Tappets

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

OK doin my head in now!!!

for about a month or so now my tappets have decided to tap....at worse they tap for about 10 mins until the car is fully warmed up....well i think it is just one tappin.

i guess its either stickin due to crap in it or it is knackered....

i have run it for a while now with a litre of auto fluid in the oil.....and also recently dumped a bottle of redex in the oil too...all hoping to clean out sticky tappet...also there has been an oil/filter change including an oil flush.

im gunna give it one more bottle of redex....another flush/oil/filter change then i guess bite the bullet and swap the tappets....i have a spare set which i will have to clean up spotlessly this time. cant seem to get the inner bit of the tappets out...ive read u just give em a sharp tap on the bench but they aint comin out....so far i am just priming them and emptying them in thinners until they "spurt" clear....

any more suggestions before i go and change the bastards as i really would rather avoid that.

cheers

JB

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

to get the middle out takes a good 5 wallops to get it out. And yes your hand will hurt from it.

try a bottle of wynns HYDRAULIC VALVE LIFTER TREATMENT http://www.wynns.uk.com/default.htm there under consumer, engine then that.

Its good stuff. theres another one I can't mind the name of, I need some as well as mine are getting rather noisy.

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

ill give it a shot...hopefully its in halfords. ill give anything a shot to avoid changing them...mind u before long ill have more additives than oil in my engine!

gunna try that engine flush that u get in a small can...u just add it to the existing oil. less hassle. crazy thing is some days they dont tap at all! then others a full 10 mins or so right up to operating temp.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

mines the same. mine taps when warm as well depending on its mood.

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

i cleaned mine out when i did the head rebuild... lots of black shit came out of them all. Sounds pretty good now, but occasionally i think i can hear one tapping when cold... very annoying.

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

yeah well i thought i had cleaned mine out well enough too...maybe they are just at the end of their life....

still...i have put some of that wynns hydraulic stuff in there....see how that goes.

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

well....it sill ticks like a mofo...

currently in my oil i have 1l of auto fluid, redex and wynns stuff....all of which dont seem to have done anything so i have decided that i will do one last oil flush and filter/oil change (dont expect it to do anything now) then change the tappets.

got spare set so will clean them immaculately. am still perplexed as to gettin the centre out of them...will bash harder this time...will have no bench left soon.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

your just a fairy, bang it hard, and yes your hand will hurt from it.

1st bang should shift it then another couple will have it out.

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

ok well i got em coming out now...seems if i bashed them on some slightly softer wood it worked....may be my imagination tho...but they are coming out...

done 4 so far...thats taken apart....depressed the little ball bearing to release old oil (these ones are more primed than the ones in my car and havent been touched for about 6 months!!) cleaned thoroly (cant spell that fuckin word!) and re-primed good n tight and reassembled, linished and stored in oil...

only done 4 tonight, got bored of bashing and gettin lightheaded from the thinners...

still....not 100% sure what to do.

are the tappets tapping cos they are sticking and dirty?
are they tapping cos the oil pressure is low? - gauge on dash looks normal but it may be due to a 105K pump maybe running a little tired?

i dunno....think when i get these tappets all cleaned i will swap them over anyway...even if i just eliminates them as the problem....

if they still tap i shall assume it is a pressure problem and have to wait til i get that block built up and get a new pump on it...

block biuld on hold due to finances...but have decided to get it together minimum cost. no balancing lightening...im not racing afterall..

so new pump, new tensioner and idler...and maybe thats it...got all the bearings and shit...just need to put it together....

need to paint it first

but a pump and tensioner and idler will cost easy over 100 squid.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

I have a couple in bits sitting in a tub of white spirit.

When they are filled with old crappy oil it doesn't leave, it also allows pressure to bleed off so the tappets don't stay at 'zero lash'.

If theres an oil problem then you would know about it.

Why do you need a new pump? Or are you talking about a water pump?

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

oil pump...just thinkin maybe its gettin a bit tired and not doin such a good job at keepin the tappets full...but i do tend to lean to the dirty tappets theory.

its odd....when cold they tap...and really loud tap...like when u first start it. but then that fades to nothin as it reaches temp...which is odd cos if it was pressure related u would think it wud be the other way round cos the pressure drops as the oil gets hotter.

still....tappet change first.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

why don't you just check the pump then?

Whats you pressure gauge say? If its above the 10 o'clock position when the cars driving its fine. On tired engines with thin oil the light can flicker on at idle and its ok as long as it goes up when revved. On the motorway mine is not far from the top of the gauge.

It gets quieter as the engine heats up as the oil thins so it can get into the tappets easier, and the old sludgy crap thats in the tappets also thins out allowing new oil in or even the old stuck oil to do its job again.

Mine are getting worse as well. Tapping badly for about 5 miles, will sort them at some point.

Gay Rights Activist Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 1268

ive got 2 sets spare......

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

well the gauge is usually above 10 o clock...more when cold as expected....

will finished preparing this spare set then swap over...see what happens...

Level 5 User Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 114

10 o'clock?

It has numbers and graduations on it! lol

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

not in a 19 it doesnt.

http://www.renault-turbo.com/chris/16V%20speedo.jpg

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

yeah so horizontal ir 9 o clock...third up is 10 then 11 then vertical is 12

when cold and reved mine is like 11.30....when hot will idle as low as 9.30 and rev as high as 10.30 - 11

Level 5 User Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 114

oops, forget they made the 19 dealing with all these bloody clios.

Maybe you should use a tippex pen and write your own lol.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

JB thats fine matey no pump troubles.

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

cool...will change the tappets then.

(good techys btw - just read the new ones...my relay was half green...needed wires to bridge some broken tracks...bloody things)

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

why thank you young man.