Sticky Lifters
Discussion
I have a ticking noise from the engine about 70% of the time. Been through many things (EMG, compression test etc) to diagnose but could be a 'sticky' lifter.
The fact that it WILL go away completely some of the time leads me to think it's not:
Piston Slap
Blown Ring
Noisy Cam
It does seem to coincide with lumpy running so it may well be.
Elsewhere on various forums, the advice to clear a sticky lifter has been to:
Drain out a few pints of the oil - add 'as much oil as has been drained out' of Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) and run the engine for 500 odd miles and then complete change of oil and filter.
Many may be horrified by this but ATF is a high detergent lubricant and pretty much the same stuff as you'd pay £12 for a little 500ml bottle from Halfrauds.
- What does everyone else think?
- Has anyone had a sticky lifter cured by adding those 'Hydraulic Lifter Treatments'.
- Do lifters often stick in RV8's?
Ryan
Keep talking....If it's a valvetrain issue then there's excessive clearance, probably caused by wear on the cam. A lifter should pump up once you've raised oil pressure and done a short drive. If it's stuck inside then your engine must be well gummed up. Rover lifters aren't the same internally as overhead buckets so I don't think an accurate comparison can be made.
The thing is - the Cam and lifters were done not 7000 miles ago!
I do do a lot of small trips to work (4 miles) and back every day, and it has been cold recently too. I've heard that can be harsh on the oil. Incidentally, I have very little oil pressure when idling warm. It's about 33 at cold start idle and just off the ' 0 ' mark when warm idle and about 30 when at motorway speeds.
I'll change the oil + filter, clean the injectors, get the AFM & Lambda mixture looked at professionally and if it's STILL running rough and ticking then I'm going to strip it down and rebuild it - on the bl**dy street if I have to!!!
I had a similar problem with my engine, although mine seemed to occur mostly when driving in traffic (under low load). I bought a set of lifters and planned to change them when Jamie of Castle Race engines said the problem was most likely to be the oil. I was using Mobil 10/60 at the time. He suggested I try Millers oil which was proven with Rover V8 engines. I switched to Millers oil and the problem never occurred again. If your engines due for a service I suggest you change the oil first before stripping the engine down and changing bits. Worked for me.
Highly viscous oils are best suited to modern engines with tighter tolerances.
Highly viscous oils are best suited to modern engines with tighter tolerances.
debaron said:
Sorry ChimJunkie, I don't understand - do you mean you want me to elaborate on the problem?
Sorry! Very interesting subject. My engine ticks and i have taken the rocker shaft off and reassembled using adjustable pushrods, the followers were new with the new cam, the exhaust manifolds have been on and off 3 times... I have tuned my ear to hear the ticking! Everyone else can hardly make it out 
for my own education, am I right in thinking that the old saying 'a noisy tappet is a happy tappet'
doesn't apply to the RV8? I always thought a slight bit of tappet tick was OK and meant that the valves had enough clearance to return to fully seated rather than being slightly held off the seat by a too small tappet gap that then closes up when the engine warms up. Or is this out of date due to the hydraulic lifters? You an tell this is one owner who hasn't had his top end apart yet....
doesn't apply to the RV8? I always thought a slight bit of tappet tick was OK and meant that the valves had enough clearance to return to fully seated rather than being slightly held off the seat by a too small tappet gap that then closes up when the engine warms up. Or is this out of date due to the hydraulic lifters? You an tell this is one owner who hasn't had his top end apart yet....
^ Hydraulics are meant to pump up and take up the slack and no more but they won't push the valve off it's seat and overcome spring pressure.
Debaron, I used to have similar oil pressures to yours on one of my engines. Thicker oil definately helps, try a 20/50 and see if that works. Next I'd see if the rockers have had shims put under them and if so they may be to thick. Or, the lifters may be a different height to genuine rover lifters. Any of these things can change the preload/clearance.
Debaron, I used to have similar oil pressures to yours on one of my engines. Thicker oil definately helps, try a 20/50 and see if that works. Next I'd see if the rockers have had shims put under them and if so they may be to thick. Or, the lifters may be a different height to genuine rover lifters. Any of these things can change the preload/clearance.
dbv8 said:
Chimjunkie said:
I have tuned my ear to hear the ticking! Everyone else can hardly make it out
Maybe its your watchTBH careful inspection of the pushrods, spring seats and follower holes gives me the willys
They never seem to look in great condition.Opening up the pushrod holes in the head is a no brainer IMHO.
spend said:
dbv8 said:
Chimjunkie said:
I have tuned my ear to hear the ticking! Everyone else can hardly make it out
Maybe its your watchTBH careful inspection of the pushrods, spring seats and follower holes gives me the willys
They never seem to look in great condition.Opening up the pushrod holes in the head is a no brainer IMHO.
Chimjunkie said:
..but now put those ones in from CliveF...
I'm pretty sure Cliff drilled out his holes, gaffa tape... in-situ if I remember the story correctly. Would be surprised if he had gone to that effort / risk of swarf if it wasn't necessary for those particular push-rods? Cam could account for it ~ but wouldn't have thought his Crower had an excessive impact on the pushrod geometry vs your TVR 500 cam? Its only the lift and rocker 'sway' that varies how close the push rod gets to the hole in the head (
'hole in the head' get it 
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