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MG MGF Technical - noisey tappets or is it my cams

Hi
when we start our f up she has always had noisey tappets or even the cams?
Can i adjust anything or is it terminal?~
The tappet noise goes away after a few mins or a mile but there is always this dull sort of knocking noise at low revs only,
The car drives great except for the noise of the above mentions probs - Any ideas whould help !
Cheers
TONY
a h thomas

Is this a normal VVC
a h thomas

Sorry had TOO many strongbows lol
Is this a normal VVC prob or just bad luck?
The car was rebuild before we bought her from a main rover dealer so everything on the top half of the engine has been replaced.
So am i being pickey or is this NORMAL?
Tony
a h thomas

Had same problem with mine. seems to be normal as long as noise goes when warmed up. i put mine down to lack of use,i gave the car a long run ,a good hard drive(once warmed up ),and use it more often.Is it in need of a service?, as when this problem was last posted it was also put down to this ,and possibly the grade of oil. Mine does not do it anymore and just had
a service. mine is also a NON vvc. PS try Stella,its miles better than Strongbow.
m e johnson

Hi Tony,

I had a similar noise in my '99 F about 6 months ago. Would make the tap-tap noise on start-up and go away after a few minutes of driving.

Went to the local MG garage and paid $1000 (Aussie) to have some work done. I was told the lifters were on their way out and would cost me another $70 (Aussie) per lifter plus labour to fix. 16 valves x $70 (+ labour) = way too much money !

I got some advice from another garage who suggested using better oil as the MG's can be a little noisy.

Took their advice, asked my original garage to do an oil flush and put in top quality oil, and the noice has gone away. Told it's a fairly common noise with the MG's.

So, in short, fork out some bucks for good oil and you'll be right mate!

Cheers

Sonny



Sonny Foster

The oil has to be a synthetic such as Mobil 1, it makes all the difference and lasts longer than the cheap stuff !.
Andrew Regens

Tony, before suspecting the tappets (hydraulic lifters, or followers as they are also known), check the oil level and condition. A low oil level often makes itself heard with a tappetty noise at start up!

Regarding oil flushes etc I can only agree with what the others have said - often a noisy tappet can be due to some oil crud blocking the oil tract preventing the oil pressure reaching optimum inside the tappet quickly.

Or if you are very unlucky, one of the tappets is on the way out. Unfortunately, due to problems isolating the noise, it is preferable to replace all 16 tappets at the same time - which - as Sonny rightly says - works out very expensive very quickly - especially if you are paying someone else to do the work... :o(
Rob Bell

Thanks All
I will try the flush and the best synthetic oil at the next oil change due shortly.
Tony
a h thomas

I was told some while back that fully synthetic oils drain back very easily and as a consequence the lifters empty! And that the basic oils (as recommended) are better for the hydraulic tappets.
Ted Newman

Ted

I have heard this comment as well but cannot follow the logic.

A 10W40 Mineral and 0W40 Synthetic have appox same viscosity at 100c, so when engine is switched off drainback should start off at same rate and even at 40c there would not be a huge difference in viscosity.

At lower temperatures a synthetic will both drainback and flow at start up quicker than an equivalent mineral.

The advantage of Synthetics is that they are a lot less likely to produce any crud but the downside, for a rarely used car, is that they may be more prone to corrosion. However this aspect is much more dependant upon the anti corrosion additives.

Paul

Paul

Paul

It is at the lower temperatures that the synthetic oil drains back whilst the 'normal' oils stay in place ready to act as dampers when you start the engine.

Either way it is all probably academic as the oils flow to the lifters very quickly and way before any damage can be done. And providing the 'rattle' disappears within a few seconds I should imagine it is OK.

The noisy hydraulic lifter syndrome is nothing new I can remember it on my old Rover V8 of 1974.
Ted Newman

Ted,
Another factor is that the "Magnatec" claim is true and some synthetic oils are highly polar and stick to the engine surfaces.

Paul
Paul

I don't know about the physics of it but from personal experience I have to agree with Ted. On my MGF tappet noise was noticably worst when I used Mobil 1. I now use the normal mineral mobil. I guess it all depends on the use of the car. A fully synthetic oil would probably be much better for an engine that covers high mileage or is used on track etc.
Spyros Papageorghiou

This thread was discussed between 06/09/2005 and 08/09/2005

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