Originally Posted by johnbonds

On the third return, the shop discovered that the "belly pan" that protects the oil pan was "grounded" to the crossmember. The took it off, bent it a bit and reinstalled. Solved the problem. I have no idea how that got to be bent up--as it wasn't that way when the car went into the shop. They say they checked the front engine stop, and it was okay. Anyway, the noise is gone now. One of the old lessons in troubleshooting--check the easy things first! Neither the shop nor I did that. By the way, this is my last trip to this indy. His shop rate is now $105/hr. Amazing.

John Bonds, '82 240D 4sp, daily driver, 200k.
Charleston SC