Hi all.. bit of advice. When I start the car it clacks - sounds like a sticking lifter to me - and started suddenly during this cold snap. If I raise the revs for a few seconds, then give it a quick rev the noise stops and it's all OK until the next morning. I popped in some valve lifter treatment (Wynns) and it definitely stops quicker now. Yesterday it didn't happen at all, then today it did - but went away after a single rev.
Question I suppose is... do we think it's a sticky lifter? If so what is the best course of action? Obviously the engine was in my garden for several weeks, and I cleaned the central tunnel area etc, and resealed stuff, including various gasket areas. So after a couple of months could something that I dislodged had caused the lifter to stick and/or drain over night? If so am I best using some flushing oil (or I'm told it's just as good to replace 1 litre of oil with ATF and run that for a week or so before doing an oil change?) and then change the oil/filter? Is some Molyslip worth bunging in? Or some more of the valve lifter treatment?
Any advice appreciated!
What oil are you running it on Adam?
If you've got thick W rate oil in there, it's normal in cold weather. The two numbers on an oil show the viscosity at low and high temperatures, so a 10W-40 will have the same viscosity as a 10 grade oil when cold and a 40 grade oil when hot. So if you are running 20W-50, it's too thick when cold so takes the first couple of seconds to get up to the tappets and gives you the tapping noise.
Spot on Gilbertd- that's what I was fishing for :)
Hi, sorry for delay replying - It's 10-40 oil. Always use that in him.
I've got that. I stuck in half a litre of ATF mostly because I'd mauled the cap a bit and couldn't screw it back down (it was a pull-out cap and had a security seal to stop you unscrewing it, but I didn't notice that) and run up to Halfords about five miles away for the oil to do my last oil change and the oil came out very black. That's half a litre on top of the oil that was in, not half a litre total!
The tapping on startup now sounds "sharper" but it goes away a lot quicker. I am hoping that this and all the other clacks and clatters will go away when I do the camshaft, timing chain and oil pump.
Blimey - hoping I don't need to suddenly do the camshaft and oil pump! The engine out and core plugs and various seals is the most I've ever done to a lump this big!
You could try sticking a 5W-40 in there for the winter
Doesn't look like that horrible a job to get the camshaft out, lots of dismantling but nearly all of it done from the top or front once the sump's off :-)
Orangebean wrote:
You could try sticking a 5W-40 in there for the winter
I'd run it all year round, except The Duchess likes a bit of a drink.....
so she only gets 10/40 semi
gordonjcp wrote:
Doesn't look like that horrible a job to get the camshaft out, lots of dismantling but nearly all of it done from the top or front once the sump's off :-)
The sump hasn't to be removed completely, undo the bolts until halfway to the rear, leave the rest a few turns in. That allows the sump to lower just enough to free the 3 front studs of the timingcover. Saves a lot of hassle underneath with no 4 post ramp. Only the suctionpipe is a bit tricky.
Tony.
Orangebean wrote:
You could try sticking a 5W-40 in there for the winter
Oh - didn't know I could! I assumed without 10-40 he'd explode or something? (words added for dramatic effect LOL)
Well, he might, but then you won't have to worry about the rattly cam follower :)
LOL....
Really bugs me that he never made any untoward noises etc, so I treat him to new core plugs and seals and now he makes a rattling noise!! GRRRR
The car hadn't clacked the last few days until this afternoon when I turned him over to pump the suspension back up... it was quite a short clack ... so I think the valve lubricant may be working - albeit rather slowly!