Tappets...Injectors...Manifold...yada yada yada

[gingerprince]

Just got back home from my first track day in the Griff. Great fun but I'm now the proud owner of a very embarrasingly noisy TVR!!!

First thoughts were tappets - it's that kind of noise. However driving home I noticed it was more under load, and varied with throttle not rpm. So I figured it was likely to be a noisy injector.

However now having got home and searched PH there's very little about injectors, but a lot of mention of leaking manifold gaskets etc causing a similar noise.

So, tomorrow I'll be under the bonnet seeing if I can pinpoint the noise, but if it isn't the manifold gasket and is the injectors is this an expensive replace/repair (in terms of parts and labour), and is it causing any damage driving it (apart from street cred, it's embarrasingly noisy!) I'm guessing if it is an injector that it means less (no?) fuel is getting to one of the cylinders and so running lean?

Cheers,


Sy
(not really a mechanic)!

[GreenV8S]

Injector doesn't sound at all likely, a blown exhaust gasket though is entirely possible.

[Boosted Ls1]

£17 will get you a compression tester from Halfords. I'd buy one tomorrow and establish that the pistons/mechanicals and compression are ok. Then you can breath a sigh of relief or save yourself a lot of time guessing what the fault is

[topsparks]

Sounds like one of the wear pads has come off the rockers.This happend to my 500,take the rocker covers off (4 bolts)each and then undo the 4 bolts holding the rocker shaft pedestals inplace.there are steel wear pads on the end of the ally rockers which tend to fall off.
I replaced all 16 rockers(£5.50each from RealSteel) just incase anymore fell off.the loose pads can shatter and shag the engines bearings,so check them out asap.Good luck

[joospeed]

Hi GP .. you should have collared me as i was leaving, would have given the beastie the once-over.

hope you enjoyed showing the FTO boys the way round in proper styleeeeeeeeeeeeee

joo

[_dj_]

joospeed said:

Hi GP .. you should have collared me as i was leaving, would have given the beastie the once-over. hope you enjoyed showing the FTO boys the way round in proper styleeeeeeeeeeeeee joo

Round and round, and round, and round (for quite a few laps until he learned how not to spin it on every corner)

Isn't there any easy test for the manifold gaskets (they'll blow won't they?).



>> Edited by _dj_ on Saturday 23 October 20:26

[joospeed]

_dj_ said:

joospeed said: Hi GP .. you should have collared me as i was leaving, would have given the beastie the once-over. hope you enjoyed showing the FTO boys the way round in proper styleeeeeeeeeeeeee joo Round and round, and round, and round (for quite a few laps until he learned how not to spin it on every corner) Isn't there any easy test for the manifold gaskets (they'll blow won't they?). >> Edited by _dj_ on Saturday 23 October 20:26

Hi Darren .. get a piece of small bore tubing (8mm fuel pipe works well) .. long enough to put one end in your ear and teh other end to reach to the exhaust manifold flanges .. start engine and listen to each gasket/flange .. it will be plainly audible which is blowing

joo

ps good to see you too today again .. sorry it was a bit short .. mind you if it wasn't for the key incident I woudn't have known you were there .. so every cloud etc.

[gingerprince]

[quote=_dj_]
Round and round, and round, and round (for quite a few laps until he learned how not to spin it on every corner) [quote]

Yes I'll admit that it took me a while to get used to driving a rear-wheel drive in a spirited fashion, but I enjoyed learning safely what happens when you get it wrong. and the effects of "i wonder what will happen if i put the power down on this hairpin"

Just about got there in the end though, would have liked another hour I think!

>> Edited by gingerprince on Sunday 24th October 02:09

[gingerprince]

joospeed said:

Hi GP .. you should have collared me as i was leaving, would have given the beastie the once-over. hope you enjoyed showing the FTO boys the way round in proper styleeeeeeeeeeeeee joo

Saw you driving up the runway out as I was getting ready to leave so just missed you Having said that it didn't seem that bad until after I got on the A64. It got dead loud out on track, but then shut up again. The started again, then shup up again. Then got REALLY loud once I left the airfield!

Certainly showed the FTO's how to go backwards!! But once I got used to being "on the limit" rather than "over the limit coz it's fun" I was glad I sold my FTO, shall we say that

[gingerprince]

joospeed said:

mind you if it wasn't for the key incident I woudn't have known you were there .. so every cloud etc.

How close was I to missing my sighting laps! Glad there weren't many people around to see how easy it was to rectify my fckuup!

Thanks for the help by the way The spare keys were about 3 hours away - the other half was having her hair done so it would have been a long wait

[_dj_]

joospeed said:

_dj_ said: joospeed said: Hi GP .. you should have collared me as i was leaving, would have given the beastie the once-over. hope you enjoyed showing the FTO boys the way round in proper styleeeeeeeeeeeeee joo Round and round, and round, and round (for quite a few laps until he learned how not to spin it on every corner) Isn't there any easy test for the manifold gaskets (they'll blow won't they?). >> Edited by _dj_ on Saturday 23 October 20:26 Hi Darren .. get a piece of small bore tubing (8mm fuel pipe works well) .. long enough to put one end in your ear and teh other end to reach to the exhaust manifold flanges .. start engine and listen to each gasket/flange .. it will be plainly audible which is blowing joo ps good to see you too today again .. sorry it was a bit short .. mind you if it wasn't for the key incident I woudn't have known you were there .. so every cloud etc.

Thanks Jools. Sorry we had to run off but as Simon said, we were in serious danger of missing the sighting laps!

I was actually in the process of advocating we come and watch you drift around the 'grown up track' when Simon spotted you backwards on the grass

Darren.

[joospeed]

IT WASN'T ME!!!!!!!!!!!

it was Cliff

lmao.

[rev-erend]

My money is on an exhaust gasket .. very common.

[_dj_]

joospeed said:

IT WASN'T ME!!!!!!!!!!! it was Cliff lmao.

A likely story

[chimburt]

possibly camshaft?

[gingerprince]

Well, got my hosepipe out last night and had a poke around. Couldn't exactly pinpoint the noise, and I think there's now a bit of molten hosepipe on the manifold

I think it's somewhere underneath though, perhaps the exhaust itself? When I was under the bonnet I couldn't really hear it, but in the cabin it's very clear. Almost as if it's nearer to me when I'm in the car, and when under the bonnet the engine noise overpowers it.

Anyway, it's going in to RT Racing tonight to have the chassis treated for winter, so hopefully this can be sorted at the same time.

Cheers, Sy

[deeen]

I have been told my manifold itself is leaking, from the point where the 4 pipes are welded into 1 big one. Hard to pinpoint cos the leak is "inside" the "bunch of 4" but not unheard of, apparantly.

Its not pinking, is it?

[gingerprince]

10 points to all that suggested the manifold gasket!

Picked up the car today, and it was indeed a manifold gasket. So nothing too expensive, just a few hours labour.

Also had the chassis painted and waxoyl'd, was scary driving home with smoke coming from under the bonnet as the over-spray burned off