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MG MGF Technical - Noisy Tappits

The head gasket went on my MGF in December. I had it replaced under private warranty agreement at a local garage. Since it came out of the garage the tappits have been extremely noisy. All 16 tappits have been replaced, the head has been stripped down and rebuilt about 4 times, yet the problem persists. The tapping is usually present on start up (warm or cold) and lasts about a minute. It will then quieten down only to start up again about 45-60 mins later (usually after sitting in traffic, but it has been known to start again after a good, long, straight run). The garage has no idea what to do next and is at a loss what to do and i want to sell the car. Any ideas?? The garage has put thicker oil in, but no luck.
Sally

Get your garage to check that the correct exhaust manifold gasket is fitted and has been fitted properly, i had this problem after a HG change and it sounded exactly like tappets but upon investigation (and help from the BBS)the gasket itself which was new didnt have the compression rings fitted and therefore didnt seal correctly, Worth a try anyway.

Cheers

Wayne
Wayne D'Andilly

>> The head gasket went on my MGF in December. I had it replaced under private warranty agreement at a local garage. Since it came out of the garage the tappits have been extremely noisy. <<

Uh oh :o(

I'd be very very concerned about this as one potential mistake that can be made when rebuilding an engine is using the wrong kind of sealant on the gasket... it can spread and block the oil ways to the cylinder head and cause oil starvation not only to the tappets but also the cam bearings. :o( I've seen something rather similar sitting in the workshop of Dave Andrews - and it wasn't a pretty sight.

I'm affraid that you may need to go back to the garage that performed the gasket replacement and get them to rebuild your engine as the problems you describe are not 'normal' - and filling up with thicker oil is only a bodge that'll only make things worse :o(
Rob Bell

Hi,

<wrong kind of sealant on the gasket>

Rob, this reads as if you're describing sealant on the head gasket. You mean sealant on the cam carrier joint, don't you?

Sally, did the tappets become noisy after the head gasket was replaced, and subsequently the tappets were replaced? Are all the tappets noisy (as far as you can tell) or just one or two?

Regards, Kes.
Kes

>Rob, this reads as if you're describing sealant on the
>head gasket. You mean sealant on the cam carrier joint,
>don't you?

It's not unheard of for a garage to put extra sealent on a HG, especially if it looks like the gasket is weak in one area (like the K), but as Rob says, the clearance between faces is close to zero, so the instant gasket has to go somewhere!
Will Munns

Hmmm, what a bodge. Cheers, K.
Kes

Not a lot more of a bodge than the GEC108 (?) that goes on the oil rail, crank carrier, cam carrier etc. etc. (and this does obscure holes slightly, even if they promise it won't!)
Will Munns

Kes,

The tappets were extremely noisy after it had the head gasket done (they were quiet before it went in). It has been in the garage for the fourth time this year and on each occasion it has got quieter. The tappets were replaced after the third visit and although it is much better, the noise still starts up. I don't think all the tappets were noisy but the garage couldn't identify the problem ones, so replaced the lot. The annoyance is that the noise is unpredicatable although sitting in traffic is a guarantee that it will kick off.

I have booked the car back into the garage tonight, but they are at a loss as to what can be done.HELP!!!
Sally

Initial starting noisy tappets are to be expected. comming back after getting hot is a worry.

Heres a stupid question!

Have you ever replaced the dipstick? there is more than one version (differing lengths!), and a low oil level often leads to noisy tappets.

A blockage I would expect to give you noisy tappets always.

what oil are you using?

Are you sure it's tappets you hear when the engine is hot?
Will Munns

>Rob, this reads as if you're describing sealant on the
>head gasket. You mean sealant on the cam carrier joint,
>don't you?

Hmm, yup, both actually Kes - as Will says, some garages are known to use a little extra sealant on the gasket. I've seen evidence of this too with great blobs of orange stuff protuding from the head/block interface :o(

Sally, my fear remains the same: the noise you are hearing could be due to oil starvation of the top end of the engine.

Any one aware of any tests that one could perform to check to see if this is a problem here?
Rob Bell

The dipstick has never been replaced (as far as i know)but it is the original one (the car is only 2 years old).
The oil put in by the garage is 15/45??? where it should be 10??? (whatever that may be). I doubt it is low on oil because after numerous strip downs of the head the oil has been replaced. I will test it though.

I am assuming it is the tappets that i'm hearing as this is the description the garage is using for the noise. I have asked them to look at the exhaust manifold gasket compression rings (as suggested earlier by Wayne. Anything at thing is worth a try at this stage.
Sally

I would suggest pulling the cam cover and looking for wear.

the other thing to check is to get a real oil pressure gauge and plumb it into the oil filter housing (should just replace the oil temp sensor) to make sure that the oil pump is keeping up it's end of the bargain. (should be 65->75PSI when cold, 65PSI when hot over 2kRPM and no lower than 20PSI at idle.
Will Munns

Gasket is £10 and should be replaced if they 'look at it'
Will Munns

I am going to pass on all the suggestions to the garage tonight, because i am sick to death of keep taking the bloody car back in. Luckily i have another car (one which works properly) at my disposal. Will never be buying a MG ever again (even if they are one of the best looking cars on the road).

Sally

This thread was discussed on 14/04/2004

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