Engine Grind/Tick Noise
 

Hello,

I have a 2015 F Type R.

I just took it for an oil change, and when I turned the engine back in the guy said it sounded like I had a cam belt problem..

There’s no light and I’d have no idea otherwise, but I just hit 100k miles.

Is anyone familiar with this light grinding-like noise? Or has any idea what it could be/should I worry?

Best regards!

Was the oil underfilled or overfilled? My 2005 BMW Z4 coupe sounded like that when it had valve lifter issues due to the known vanos issue at that time (oil starvation).

Engine oil level says OK.. but it’s at the very top end of the range

I'd draw some out and watch the gauge... if it's pegged at the top, it could be any amount higher than that.

There's a scene in the movie "Chernobyl", where they dismissed radiation readings because the monitor only read "3.5." Someone then pointed out that that's as high as the monitor can read...

"The guy" has no clues, the AJ133 doesn't have a cam belt it has timing chains, I would get another mechanic to listen to it.

The F-Type oil level read out is supposed to show/say "overfilled" if it is in fact over filled, and most reports (and in my experience as well) say it is fairly sensitive to being overfilled and will read/say overfilled at the drop of a hat. The gauge / read out is not infallible but I have never read of anyone reporting a read out of "OK" when in fact it is over filled.

Sounds like lifter tick to me.
The AJ133 is very "ticky" anyway mainly due to the fuel injectors (very high pressure) but they all have a bit of lifter tick even when new although this tick is louder than it should be.
Are you sure "the guy" used the correct oil, especially the correct weight?
Maybe he used oil of too high a viscosity so it's not getting to the lifters properly.

The service document says Mobil 5W30, not Castrol, but other than that it looks good “I believe.”

The car is driving great and everything out of the exhaust sounds good.

Do you think this is an urgent issue? Sounds like a possible minor imperfection that may not lead to any major problem, if I’m understanding correctly..

holy shit.. this thing takes 5W20..? How can oil change people get this wrong.. they need to do ONE THING.

5W-30 is not right but it should be OK, maybe a little thick at cold start and it could possibly be the cause of the tappet noise especially on an older R. If it is tappet noise caused by too thick oil it should quieten down a fair bit as the engine warms up, easy enough to test. The specified oil is 0W-20 or the older spec 5W-20 at a pinch.
As I said before get another shop/mechanic to listen to it, a decent one and not the muppet who talked about cam belts.

Thank you. I appreciate the help.

Yes, start by changing the oil to the currently specified 0w20 weight - the original viscosity specification for these engine was 5w20 (and that is likely what it says on the oil filler cap). But experience showed that a lighter oil was safer in these engines.

I just remembered another possible cause of lifter/tappet noise - a failed anti-drain back valve.
Another poster in I think the XF X250 area had this happen to his 5.0 SC and IIRC it caused excessive lifter noise.
The anti-drain back valve does exactly as it's name suggests, on engine shut down it stops all the oil draining back into the sump and keeps some (a fair bit really) up high in the engine oil galleries so there is oil immediately available on start up to components such as the cams and lifters.
This anti-drain back valve is high up in the block under the SC and has been known to fail from time to time although it is fairly rare.
The way to check/test is to remove the oil filter canister and see if there is some oil pooled in the bottom of the canister housing, if it is dry the valve has failed (or you are out of oil!).

Judging from the threads on this subject, I thought we were all quite anal about only using JLR spec. oil which is typically never available at non-JLR locations.
Seems to only be available at dealers and on-line for DIY. I guess I would start by putting in the correct grade of oil, preferably one that meets the JLR spec. - and then keep my fingers crossed.
I must also admit that I found it very hard to hear any unusual noise.

I'm highly skeptical that Jag oil is any different than any other oil, with no "essential oils" that make magic happen. Honestly, go with a brand name oil with the same viscosity rating and you're good to go. Oh, and oil formulations change over the years - for the better - and there may well be one that works better than OEM. Research the oil rating standards and see if anything's changed since your car came out. As a side note, it would be interesting to know whether the oil recommended by Jag for the first-gen F-Type is any different than the cars being sold today.

Alright, I spent the day worrying about this.

Basically know that I’m a 23 year old idiot who bought this car knowing I can’t really afford it to drive roughly 1k miles a week and do Uber eats with while I wait for my next annual paycheck.

I went back to the oil change guy, because if he ****ed it up I wanted him to have liability. It says on the service paper to come to then first if we notice a problem.

I pulled up, the guy came out, and I told him he put in the wrong oil but no light has come on, and could he just change it to see if the noise went away.

He said he put the 5W30 on purpose because of the noise and that it has 100k miles, since there was already some “metal on metal from wear and tear”

I said ok, and decided to keep driving on it.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary since, and we, it has 100k miles. So if in a few months I have to do a rebuild, then onto the next 100k miles.

I will say this though, the oil maybe makes the engine feel 3% more tough when pushing the pedal down. Just noticeable, but almost not in a bad way. The car drives great. What I want to say most is that it sounds better, and there are more cracks and pops, and they’re better.

I'd expect to have been informed of his intention to go against the specified oil, and his reasons, before he did it so I could make an informed choice. Not good customer service, IMO.

Definitely agree with that..

What do you mean by "tough" - slower to accelerate??

Maybe, but I don’t think that’s the case since my car (2015) can’t even put all that power down instantly from 0.

More like the pedal is slightly stiffer. I’ve noticed no difference in performance, it still rips hard.