WTF Have I done?

[Faraz]

Hello All,

Got a bit of an issue with my 8v.  I did an oil change yesterday, along with a flush of the oil system and used a genuine VAG filter with the Fuchs 10w40 semi from GSF hoping that this would cure the 1 noisy tappet I have.  Anyway, I think i may have overfilled the oil somewhat and when I turned on the engine, all the tappets were incredibly noisy.  What could I have done to cause this?

I was thinking that maybe I have knackered the oil pump by overfilling it, but took the sump off and took the pump off and it seems to be ok, nothing clogging it etc.. and it moves freely?  could I have done something more serious like blown a seal or something preventing the oil from getting to the tappets? Has anyone else experienced tappets that get even noisier after an oil change and if so what is the solution?

Thanks in advance
Faraz

[Phil_Gti-16v]

How long did you leave the oil draining and how long did you start it up for when you noticed new noise? How much oil did you put it then?

[DarnPB]

If you put oil flush through it, did you drive it like this or just let it run for the ten minutes as per instructions? If you use oil flush, it actually breaks down the oil giving virtually no protection at all, and can cause all kinds of damage.
On a lighter note, the oil flush may have just done its job and the tappets have collapsed due to the oil draining out of them. Give the engine time to come up to temp and hopefully you will find that the tappets will 'pump up' again.

[Faraz]

I drained it out for a good 10 minutes, and then stuck 5 litres of oil in and switched on.  I left it running for about 5 minutes to see if the noise would go away but it didnt.  Thats when i checked the oil level and it was at about half an inch higher up than the max level.  Im hoping it hasnt done anything too serious, but could the extra oil cause the oil pump to fail?

[Faraz]

If you put oil flush through it, did you drive it like this or just let it run for the ten minutes as per instructions? If you use oil flush, it actually breaks down the oil giving virtually no protection at all, and can cause all kinds of damage.
On a lighter note, the oil flush may have just done its job and the tappets have collapsed due to the oil draining out of them. Give the engine time to come up to temp and hopefully you will find that the tappets will 'pump up' again.

No i did as per instructions, fast idled for 15 minutes and then drained it out.  I left the engine for a few minutes but still sounded like a sewing machine.  I've ordered a new oil pump from GSF and will fit that in the next few days just to be sure, and then see what happens.  How long should the tappets take to 'pump up'?  I always imagined it should only take a few seconds??  Also, in case I have to get tappets as well, is GSF ok to use for this, or should I get genuine VAG? Thanks

[DarnPB]

Tappets should not take long at all, but can take up to 15 minutes. I hardly doubt the oil pump has been affected but if in doubt, they are cheap enough to replace anyway, so you are doing the right thing.
To verify the oil pump, you could remove the oil filter and very gently cut it open near its base, making sure you do not drop any iron filings inside. Remove the element, cut it open and unfold it so that it looks like a consatina. Then inspect in th fold for metal or iron filings. if you see 'white' metal that is not affected by a maganet, then you have a bearing(s) that may have had something go through it. if you have lumps of ferrous metal, (iron, that is attracted to a magnet) or iron filings, then yes, you may have an oil pump issue.
If everything is ok, and you have a new pump and the tappetes are still noisy, then you can buy a new set of tappets quite reasonably from GSF. Bang these in and you should be sorted. I have GSF tappets in my G60 and they are perfectly ok.

[Faraz]

Tappets should not take long at all, but can take up to 15 minutes. I hardly doubt the oil pump has been affected but if in doubt, they are cheap enough to replace anyway, so you are doing the right thing.
To verify the oil pump, you could remove the oil filter and very gently cut it open near its base, making sure you do not drop any iron filings inside. Remove the element, cut it open and unfold it so that it looks like a consatina. Then inspect in th fold for metal or iron filings. if you see 'white' metal that is not affected by a maganet, then you have a bearing(s) that may have had something go through it. if you have lumps of ferrous metal, (iron, that is attracted to a magnet) or iron filings, then yes, you may have an oil pump issue.
If everything is ok, and you have a new pump and the tappetes are still noisy, then you can buy a new set of tappets quite reasonably from GSF. Bang these in and you should be sorted. I have GSF tappets in my G60 and they are perfectly ok.

Thanks for the advice mate  I think oil pump is my next port of call, and if no joy then I will go for a set of tappets from GSF.  From what i can tell from the Haynes manual the procedure seems fairly straightforward, can you confirm, does the cambelt need to be removed completely? or can it just be taken off the cam pulley?  Also, there is no mention of soaking the tappets in oil before fitting in the Haynes manual but from my searches this seems to be done, what is your view on this?  Thanks Again.

[cняis]

my daily had noisey tappets when i bought it, got it flushed and oil changed, which made them MUCH noisier! it was only when i got the tappets replaced did it quieten down.

my money is on this:

On a lighter note, the oil flush may have just done its job and the tappets have collapsed due to the oil draining out of them.

[DarnPB]

You do not need to soak tappets in oil, but you don't put them in dry either. Give them a good coat of oil, then fit them. Never remove tappets from the head with a magnet. You will polarize the ball valve inside the tappet and prevent it from doing its job which is forming a hydraulic lock whilst under load.
On removing the cam belt, expose the cam belt tensioner and release the tension. Then remove the belt from the cam belt pulley. When refitting, go by the haynes manual for pulley set up. If you are carefull, you may not need to adjust anything, but it is always best to check the various alignment marks before re-assembly. On a further note, prior to disturbing the cam belt, do a quick check on how the various pulley marks line up as you may find the distributor pulley will be out of alignment, and the distributor adjusted accordingly. This check will save you all sorts of problems when you do everything by the book, only to find the car will not start due to the distributor being out of time, due to the last person to do it being a lazy git and cutting corners.

[Dolly]

sounds like u left it ticking over at idle for abit? my old driver used to tap its tappity ass off. give it some right foot into the rev limit are sorted that for about 5 minutes. 

suppose the pumps get older they need more revs to get pressure and the tappets they just give up the ghost eventually i guess