Advice Please Noisy Tappets (ls)

[lexusn1ce]

hi. i have an early 1992 ls400 now i have done my searches of the forum and i come to understand that my ls has shims to adjust the tappets, now the reason for this post is my tappets are living up to their name but by the sound of it its only a few that are misbehaving and what i wanted to know is, is it fairly normal for a little tap on 120k miles or should i be taking action.

i would say the tap is not really loud but its louder than a little tick that you get with modern cars, i suppose the best way to explain is like the fiesta when they sound tappy but not on every valve maybe 2 or a few more to be really precise it sounds like a few on each bank because the sound kind or bounces from side to side, cant hear it in the car but its noticable with the window down or when im outside and louder if the bonnet is up, im not worried about it if its not harmfull but also not afraid to do the work myself if it is.

any thoughts appreciated and what type of shims to use if i need to do it and does anyone know the clearences thanks.

[SteveLS400]

hi. i have an early 1992 ls400 now i have done my searches of the forum and i come to understand that my ls has shims to adjust the tappets, now the reason for this post is my tappets are living up to their name but by the sound of it its only a few that are misbehaving and what i wanted to know is, is it fairly normal for a little tap on 120k miles or should i be taking action.

Hi

My Jan 1995 with 186k is as quiet as a mouse so I think you do have an issue. It could be the injectors or the valve clearances.

[SteveLS400]

Hi again

This might help http://www.lextreme.com/valve_clearance.html

Failing which

http://www.justanswer.com/

Note the latter is not free.

[pgls400]

Hi again

This might help http://www.lextreme.com/valve_clearance.html

Failing which

http://www.justanswer.com/

Note the latter is not free.

Hi,

Havent been with the lex for very long, so its just an idea, but maybe yours dont need adjusting. One thing i always found the the rover 827 sterlings were that even when they were adjusted correctly, they could still tap. Could simply mean that your engine needs a couple of good flushes and new oil. I used to use diesel oil as a flush and that used to work wonders.

Like i said, just an idea.

Hope you get it sorted.

Phil.

[ROYT]

Try an oil and filter change first, use a decent quality oil

10w 40 or 20w 50

[sir john]

A friend of mine has a Jaguar XK8. He was telling me that he adds Wynnes oil additive to his cars engine oil. He says that it refreshes all the engine oil seals and makes his engine quieter as well.

Im planning use it in my LS. Mainly to freshen up the 16 year old engine seals.

It might help with the tappet noise.

PS. my friend has worked in the motor industry for 20 odd years on the techi side. including Jaguar and Bentley.

[lexusn1ce]

hi there thanks for the replys that lex site was very usefull all the info needed is there, as for the change oil it was done three weeks ago along with an engine flush and new filter sound hasnt changed, one thing im not sure about though is a have the dreaded crack in the egr and i suspect this may be adding some noise to the problem, the lex site definately highlights how much work that job is though.

as for the some valves being noisy regardless i had that on a peugeot so i know what you mean, not really sure what to do now, i did read somewhere that the oil; grade was 20/50 but that was after i used 10/40 so could that be responsible i wonder?

just wanted to add it was mentioned above that it could be injectors tapping, if it is would this be considered normal and how do i tell if its injectors or tappets?

[pgls400]

Hi mate,

In terms of oil, you want to put the best you can afford in it. Preferebly something thats Esther based oil. This is not the kind of stuff youll pick up at Halfrauds. Opie Oils sell all this stuff. When Castrol made Magnatec, i think they were trying to re create what Hydrogen Esthers do, in a cheaper oil, and that is to remove ALL metallic friction at all temps. I dont know anything about how good Magnatec actually is, but i think with oil, you really do get what you pay for. Just please AVOID these cheap makes that a lot of factors sell for about 10 quid for five litres, this stuff is not going to give any kind of decent protection.

Good makes to look out for are people like Mobil, Fuchs, Motul, Redline, and of coarse Castrol.

A car like this deserves the best. You give it that and it will last as long as you want it to.

On the cleaning side, a very old technique for cleaning out that i used to use is to first get rid of your existing oil, and replace using some cheap stuff. Dont worry as i wouldnt drive it with the cheap stuff in it. Then when the new, Cheap oil is in the engine, i would add about half a litre to one litre of ATF fluid to the oil, and let the engine idle for approx 15-30 mins. Just let it idle though, DO NOT REV IT.

Then drop out that oil, and i garuantee when you do it will be as black as night. This works because ATF fluid has a very high level of detergent in it.

So youve then emptied out all the crap (if any) from your engine, then get some more cheap oil, and refill again, just to make sure you get all the remaining ATF out, and then simply drop off the filter, replace with the new one, then refill with the best oil you can afford.

I know it sounds very long winded, and you certainly wouldnt need to do it ever time you change the oil, but in my experiance, it really does work wonders.

Or if you wanted an easier soloution, still buy the best oil you can afford, but just chuck a bottle of Wynns engine flush in your oil and drive around for about a week before changing it, again that will work well also.

Regards, Phil

[Ninety-Eight]

Also check the exhaust is not blowing at the manifold. I have had a couple of V8 cars where this has resulted in a sound which at first sounded like tappets.

[Manc]

hi there thanks for the replys that lex site was very usefull all the info needed is there, as for the change oil it was done three weeks ago along with an engine flush and new filter sound hasnt changed, one thing im not sure about though is a have the dreaded crack in the egr and i suspect this may be adding some noise to the problem, the lex site definately highlights how much work that job is though.

as for the some valves being noisy regardless i had that on a peugeot so i know what you mean, not really sure what to do now, i did read somewhere that the oil; grade was 20/50 but that was after i used 10/40 so could that be responsible i wonder?

just wanted to add it was mentioned above that it could be injectors tapping, if it is would this be considered normal and how do i tell if its injectors or tappets?

you should be able to tell if its the egr if you open your bonnet and put your head under and towards the middle of the windscreen, or simply park up in a confined space to clarify any blowing sound.

my egr is blowing now, its not as bad a sound as the gasket job...

I had to replace gaskets where the manifold downpipe meets the cats, cheap job but it can take ages depending on how rusty the nuts are!! the mechanic moaned about it - a lot.

You can see if its the gaskets if you drive home when its good daylight (dare i say sunny?) and when engine is hot, lean out of your seat and look underneath roughly inline with the front of the wheels, you will see the hot air around the holes where the exhaust is bent to fit the manifold. If you see the air cloud then you have holes, mine were gone on both sides at the same point - no problems since with those or the main exhaust system, but i kinda like the egr pipe sound and have left it for a few months, but with the cost of fuel getting giddy then i need to fix it to save a few quid