I recently had the head on my 16V overhauled. The overhaul consisted of replacement (K-lined) exhaust guides, together with the usual stuff (valves, seats). The engine has done 103K miles. The only reason I got the original head overhauled was because I decided to put the car back to standard and hence I removed the gas flowed head I previously had on it (so I can use that on my project car). So, I've fitted the overhauled head together with new tappets from GSF. I (stupidly) re-used the old cam chain, because I forgot to order one. When I started the engine for the first time, I'm pretty sure it sounded quite okay. A little bit noisy from the chain end of the head, but that's expected. The oil had been in there since the year dot, so I did an engine flush, and then I dumped the oil and put in some Quantum Silver from VW together with a genuine VAG oil filter. Since then, the sound of the head has just become worse. It sounds like a tired head with tired old tappets. This just isn't right, but I don't know where I've gone wrong. Please help
Sounds like you have tappet issues Trev... How long has the engine been up & running? I know my 8v sounded pretty ropey when the tappets were replaced for a good while until they "jacked up" properly..
You sure all the oil ways were clear in the head? sounds like the head may be getting starved of oil...
Well, I think the total running time of the engine is no more than, say, two hours at the very most. I'm pretty concerned about running it at the moment you see, and fortunately (or unfortunately - I lost my job!) I can cope without a car for a while. Oh - I should probably mention here that the oil LED always does what it should do, i.e. briefly illuminate for a very short period after starting. My neighbour (who used to be a mechanic) came over and suggested that this Silver oil is too thin. I know bugger all about oil to be perfectly honest, but I argued that it's what the 16V lads on here swear by! I did wonder if it's possible that there was quite a lot of old oil and flush left sitting in the engine before I put the new oil in? But I allowed it quite some time to drain out. Or maybe the oil pump is not maintaining enough oil pressure for some reason, I just don't know. Just wondering if I should run it with a cheap filter and cheap oil for a while and then put some Silver back in after a week.
I just went out and checked the oil. In actual fact, the oil level is a couple of mm above the maximum mark. Oops.
Get it dropped then, don't try changing it, remember they're new tappets and unless you primed them first? and left the cam on them for 30 mins before starting the engine its bound to be abit noisy till its all worked through.
Couldn't it be the old cam chain rattling like mad, mr valver sounds like a diesel on idle due to the cam chain!
I've seen new tappets take longer than that to pump up properly. As long as you're sure you timed it right when you put it back together, I'd keep running it and see if it quietens down.....
My tappets have gotten very noisy recently, shortly after an Oil change. I used Quantum Gold Fully synthetic. I'm now wondering of it was the best stuff to use??? what weight/oil is best for a 115K Valver.
I use Silver 10/40 (used Vauxhall`s semi 10/40 last time though). Who made the tappets Trev? mine were INA I think and they shut up after minute of running. Have you got a genuine vag filter on?
Thanks for the advice, guys. Keith: Yep, I used a genuine VAG filter. I always go and get my oil and filters from VW. As for the make of the tappets - I can't actually remember, but I will see if I can find the old packaging. I recall them coming in a yellow box (!). Now, I confess that I did not prime the tappets before fitting them. I simply removed them from the plastic tray, pushed them in, plonked the cams in and then poured a load of oil onto the whole lot. Then it was a very long time before the engine was started. Maybe this is where I went wrong, I don't know. I'm very certain I timed everything up properly. I find it bizarre that doing an engine flush and then putting in the VAG Silver stuff has made it more noisy - or at least I'm pretty damn sure it has. I guess I'll try running it for a couple of hundred miles and see how it goes. Also, would it be beneficial to remove the valve cover and possibly the cams to see if I can spot any signs of trouble? If so, what should I check for? See if the tappets are full of oil...?
if you didn't prime them, thats where its coming from, you just need to run the engine adn after a short while they tappets will prime them selfs and all will be well.
The tappets come mostly full of oil - and upside down in the box so that they stay full of oil. If yours have sat the right way up they will be empty, and will probably take a while to pump up. By all means take the cover off and check the cam is good, you can't really check the tappets without dismantling, but if you pinch off the breathers, then take the oil filler cap off you should see oil being thrown everywhere. Otherwise you might have a problem with the oil galleries to the head. I'd suggest running it for a while though, again presuming you are TOTALLY sure it is timed right. If it's any consolation, my neighbour's MGB (no hydraulics) takes a full 20 minutes of idling for the oil pressure to reach normal levels. And he has no tappets to fill.......
Oh aye - the cam chain sounds totally different from the tappets - more of a "slappy" against metal sound, whereas the tappets will be a totally regular tapping. Try the "screwdriver in the ear" stethoscope method all along the watchtower (sorry, cam cover), to find out where you are getting the noise from.....
We replaced tappets in a 16valve head and the tappets never clicked at all after start up - we soaked them in oil overnight before installing.... don't know if that helped eliminate the clicking...
When I put the flowed head on a couple of years back, the engine sounded lovely even when it was first started. And those tappets were simply removed from the packet and slapped in. It's puzzling. I've actually got a stethoscope TSC, so I'll give it a go.
Trev, you are clearly mechaniccally useless!!! The 16v G60 will never run now And it's about time I got off my arse and found a job instead of posting useless info on here! Edited by: Trev16v
