Moderate Tappet Adjustment - what does this mean?

[fimbo]

Hi all

I asked the garage that services a Tuscan I am looking at buying when the last service was and what tappet adjustments were made. It's an early 2003 3.6. The car was given a 'big' service about a month ago at 20k. The bloke that did the adjustment took no notes but his recollection is that about a quarter of the tappets needed doing and moderate adjustment was required for each. I believe (and this may be a case of a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) that this can be indicative of cam wear.

So Guys and Gals what does this mean - does this mean the engine is on the slippery slope or is this normal? I don't think the current owner drives the car hard but neither is it used like a milkfloat.

Any help much appreciated.

[yzf1070]

The experiences with my engine has led me to the following:

The 2003 S6 (as is mine) had steel valve guides and phosphor coated valve stems to reduce the valve stem/guide wear that the earlier engines suffered. However...

The valve clearances can close up as well as increase.

Close up is caused by one of or a combination of....the springs are too stiff and valve stems tend to stretch if the engine is over reved. The valves recessing into the seats in the head which in turn is due to ... very thin valve seat area on the valves, soft valve seat inserts, springs are too stiff.

Excessive opening clearances can be caused by the cam lobs prematurely wearing and or the finger followers wearing. Or of course lack of maintenance.

Personnaly, knowing what I do now, I would ask what he means by moderate adjustment and challenge him on the above issues. You really DO NOT want to buy one that needs fixing soon....especially as we are about to see some really good TVR driving weather.... I sufferred this last year and continue to do so this year....

I would insist on an independant investigation with the cam cover off. There are a few folk offering inspection services on here and I would contact them and discuss your requirements with each of them, I am not sure how much they really know about the S6 top end engine issues tho.

Good luck

G

[dvs_dave]

All engines without hydraulic tappets, Speed 6 included, need to have them adjusted periodically to compensate for normal wear. It doesn't indicate anything out of the ordinary so isn't worth worrying about. I'd be more concerned at that mileage if it [bold]hadn't[/bold] been done yet.

FYI, if the mechanic had said the tappet adjustment was maxed out, then that could indicate abnormally high valve gear wear for a 20k mile engine.

[R TOY]

Its a step into the unknown, even with an inspection there are no guarrantees. If i was in your shoes i would certainly have a top end check, maybe share cost with seller? I had my car checked in Sept(£120) just before 2 yr warranty expired and was told that no adj was needed and all ok. And all has been so far!! . Car has now just had 12k service(£ouch)at 10.5K and no adj needed again. The main thing is to buy the car at a price that reflects the likely hood of a major engine spend in the near future. Hopefully it wont happen but if it does at least you will be consolled by the saving you make now. You dont mention the price or wether it is a dealer car or a private buy ? Its worth having the cam chains tensioned as well as these can get noisy.
When i bought mine exactly 1 year ago i had seller service car (inc' in the price) but i phoned dealership to check up on car health which gave me some peace of mind.( i only lost four nights sleep!)
No regrets so far!! Good luck what ever you decide, Dave.

[fimbo]

Thanks for all your helpful comments. Dave, I think your suggestion of a top off inspection sounds like a good idea. My only comment is that the car had the big service at which the tappets were adjusted at the end of April 06 so presume that service report would have included some comment or recommendations - there were none.

Cheers

Neil

[Mustang Baz]

Neil - would also go with Daves' proposal. Mine had a 12k main dealer service (incl tappets) by its former owner which showed nothing of concern. <3 mths later - rebuild required due to the old favourite, followers/cam lobes. Well worth getting some additional piece of mind, but equally consider the 1yr TVR warranty at time of purchase.