Gra Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I have a right old rattle going on when I start from cold - sounds like tappets - goes with engine speed - gets worse on overrun. Practically disappears when warm after about 2-3 minutes of running. Can anyone please give me a steer before I start taking large bits of engine apart - is the K Serise 1.8 prone to tappets / cam / something giving up? It's an SV on an 04 plate with about 10k miles on the clock. Thanks for your help, Gra Red SVen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Sounds like a lazy follower, fairly common but not something major to worry about /stands back and waits to be corrected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmmarsh Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Mine has been doing that since I got it 3 years ago. It is a 2001 car and has 34k on it, so I wouldn't worry. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patneale Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Gra, The K series has hydraulic tappets. These are hollow and fill with oil from the camshaft oil gallery. The oil pressure keeps the tappet in touch with the cam ( ie it expands) with a light pressure and thus there is no need for any adjustment. A non return valve in the tappet prevents the oil leaking out when the lobe of the cam comes round and pushes the tappet opening the valve. Thats the theory and they should be reliable and not wear out over the life of the engine. If the engine has not been used for a long while then it is possible that the oil may drain out and the oil needs to be replaced to take up the clearance. However this should only take a few seconds from a cold start. Have you had the car from new? If so has it been raced and has the oil been changed at the correct intervals? Has this problem just occured? One problem that occurs when racing is that the oil gets air bubbles in it and as air is compressible the tappets will go "soft" and the valves will not open fully. A "dry" sump will prevent this and will prevent the oil pump picking up air when oil surge on cornering throws the oil up the side of the sump starving the oil pump. None of this of course occurs from a cold start and the oil pressure should be 4 at cold at tick over for the first minute or so. If this rattle is occuring for more than a few seconds then it would suggest that the oil is not getting up to the camshaft oil galleries properly. Never ever blip the throttle from cold, let the ECU sort the starting revs out for the first 10 seconds. My SV 140 hp Xpower 03 March reg has done 31000 miles now and there is never any tappet clatter even after the 3 months winter lay up start up. It should not be allowed to continue as the cam is "hammering" the tappets and the valves and increased wear will result. However your mileage is tiny so it will take some years before the wear causes a problem. BUT not good that it happening as my engine is as quiet at tick over as any engine I have heard with so many cams and valves opening and closing...... It should whirr not tap! Put in "Hydraulic Tappets" into your search engine and you should get a good article with drawings of how the tappet works! HUGH P N Robinson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gra Posted August 13, 2007 Author Share Posted August 13, 2007 Grub / Steve / Hugh Thank you all so much for your interest and replies - much appreciated. Best regards Graham Red SVen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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