make it going away. Since it doesn't have any impact on performance, hasn't caused trouble over the last 30k miles and it happens only when idling, I consider this as a cosmetic issue.

15W40 oil has about the same viscosity like 10W40 at operating temperature, the first number is only significant when cold.

 

Stock 180 has the engine running high 180's to mid 190's or higher. Sometimes the cylinder liner will not start ticking till 190 or so. An inline thermostat mod will drop the temps to the high 170's to low 180's with the 180 element and ten degrees below that with a 170 degree element. If you know the exact temperature it starts at you can determine if perhaps slightly colder might stop the ticking.