top end rattle

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

Just started today but i am getting a rattle from the top end.

it kinda sounds like when u shake an areosol paint can, and it seems to be coming from under the rocker cover, it increases with engine speed too.

any ideas ?

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

lazy tappet

plenty of ideas, nigella is on the telly but thats another story!

gte some sort of lifter cleaner, wynns or somehtign, wynns is a good un.

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

i'll give that a go then, cheers

i do have a spare head which i could use if it gets any worse.

Mr Quoter-vator Joined: 16 Feb 2004 Posts: 7405

mine tap every now and again...ive run all sorts thru it...made no difference.

but it doesnt do it so much now...

give it a whirl tho....

i think mine is a problem of a dirty oil way in the head tho, cos i exchanged the tappets for ones i cleaned out pucker and they still did it.

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

well really odd but the rattle has gone today . . how random.

anyway i still treated it to some wyns hydraulic tappet cleaner, Â£6 and u just dump it all into the engine and let it do its stuff.

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

I got some of that lastnight too! And now they're worse lol. Well, for the first 5 seconds.

Listen to this for a set of tappets lol

http://premium1.uploadit.org/simonds1//My-tappets.smr

As we've discussed before, phone recordings do make things sound worse than in real life.......but you can get the general idea! If you can read that format, that is. What the hell is a .smr file?? Confused

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

can't do anything with that file, can't even save it!

You need to pour it in and drive the car for a while, 2 miles or round the block won't do it.

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

i did 60 miles in mine after putting the additive in
(went to see my mother as it's her birthday)

no noise from the top end at all now (keeps fingers crossed)

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Yeah mine does seem to be getting better. It's doing the opposite now though. Smooth on startup.......then the they start tapping after a few mins..........but then smooth again after a bit of driving. Think I need to wait a while. Hardly gonna work instantly like

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

what about that flushing oil that people use before changing oil ,would it help to keep tappets healthy ???

i still have not done the oil change on the chamade yet ,so might as well got that extra kilometre and treat the new girl with some flush stuff

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Wahey, finally figured a way of getting a recording into a decent format. Not some .smr shit like before!

http://premium1.uploadit.org/simonds1//Tappets.mp3

See if that works. Noisy buggers ain't they! It does go after a bit of driving, but sometimes when I'm at a junction waiting to pull away (like in this recording), they'll creeeepp back in and start tapping again. Ah well, I'm not worrying too much. Well, unless one of you is like "Oh dear Si, that sounds well & truly wankered" Laughing

Site Subscriber Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Posts: 2929

Oh deer.... Laughing

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

thats wankered Si!

If its fine until you come to rest then I say you have a delivery problem.

oil and filter newish?

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

i was going to say the oil pump might be on its way out...

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

thats what I thought thus the question.

The next logical step was what does the oil pressure gauge say is happening.

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

probably not working Rolling Eyes

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Oil pressure guage seems okay. You'll have to excuse my shite attempt at trying to find a reason for something lol, but here goes.....

Right, I've changed the oil & filter twice since I've had the car, and the tappets have been at their worst right after the 2 changes. I've read things like tappets 'hold' oil pressure.......so am I right in saying that when the oil is thinner (new & clean), then it's harder for the tappets to 'hold' it than when it's thicker (old oil & full of crap) ?? Not a clue.

Oil & filter were changed 3 weeks ago Chris, and that's when they started to get noisy again. I did think to meself that the oil pump might be gone or going, cuz sometimes driving the car just feels like there's hardly any oil in the engine, like it's quite rough. So I'll get home & think right, slap some oil in, and the damn thing is still right up by MAX on the dipstick, so the level's fine.

My drive to work is 6 mins (yeah, long way!), and by the time I get there, they are still tappin away. If I leave the car running for a bit when I get there, they sometimes stop. So it's after like 6 - 10 mins of driving that they shut up a bit. Then sometimes randomly I'll notice they're tappin again when I'm stopped at a junction like I said. Not every time I stop, just randomly like.

So is there a way of testing the oil pump? Probably stick it in the garage Laughing

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

what oil do you use?

oil thins as it ages btw

where does the oil pressure gauge sit at idle?

tappets retain oil no matter how thin it is unless the ball bearing valve has a stick spring.

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Oil pressure guage at idle is about a quarter of the way up, maybe less? That's an idle after I've been using the car. Not sure where it sits straight away when I start it. Towards the top I think. Between 3 quarters & straight up sorta thing. Will have a look on me way home from work cuz I'm only guessing now.

The oil I'm using now is Castrol GTX High Mileage.

The car's done just over 91,000 miles

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

sound sok as far as the pressure gauge goes.

whats the viscosity of the oil, high mileage tells me nothing.

i use 10W40 semi synth as it keeps the tappets quiet.

Mr Quoter-vator Joined: 16 Feb 2004 Posts: 7405

the high milage stuff is usually 15w40