why do they start tapping?

just wondering... would lack of oil flow cause this? i thought it was a rocker arm that was loose at first, but when i attempted to adjust them, they didnt get any better... but when i had the valve cover off, i had no trouble with oil splashing... just wondering if they are related or not...

Steve

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86 Firebird, LG4, t-tops, 2.73 open rear, SLP 3 inch cat back exhaust, catco cat.

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88 Firebird Formula- deseased 2/9/99- 305 TPI, SLP 3 inch exhaust, SLP Intake runners, SLP cam, 3.45 BW disc brake posi, WS6, NOS, and all that good stuff, 13.8 on the motor, 12.89 on NOS and slicks! Hit by what else!?!? a FORD EXPLORER!!!!!!

 

Age and grime. Sledge builds up, they stick, they tap.

 

hmm intrestingly enough, my motor is REALLY clean under the valve covers, and the oil always is clean when i drain it for the oil change. anybody thing runnin atf is a good idea to maybe help this problem??

Steve

[This message has been edited by fb305svs (edited October 30, 2000).]

 

Well..ATF never fixed my taping problem but you may as well try it.

 

well i'm gonna try it.. just gotta wait till i burn off enough oil to try it lol

Steve

 

FB,

If you think you've got varnish buildup in the lifter bodies preventing the valve discs from sealing and leaking down, skip the transmission oil and try using synthetic engine oil. It cleans gum, sludge, and varnish as well as anything - just ask everyone whose leaks got worse when they switched. And don't try to stretch the change interval just because it's synthetic. You've already got a dirty engine, and longer change intervals won't help it get any better.

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Later,
Vader
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[This message has been edited by Vader (edited October 30, 2000).]

 

wow you guys are out in force tonight lol and vader is at it again! the reaosn i havent switched to synthetic is that i can't justify spending the extra bucks on gaining nuthing but some oil leaks... plus it sexpensive. surprisingly, the oil that comes out when i change the oil afte r3000 miles, is only about two shades adarker than when i put it in... i still have trouble reading the dipstick cuz i cant seen the oil very well!

Steve

 

All sorts of things will cause a mystery valve train tap besides lifters. The hardest one to spot is a rocker tip that has a groove worn in it where it has been running over the valve. Another common one is a wasted rocker ball; if you could slow down the motion, it would probably sound like a squeak. A bent pushrod will tap by banging into the head slot or guide plate each time it gets pushed, which forces it to bow out and make contact with something. Various things that happen to valve springs, shims, and retainers will also produce a tapping sound as those parts move against each other.

Try using a piece of heater hose with one end in your ear as a "stethoscope", and point the other end at each part of the valve train on the offending cylinder, and see if you can pinpoint it.

IMHO ATF in the oil is a good idea, for a number of reasons; not the least of which is that motor oil is a poor hydraulic fluid. That is, if you are working on a hydraulic system of any sort, it will not work if you put motor oil in it; but it will if you fill it with ATF. Hydraulic lifters do in fact work better with some ATF in the oil. Its main benefit though is that is extremely high detergent, so it is very effective at eating sludge. IIRC you have a near brand-new motor though, so there shouldn't be any sludge to speak of, so that's not so much of an issue.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."

 

well, what is very intresting about my "TAP" is that it is very loud, its not the rocker, (i have listen carefully) and that it is ONLY on the drivers side of the motor...

anybody have any insight to this???

Steve

 

Could be an exhaust leak, either by a burnt gasket, a hole in the exhaust system or even a loose spark plug. They often sounds like a "tapping" lifter.

 

Glenn- i used a mechanics stethoscope to determin where the most noise came from, when placed in certain spots, everything points to the lifters... the exhuast is definately tight.

Steve

 

i have the same tapping sound coming from the passenger side of my engine also. My mechanic said it cant be a lifter because if the lifter wasn't seating right, that the RPM gauge would jump a little in idle. However, he said he has tightened my headers and spark plugs, so now i think it has to be a lifter problem. What is ATF that you guys are talking about? Should i try to use it? Cause it ticks in idle but when i accelerate it gets really loud. I got to get rid of this problem

 

ATF = Automatic Transmission Fluid (oil).

 

Thanks vader. I took my car into my mechanic today to ask him what the ticking noise was and he said it is the sparking from my distributor. He said that the spark is so hot that it is causing it to be loud. I was just wondering if this really could be the problem, cause if it isn't i need to get it taken care of.