Hey I'm new to the older solid lifter engines so I'm not sure if its normal or not?

The engine runs fine, and has plenty of oil but it quite tappety?

Just wondered how i could quieten it down a bit or isit normal for this type of engine?

Check the tappet clearances??

They are just very tappy :grin: Thats why they are awesome

Its one of the reason VW probably went for hyrdaulic tappets, to quieten them down!!

IIRC, thinner oil will help quiten it down, also as nick says, do some reseach on tappet clearences.

Whats the plans with the engine then, i can help you out with tuning the weber

check the oil spray bar is distrubuting oil to all the cam lobes. You can take the oil cap off when the engines running to see if there's a stream of oil supplying the lobes locally, but to check them all the rocker cover has to come off (potentially very messy!)

If the top end is starved of oil you can wear the cam out. The spray bar is the only source of oil for the cam lobes and the tappets. It can fall off as the plastic mounts get brittle and can break easily. Also the spray holes can block if the oil isn't changed regularly.

Now that the scaremongering is out of the way - they do sound quite tappy,. If you ever replace the tappets they sound horrendous till the bed in. I put a schrick cam in mine and I was told it was a good idea to throw a new set in (lucky I could still get some really) And it sounded like an old fiesta. It's quieter now, thankfully.

Tappet clearances are in the haynes manual. They tend not to drift much though. To check the clearances you need some feeler blades and a 7mm hex bit, ideally long reach as it's a bit cramped in there.

I dunno whether thinner oil makes em quieter, I was always under the impression it was thicker oil, the theory being you end up with a thicker layer of oil over everything (As it takes longer/more effort to push the oil out of the way) thus creating more of a cushion for the noisy parts. Also liquid is a good sound deadening material, so thicker liquid-> more liquid->less sound. I use the same oil I use in a hydro head (10w40) mainly because the bottom end I'm using is an ABD

Inlet 0.15mm Exh 0.25mm engine HOT (autodata)

10W/30 or 20W/50 (autodata)

thanks guys, i was also under the impression thicker oil quietens things down, worked in my mk2 golf

yeah it is sunding rather like an old fiesta at the minute! i will deffo check the oil spray bar! do you have any pics of one so i know what I'm looking at??

i have the same lump sitting in the silver mk2 I'm breaking and it wasnt this tappy when i had it running.

max its running a pierburg (hence why I've been having problems) i would like to do a bit of tuning but dont know where to start! (it already has a 4 branch though)

Inlet 0.15mm Exh 0.25mm engine HOT (autodata)

10W/30 or 20W/50 (autodata)

cheers nige, you always come in handy

I also thought it was thicker oil that provided better sound cushioning properties, but the thread concluded it being thinner oil!

Can't remember why though!

I also thought it was thicker oil that provided better sound cushioning properties, but the thread concluded it being thinner oil!

Can't remember why though!

enough of the oil, what can i do to tame the beast! i can hear all of the raging ponies a little too much!

nah, what easy mods are there for speedz?

thanks guys, i was also under the impression thicker oil quietens things down, worked in my mk2 golf

yeah it is sunding rather like an old fiesta at the minute! i will deffo check the oil spray bar! do you have any pics of one so i know what I'm looking at??

i have the same lump sitting in the silver mk2 I'm breaking and it wasnt this tappy when i had it running.

max its running a pierburg (hence why I've been having problems) i would like to do a bit of tuning but dont know where to start! (it already has a 4 branch though)

Try chaning the oil to a good quality thicker oil then, but i'm sure i heard thinner oil was better?

Mine quietens down the hotter it gets, engine oil gets less viscous as the tempreture rises. Thus meaning thinner oil is better? I'm not sure.

Get a weber on it and go from there mate, pierburgs aren't worth the effort IMO. I'd go for the weberICH in the for sale section...

yeah will do bossman! mine seems to het louder as it gets hotter :s

wheres that? would it be suitable? i thought dmtr/dmtl was the way to go?? got a link?

Regarding your oil spray bar, get the rocker cover off. On the back edge of the top of the head, there will be a tube, about 7 mm in diameter held in place at each end and in the middle with a plastic T or 90deg bend. Will have very small holes in too. Easy enough to take out and get some air down it if is blocked

cheers simon!

yeah you'll know it when you see it! :)

My engine is very tappy when i rev it up, lovely on idle but as soon as i rev it up its like a bag of nails, and its got hydrulic tappets lol, could have somthing to do with the low oil pressure haha

haha when i start mine in the mornings it sounds lovely! just when it gets up to temperature it starts sounding like an oil fiesta

does kinda make me think the oil is old and naff? as surely it gets thinner when warm doesent it? but shouldnt make THAT much difference

or am i being a tard

My engine is very tappy when i rev it up, lovely on idle but as soon as i rev it up its like a bag of nails, and its got hydrulic tappets lol, could have somthing to do with the low oil pressure haha

[/qSounds like low oil pressure get a gauge on there

Have you changed the oil since getting it Eric? That's probably your best bet as a starting point. My old hydro devoted a tap, but this quietend down after new oil. Though never totally went away

i haven't yet nah, gonna change it shortly and hopefully itl sort it! according to halfrauds i should use 15w40?