Interesting Noise
Discussion
Any thoughts on this one from the Griff massive would be mightily appreciated...
The last few times I've started my car from cold there has been a loud tapping for approximately one minute which then just quietens away to nothing. The car runs like a dream and hasn't lost any performance but this is REALLY bugging me. I always warm the car up carefully before pulling off (no jokes please) so I don't think it's anything to do with abuse. Also she's only done 20k and the manifold gaskets were done about 2k ago. The only non standard thing on my car is exhaust manifold wrapping. Could this have caused a manifold to crack? Over to you guys...
The last few times I've started my car from cold there has been a loud tapping for approximately one minute which then just quietens away to nothing. The car runs like a dream and hasn't lost any performance but this is REALLY bugging me. I always warm the car up carefully before pulling off (no jokes please) so I don't think it's anything to do with abuse. Also she's only done 20k and the manifold gaskets were done about 2k ago. The only non standard thing on my car is exhaust manifold wrapping. Could this have caused a manifold to crack? Over to you guys...
any of those, but its not necessarilly the tappet.
theres a pad on the base of the rocker where it hits the top of the valve and these can break up. this will also give you a noisy tappet.
get it soted sooner rather than later, bits floating around in the oil aint good. and it might not be too expensive.
good luck
andy
theres a pad on the base of the rocker where it hits the top of the valve and these can break up. this will also give you a noisy tappet.
get it soted sooner rather than later, bits floating around in the oil aint good. and it might not be too expensive.
good luck
andy
Saying all that isnt it known that if exhaust wrapping is used that after time its a possibility the exhaust can rot as it traps dampness/water. Just thinking you may have a hole in it and it may sound like the ticking noise and then once moving the noise may be drowned out. Can you feel around the exhaust while its doing the noise.If not then at least thats excluded and can carry on with what has been advised above/below.
BB
BB
The exhaust was only wrapped recently and was in pretty much perfect condition beforehand, so I don't think that it could be that. What made me think of exhausts was that I used to have an Audi Quattro with a cracked exhaust manifold which made a terrible noise. What would happen was that as the exhaust warmed up the metal would expand and close the crack and the noise would disappear. The noise that my Griff makes reminded me of that. That saying it didn't tick at all when I started it this morning!!! I bleeping hate intermittent problems as they are a total pain to sort out. If it is a problem with an individual tappet that can it be diagnosed by a visual inspection (removing the inlet manifold) or does everything have to come to pieces?
It's worth a try in my opinion. I changed to a thicker oil, recommended by a guy who's been around the Rover V8 for years and it improved my engines characteristics, less consumption, quieter valve train on cold startup and it stopped a puff of smoke when under hard acceleration. A thicker oil is less likely to weep out of your tappets when the car is stationary.
If you're due an oil change then you've got nothing to loose. If the noise persists after an oil change, then investigate further.
In my opinion and experience, most problems on TVR's are almost always something simple but everyone jumps to a more expensive cause.
If you're due an oil change then you've got nothing to loose. If the noise persists after an oil change, then investigate further.
In my opinion and experience, most problems on TVR's are almost always something simple but everyone jumps to a more expensive cause.
Yes, exactly right. What worried me most was the close proximity of the exhaust to the body, the air intake and most importantly drive belts and electrical components. The heat was so intense that it was attacking the rubber insulation and making it brittle and attacking the surface of the alternator belt. Wrapping the exhaust fixed it immediately with the added bonuses of dulling the racket from under the bonnet (not to be confused with the glorious exhaust noise!) which allowed me to listen to my engine properly for the first time and smoothing out and pepping up the power delivery (I presume because the engine could breathe coolish air rather than the superheated variety that it was snorting before). It also reduced heat soak into the starter motor (which no longer has a tendency to stick when the engine's hot) and into the cabin as well. All in all it's probably the smartest and cheapest mod that you can perform. Highly recommended. One thing I did do however was to paint the exhausts with a high temperature ceramic particle based anti corrosive paint beforehand to prevent rusting. It's available for about £20 a (small) pot from Demon Tweeks but one pot is more than enough to cover both manifolds.
Just to say mine are insulated too. Been like that since I bought it. I got the seller to unwrap them to checked the pipes before I bought it but the guy said it made such an improvement that I thought I might as well leave it on. I have read on here that it can perhaps lead to problems by transfering the heat further down the pipe but mine has been fine. However, mine is a pre-cat car, it may be more problematic on a catted car as high temps can damage them. Mine runs at perfect temperatures and never overheats (famous last words
).
Just a thought (but possibly talking complete bollox) - from what I recall it's really cramped in there. Maybe whoever did the wrapping loosened off the manifold to lift the pipe giving better access to wrap it, and then didnt tighten it up properly or damaged the gasket?
>> Edited by jam1et on Tuesday 23 March 10:52
). Just a thought (but possibly talking complete bollox) - from what I recall it's really cramped in there. Maybe whoever did the wrapping loosened off the manifold to lift the pipe giving better access to wrap it, and then didnt tighten it up properly or damaged the gasket?
>> Edited by jam1et on Tuesday 23 March 10:52
No, it's not that, because I did the wrapping! As for the heat emerging somewhere else it should come out the end! Just in case it was causing hot spots further along the exhaust which were burning something I had the car up on a ramp a couple of times after I did the wrapping in order to inspect it. There was nothing. Also the cats apparently need a very high temperature to work properly and have an insulating layer built into the outer skin, but I'd also heard a rumour that this could cause problems so to be safe I just wrapped the pre-cats and left the main part unwrapped. So far it's been as good as gold. (Famous last words!!!)
Heat shielding may increase the life of certain components (e.g rubber hoses, belts etc) but I dont think its been proven to increase performance. Ceramic coating costs £300 and as wrapping does exactly the same job for practically nowt, I think your just paying over the odds for cosmetics - fair enough if you have money to burn, but unfortunately I dont 
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