G'Day Think I have a lazy tappet in my 1.8L PB just wondering if anyone has had a similar experince to mine? rattles like a good 'un. Tried some top end treatment for a short time (temp. fix) Great for about a week before tick tik tick. Tried the ATF trick after. Same again. Great for 2 weeks this time then tick tick tick. Anyone else had the same?
Do the ATF trick again then. If the car hasn't been serviced regularly in the past, there could be a load of sludge in the engine. Sounds like there's still some gunk floating around in there. You might have to do it a few times to get it sorted. Also, you could try dropping the sump off and cleaning it out the next time you do an oil change. Getting ALL of the dirty oil out should speed things up a bit. Does it go away when the car warms up? Have you had the cam cover off for a look - to see what sort of state it's in?
if its fixing it for a short while then it suggests that the engine might be filthy inside id drop the sump off and clean it out , and the oil pick up then run some atf and cheap oil , changing often ...might take a few goes to clear it
if you want to be brave, clean it out with some diesel. i think youll wanna clean the oil pump screen after though
Cheers guys Seems you have similar thoughts to me. Engine was a swap project which has given me a few teething problems. When I did the swap there wasn't anything obvious under the rocker cover but I do remember the oil not looking too clever. It always seems to be from the same end of the rocker cover and it's definately louder on start up and tends to get a little quieter although this morning wasn't too clever. Could take the sump off but it's a damn awkward job. 2 bolts between the block and the gearbox are a real pig to get to. ATF trick again I think, see what that does. Anyone suggest a decent really cheap 10W 40 semi synth? So far Fuchs is the cheapest I've found believe it or not.
Fuchs oil is fine. A 1/4" drive socket set is a big help in getting the sump off. Those bolts on the end are tricky, but not a huge problem. If you've got PAS, that makes it a bit slower. From what you've said, taking the sump off would definitely be the next step.
sump off isnt too bad...if its full of thick sludge atf will never clean it out couple of hours should get it done
Thanks again. I suppose sump is the right way although we did change the sump when we did the conversion, another look and a clean wont do any harm I guess. Try and give the pick up on the oil pump a clean while I'm at it I guess. I do remember after the last ATF attempt the oil filter was heavy and not a lot came out as if it was full of something thick and nasty.
how much atf are you using you can try a litre with some cheap supermarket oil , drop it and repeat after 250 miles
About 0.5L to 0.75 L first time round. Pretty much my thoughts. Thinking I may have to run this couple of times so cheap as chips oil and some gentle driving to come.
on mucky engines in the past, ive put a litre of atf in and then the rest being a semi decent diesel engine oil
when you drain it out, mix with 2 parts used gearbox oil and down with a chocolate biscuit and a barrel of rum before bed time
I have a noisy tapped usually when cold, tried atf a few times but it didnt clear it so Im just going to replace thetappets when I fit my new cam in.
Thought I'd keep this one going. Decided to drain 1.5L out last night and fire in 1L of ATF with some new oil to top it back up. The existing oil is quite new (1500 miles or so) however I have a feeling that everyones suspicsions of a gunked engine seem logical. Oil was nice and black coming out. Forgot to mention I've got it running on LPG too which means the oil stays clean, well it should do anyway. (did on the previous engine). Anyway still ticking away this morning so I'll keep it going today / tomorrow and see if there's any improvement. If not it's sump off and a clean ATF mix.
UPDATE drained off the oil and put a fresh ATF / oil mix. Smooth as silk again after tapping at start up. All good but I fear the problem is deeper than I thought. Yes the oil was pretty black, shouldn't be for an LPG vehicle, so that points to gunk as suggested. However, far more seriously the amount of oil that I drained off was far less than I put originally put in. Long way down in truth. So I need to figure out my oil consumption problem. She's a little smokey but more the white condensation type. Nothing blue or hinting at burning it off. No obvious leaks either but I need to really check it over. Thoughts?
