Noisy Hydraulic Tappets, thicker or thinner oil help?
Discussion
My wife has a 1.8 GDI petrol engined shogun and the tappets are very 'tappy' its a bit random as they dont always do it but i cant place my finger on when they will and wont tap. Will a different grade of oil help. I have tried a head treatment but it didnt do much. I'm using 10/40 at the moment.
Any suggestions????
Any suggestions????
Two things can cause noisy hydraulic tappets. They can be plain and simply worn..... or they don't have a sufficient oil supply. Thicker oil generally makes things worse. Try giving the engine a good oil flushing. Don't use flushing oil in a turbo engine, just use a cheaper engine oil for a couple of hundred miles and then drain and replace. You can add an engine flushing additive should you feel so inclined. As for which grade to use, if the handbook recommends 10/40 then thats the best bet to use.
Thicker oil will not help, probably make it worse.
There is often a build up of a 'varnish' like coating on the cam followers and elsewhere which can give that annoying 'clacking' noise. I believe that's caused by the sluggish return of the moving parts with the crud build up.
On used cars I've bought that do that 'clacking' in the hydraulic vale geaqr lifters/cam followers, I drain all the old oil off hot, fit a new oil filter, then use a good brand DIESEL grade 10-40 engine oil for 2-3000 miles. Diesel grade oil is simply regular oil with added slow acting detergents which do an effective job of cleansing away much of the muck and sludge that accumulates in all engines as the miles build upo. Some engines are much more prone to muck build up than others.
When I drain the DIESEL oil off my petrol cars, the filth that comes out is remarkable. I then fill up with good brand 10-40 semi synthetic as recommended by the manufacturer. That clacking goes away EVERY time ! Not only that, checking the oil on the dipstick several hundred miles later after the DIESEL oil treatment show nice clean clear oil on the dip stick. Simply changing the oil in the normal way would see black oil on the dip stick within a few miles. Contaminated by the muck that always remains in the engines.
Over the years, this diesel treatment has been so beneficial ( sometimes including even better throttle response, acceleration and fuel consumption ) that I now use it EVERY time I buy a used car irrespective of what the previous owner tells me about how well the car has been regularly serviced and maintained. I was advised to do this about ten years ago by a wiser man than I. He runs diesel grade in hus petrol turbos all the time now....
Disclaimer: Do first check that your petrol engine will be OK for this Diesel treatment. It works for my petrol turbo used MGs and Rovers I have purchased. The MGs bought new I use good quality semisynthetic which I change about every 5,000 miles so they never need the 'Diesel' oil treatment. The drained oil when I change it looks good enough for a good few 1000 more miles.... looks can be misleading..
Hope this helps.
There is often a build up of a 'varnish' like coating on the cam followers and elsewhere which can give that annoying 'clacking' noise. I believe that's caused by the sluggish return of the moving parts with the crud build up.
On used cars I've bought that do that 'clacking' in the hydraulic vale geaqr lifters/cam followers, I drain all the old oil off hot, fit a new oil filter, then use a good brand DIESEL grade 10-40 engine oil for 2-3000 miles. Diesel grade oil is simply regular oil with added slow acting detergents which do an effective job of cleansing away much of the muck and sludge that accumulates in all engines as the miles build upo. Some engines are much more prone to muck build up than others.
When I drain the DIESEL oil off my petrol cars, the filth that comes out is remarkable. I then fill up with good brand 10-40 semi synthetic as recommended by the manufacturer. That clacking goes away EVERY time ! Not only that, checking the oil on the dipstick several hundred miles later after the DIESEL oil treatment show nice clean clear oil on the dip stick. Simply changing the oil in the normal way would see black oil on the dip stick within a few miles. Contaminated by the muck that always remains in the engines.
Over the years, this diesel treatment has been so beneficial ( sometimes including even better throttle response, acceleration and fuel consumption ) that I now use it EVERY time I buy a used car irrespective of what the previous owner tells me about how well the car has been regularly serviced and maintained. I was advised to do this about ten years ago by a wiser man than I. He runs diesel grade in hus petrol turbos all the time now....
Disclaimer: Do first check that your petrol engine will be OK for this Diesel treatment. It works for my petrol turbo used MGs and Rovers I have purchased. The MGs bought new I use good quality semisynthetic which I change about every 5,000 miles so they never need the 'Diesel' oil treatment. The drained oil when I change it looks good enough for a good few 1000 more miles.... looks can be misleading..
Hope this helps.
Bit of a thread resurrection here. I have a hydraulic tappet 1.7 engine (Alfa boxer) been rebuilt and in the process of recommissioning. However it lay for a few years post rebuild before being started up. I think the tappers may be a bit sticky as it rattles like a skeleton having a chug in a biscuit tin....
Would the above work, or an additive such as Wynn’s (or perhaps some either white sprit/paraffin/petrol in the oil) or b
Do I have to dismantle again and re re-build the top end.
Would the above work, or an additive such as Wynn’s (or perhaps some either white sprit/paraffin/petrol in the oil) or b
Do I have to dismantle again and re re-build the top end.
StescoG66 said:
Bit of a thread resurrection here. I have a hydraulic tappet 1.7 engine (Alfa boxer) been rebuilt and in the process of recommissioning. However it lay for a few years post rebuild before being started up. I think the tappers may be a bit sticky as it rattles like a skeleton having a chug in a biscuit tin....
Would the above work, or an additive such as Wynn’s (or perhaps some either white sprit/paraffin/petrol in the oil) or b
Do I have to dismantle again and re re-build the top end.
Mine had this problem, I started using Petronas oil. After a couple of months no more problems, even if it hadn't been started for a few weeks.Would the above work, or an additive such as Wynn’s (or perhaps some either white sprit/paraffin/petrol in the oil) or b
Do I have to dismantle again and re re-build the top end.
Maybe a coincidence but I've carried on with it.
PositronicRay said:
StescoG66 said:
Bit of a thread resurrection here. I have a hydraulic tappet 1.7 engine (Alfa boxer) been rebuilt and in the process of recommissioning. However it lay for a few years post rebuild before being started up. I think the tappers may be a bit sticky as it rattles like a skeleton having a chug in a biscuit tin....
Would the above work, or an additive such as Wynn’s (or perhaps some either white sprit/paraffin/petrol in the oil) or b
Do I have to dismantle again and re re-build the top end.
Mine had this problem, I started using Petronas oil. After a couple of months no more problems, even if it hadn't been started for a few weeks.Would the above work, or an additive such as Wynn’s (or perhaps some either white sprit/paraffin/petrol in the oil) or b
Do I have to dismantle again and re re-build the top end.
Maybe a coincidence but I've carried on with it.
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