The ultimate tappet thread

[Khare]

yeah or engine flush could make it worse 

as my earlier post !!

engine flush all the way. if theres any blockages in the system they will get dessiolved. Id do this AFTER you changed the oil cap and the valve cover gasket so tehres more pressure in the system.

[danny_p]

Soooo, I appear to be having the reverse of almost everyone else on here.

When I start up from cold - the tappets are silent, the more the oil temp increases, the noisier the tappets get. When the oil hits 90 degs, they are as noisy as the old set.

Cold engine - Tappets silent
Warm engine - Tappets noisy

What could be causing this, obviously not a worn cam/bearings.

that choudll be caused by meany things.   it is pressure related not tappet   as the oil warms it thins and it's ether not getting pumped  or more is getting out than should in some places.   

that needs pressure testing,   likely cumlprits are  worn bearings, wrong oil or filter , poorly pump 

[sidecarphil]

but if it loosens a large piece for carbon this can get lodged in the oil gallerys

but that was my one and only experience with it

i'd rather just change the oil 3 times in a row then new filter and oil  

[Ben Lessani]

Is everyone's solution always an oil change

I'll grab a new oil filter, rocker cover gasket and cap tomorrow then - but I have zero faith this will make any difference. The oil was changed ~500 Miles ago.

The oil filter on it now is genuine VW. My step dad has an Audi Coupé - the oil pressure gauge on there is the closest I'm going to get to a DIY oil pressure gauge. Reckon if I hook it up, it should shine some light on if its maybe the pump? What pressure should the oil be at at idle and at 3k?

Now you mention the oil, it isn't VW stuff, its the OE replacement for Mercedes - that's all I could get my hands on at the time of a change. I've got 20l of brand new Renault Motrio 10w40 in the garage, I was just going to use this if I replaced the oil...

[danny_p]

a liter of atf  degunks an engine very effectivly,  only problem is if the oil seals are poor  and been held together with crud it removes tgat crud aswell.

your engine is meant to run 10/40 so any 10/40 should be fine, with oil pressure  measure from filter houseing  then the side of the head,  hot at idel   1 bar is ok   should see 3  bar withg some revs  should hold around there

[Ben Lessani]

I got the new oil filler cap and rocker cover gasket today - the rubber/metal type. I fitted them up, ran the car up to temp. and low and behold, no noise at the start - more tappet noise as the engine warmed up.

I bought a new oil filter too and a bottle of ATF. How many miles should I run the ATF for?

I'm going to test the oil pressure at the weekend before the ATF treatment and I'll see what I'm sitting at before messing.

[DarnPB]

I see on your project thread that you used a magnet for your collets. What are you thinking? You just knackered your old tappets with a magnet, so you replaced them. Then you use a magnet on something that comes into direct contact with your new tappets!
Magnets and engines to not mix. If you inadvetantly polarise a component, then that component will attract anything ferrous towards it, including swarf, iron filings etc, and just cause premature wear. I would not be suprised if now your collets and valves are causing the little ball bearing within the tappet to be lifted off its seat, causing you the same problems as before.
You should remove collets with a pair of long nosed pliers. More fiddley, but it could save you a whole new set of problems.

[Ben Lessani]

Goddamit! That's it, no more magentic tools. But I can't honestly see 2s of being in contact with a magnet permanently magnetising a piece of steel, it takes a bit more effort than that surely? The only reason I used a magnet was because 90% of guides out there reccomended it, most tappet replacement guides reccomend using a magenet to remove the tappets before overhaul too.

If its a magnetic issue, then surely the following wouldn't apply,

Cold engine - Tappets silent
Warm engine - Tappets noisy

I appriciate the help thus far mate, I'm hoping the pressure test will shine a little more light on what's going on. Its really doing my head in.

[DarnPB]

P.M'd

[danny_p]

grease on the the tail of a tie wrap is good for picing collets and stuff like that.

tbh i don't think that it would be possible to accidentaly magnatise a collet enough to cause said problems.   but magnet + engine is bad news.

as for how long to leave the ATF there is no hard and fast rule.   give it a couple of hours of warm engine or 100 miles.  tho as with any harsh oil flush keep an eye on things.    if the inside of the rocker cover had thick crusty deposits   50 miles or and hour as the oil is going to pick up a lot of crap and so is the filter.    as allways  any hint of pressure issues  stop immedatly and change the oil and filter then.  

the anoying thing is  you now have the exact opposite symptoms to everyone elses tappet rattel ,   screams and shouts pressure  but would have expected you to have been haveing at least the odd flick from the dash