Noisy cam follower

[TT Tim]

Quick Q...

Being very new to TVRs and inparticular the 500 Chim that I picked up last night, I have a question.

I seem to have a noisy cam follower, it seems to just be one. I know that the car hasn't covered many miles in the last few months and I'm hoping that giving the car some us e will cure it, if not I'll worry about cam lobe wear next spring.

I know the Rover/Buick V8 quite well having built a couple, but is this the kind of thing that is synonomous with the TVR 500HC Lump?

Thanks

Tim

[DMc]

The first thing i would do is change the oil if it hasn't been done recently just a thought.

[TT Tim]

My thoughts exactly, I believe it's got Magnatec in it at the moment, I must admit to not being a fan of it, so 5-40 fully Synth I think.

Any reason why I shouldn't do an oil change myself? I remember reading somewhere about not letting just anyone change the oil, I just never understood why.

Tim

[2 sheds]

They are occasionally prone to broken rockers, the case hardened plate that runs against the valve stem can break off, easy to repair though, but still more likely to be "lazy" follower.
Tim

[MOD500]

Morning

Have the same noises from my 500, according to form they tend to do that Have had it checked by three folks (Harrogate Horseless, RT Racing, & Mark Adams) who all said the same thing - that it was ok.

Seems to quieten down when using Mobil 1 15W/50 motorsport, anyone else found the same?

[sb-1]

Tim,
Having had a ride in this car,I don't think(IMO)you have antything to worry about.Having driven several Chims of various engine sizes they all seem to do it.
Re oil.I think that Mobil 1 Racing seems to be favorite.
Steve

[WindsorRob]

Interested in this post as I seem to have a similar problem. I recently had some work done on the car (new radiator and water pump gasket). The dealer delivered the car back to me, but said that on the way back a tapping had arisen at one stage, but had then gone away. He said that this is likely to be a lazy cam follower and I should monitor it, but not be overly concerned. Since then, on the first outing it the car it tapped briefly then the noise dissapeared, however yesterday the tapping was present for about 10 miles before again going back to normal. The car is running A1, hence there seems to be no other problem bar the noise. Is this likely to be a lazy follower and is it difficult to fix ? Any thoughts welcomed. The tapping noise is quite loud by the way !

[TT Tim]

I guess the first thing to ask is, and this isn't meant to be insulting, is, are you familiar with the hydraulic cam followers as used in the V8?

If you are then you know what's happening and why it's making the noise, if you don't then I'll explain. It's easier to make a decision if you understand what the problem is.

Tim

[beermonster]

This is exactly the reason I bought Steve Heaths most excellent bible!!
It arrived this morning in the post from the TVR car club and all packaged up nicely!!! Had a flick through and its very informative!!!

[TT Tim]

...and written with a degree of wit too!

Tim

[WindsorRob]

TT Tim,

No sorry, I don't know how they work and hence don't understand the problem. Any enlightenment appreciated !

Anything to do with little use - mines a second car and hence doesn't do daily runs etc ? I tend to do fewer long runs.

[rv8500]

Mines just the same. One noisy follower, tends to only do it when its stood still (ie really hot) if you drive it it goes away. I've tried different oil and even replaced the followers. Spoke to Chris at rpi engineering the other day and this is common on the 500. The exhaust valves burn out quite quickly (mines only done 18000 miles and I had to regrind them all) this leaves the exhaust valves slightly higher than the inlets, so its about impossible to get the preload right. I thought the easy way round this is to fit adjustable pushrods £120. Dont think its a great worry, just put your foot down and