What is the tapping noise near the top of my engine?
A. The tapping noise is often attributed to the hydraulic lifters in a low oil condition. Oil starvation also occurs during prolonged hard turns and is pronounced with an initial low oil state. Detailed oil starvation occurrences and solutions have been outlined below thanks to Edgar Bernard who spoke with Gregg Forde, chief mechanic of PTG (edited). The US M3 engine will have oil starvation problems on left handed, high G corners at limited duration (roughly 10 seconds). It is a combination of oil starvation and oil foaming. A temporary remedy is to put 1 to 1-1/2 quarts of extra oil in the crankcase during track events. The E36 M3 engine does not experience the same problems as the E30 M3 engine when the oil is over filled. (The E30 M3 engine will blow or leak oil out of the rear engine seal if too much oil is used.) A low cost fix to the problem is to install the M3 Lightweight oil pan/pump kit. The kit has two pickup points in the oil pan and is indeed tricked. PTG has the kit for
