Discussion
Had my 98 Griff 500 for about 9 months now - excellent car in every way and no problems except.........Whenever I start up from cold it sounds like a bag of bolts. Dealer I bought from didn't quite come back with "but they all do that sir" response, more a case of "its piston slap and very common on the 500 engine and nothing to worry about". True enough symptoms seem typical of piston slap - sounds fine on tick-over, but horrendous with slight load as you pull away. Noise dies away as revs increase above about 3500. After driving for 5 mins when engine has warmed, then it has dissappeared completely and engine sounds sweet. The only trouble is that if it is so common, how come I haven't come across anyone else with the same problem? - Anyone out there?? Should I worry about it ?? Doesn't seem to have got any worse over 6000 miles or so , oil pressure etc.healthy......
had some strange sounds lately as well:
- high frequency: could be the finger followers
- low frequency: turned out to be the cylinder lining; can also be the camshaft or distributionn chain
(what I understand from my dealer/TVR Power)
there seem to be quite some camshaft problems in the UK, almost none in Holland because of Castrol RS.
- high frequency: could be the finger followers
- low frequency: turned out to be the cylinder lining; can also be the camshaft or distributionn chain
(what I understand from my dealer/TVR Power)
there seem to be quite some camshaft problems in the UK, almost none in Holland because of Castrol RS.
Griffalo
I had the same symptoms at about 20k and everyone convinced me it was piston slap. The cosworth pistons are so shallow that when cold, it seemed a reasonable explanation. But as for "they all do it sir" - I never heard one do it before, or after.
when I looked really hard I found it was something completely different. I ran the engine without the drive belt and the symptoms disappeared. Then I noticed that the drive belt (serpentine vesion) had collected a small stone which was wedged in the underside grooves. As it was rotating it gave exactly the same noise as piston slap. |When it warmed up the noise went.
New drive belt - problem solved.
Might be worth a look. Good luck.
I had the same symptoms at about 20k and everyone convinced me it was piston slap. The cosworth pistons are so shallow that when cold, it seemed a reasonable explanation. But as for "they all do it sir" - I never heard one do it before, or after.
when I looked really hard I found it was something completely different. I ran the engine without the drive belt and the symptoms disappeared. Then I noticed that the drive belt (serpentine vesion) had collected a small stone which was wedged in the underside grooves. As it was rotating it gave exactly the same noise as piston slap. |When it warmed up the noise went.
New drive belt - problem solved.
Might be worth a look. Good luck.
Mine has done 14k and has exactly the same symtoms! Key characteristics are a cold engine underload. I've had it checked at the factory and a main dealer - both say its nothing to worry about. I'll be keeping my ear on it in case it gets worse - it certainly hasn't done over the last 3500 miles including a track day. Thought I might try heavier oil than the 0W/40W Mobil 1 I'm using at the mo. Keep us posted...
Thanks for the responses everyone - one or two things to mull over and check out. Will be keeping a close ear, over the next month or two before the warranty expires! For reference, have done 15k. Recently changed the oil to thicker Motorsport grade Mobil 1 - didn't make the slightest difference!
quote:
there seem to be quite some camshaft problems in the UK, almost none in Holland because of Castrol RS.
Bit of a sweeping statement... There have been cam shaft problems with the V8 engine before
1. Mobil 1 was ever invented.
2. Castrol RS was ever invented.
3. Before TVR dropped the first one into a Wedge.
4. And with engines using allegedly cam saving mineral 20W50 oil.
There are many many cars that run Mobil 1 that don't have problems.
What does that tell you? Basically that cam wear is probably caused by lots of different things. I suspect long lay up periods causing the cams to dry out, engine abuse and possible cam manufacturing faults.
Steve
I'm not saying that Castrol RS will cause you car to die but it is strange that the only car that I know off to have cylinder liner problems uses Castrol RS...
Mind you as it is a LHD car that explain why we don't see it the UK...
I hope it gets sorted soon though.
I just don't think that some of the generalisations that are posted here are valid either. The problem with many of the issues is that the few cars that have problems are extrapulated into being representive of the total population.
Mind you as it is a LHD car that explain why we don't see it the UK...
I hope it gets sorted soon though.
I just don't think that some of the generalisations that are posted here are valid either. The problem with many of the issues is that the few cars that have problems are extrapulated into being representive of the total population.
I had my Griff 500 lifters replaced at 1,000 miles. Nothing to do with Mobil 1!! They had not been case hardened properly and then ground as normal. Therefore completely knackered 1,000 miles later. New ones are fine 10,000 miles later. Engine is still running on Mobil 1, uses 1l every 8oo miles and stays golden clean between services every 3,000 miles. The engine gets quieter as the mileage gradually inceases. I heard a Griff 500 at the TVR Centre teh other day and it was incredibly "soft" sounding...highly refined for an old Rover lump!
Not lifters !!
Lining is what has gone in Gerjo's car and a significant difference in price too !
I have a friend who had his cam and lifters replaced in a 4.3 lump for new items (high spec jobs) and a 1000 miles later had a whole load of noise which also turned out to be wear on the cam and the lifters.
These had not been case hardened and chewed each other up !
Lining is what has gone in Gerjo's car and a significant difference in price too !
I have a friend who had his cam and lifters replaced in a 4.3 lump for new items (high spec jobs) and a 1000 miles later had a whole load of noise which also turned out to be wear on the cam and the lifters.
These had not been case hardened and chewed each other up !
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