Tappy engine, Oil Return feed?

[RossRog]

Hiya. i'm after some help.

Ever since i have had my saloon it has had a very tappy engine, at first it did not bother me as i had other plans for the saloon but now i'm trying to look after it and maintain it.

so i have been told i might have a blocked oil return feed. so would cause the tapping noise, i have check oil levels an they are spot on.

so it a 1.2 on the 4 speed F reg saloon.....

me not being too bright an am learning this all does not know where to locate the oil return pipe to check this is not blocked ?

or could it be anything else ?

Thanks for any help! :thumb:

[mowgli]

it will most likely be the hydraulic tappets. you won't have a blocked oil return unless the engine is completely sludged up....take the rocker cover off & have a good look. to get the tappets out can be a pain, it is cheaper to take the head off & replace the gasket than to get a special tool, but they clean up a treat. the only other thing is that the oil pump could be worn & not getting the pressure up, but without a gauge, you can't test it.

remember, the engine is 22 years old

[RossRog]

thanks for your help mate, :thumb:

when i got the car it had done about 500 miles in the last 4 years then i've been using it daily so its prob given it abit of a wake up!

[mowgli]

its far worse for an engine to do nothing than to do 30k a year...

[MattBrown]

As Mowgli said, its probably lifters.

Its a 1200, maybe worth replacing the head with one from scrappers? If you can hear it run etc.

Then strip your head at your lesuire, and you will learn will well:thumb:

[C612DNM]

Sounds like a lazy lifter or two. Get the cam out and have a look at the followers & lash pads. Even low mileage engines wear out, if they don't get looked after! If the wearing parts are OK, then get a set of new lifters, flush out the oil with some... flushing oil, then re-fill with a good quality synthetic.
You can do all of that without having to take the head off, or buy someone else's piece of 22year old scrap from a breakers.

[mowgli]

the special tool is a bit much compared with £15 or so quid for a head gasket set. and the valves could probably do with a relap by now.. so finding a head from a breaker or on here & cleaning it up is a good way to learn about engines, then the old head is sellable

[C612DNM]

I made my own tool to compress the valves. Bit of bar, two holes (to bolt to the cam carrier), an other hole in the right place with a nut welded to the bar, plus long bolt to press down on the valve spring. Works a treat. A MUST if you run a solid lifter engine!!

[mowgli]

i understand what you mean, but for someone who isn't very up on stripping engines, its a lot of work to contemplate

[Sloth]

also do not use flushing oil or engine flush, on engines this old, due to wear the carbon actually takes up some of the tolerances, by flushing you remove the carbon and end up with a smokey knocking lump of scrap. change the oil for a decent oil (nothing expensive mind) and then oil and filter it 1000 mles later. then use a 5k service interval. makes them loosen nicely so they fly. bill blydenstein told me that.

[dougie_boi]

could be a worn camshaft and followers depending on maintanance history

[Sloth]

good point...

[RossRog]

The people i got the car off said in all the time they owned it they only brought 1 new tyre. in about 4/5 years

so its going to benafit from some tlc...

i brought the car to learn about this sort of thing, so i can't wait to get started! shame i need it to get back an to to work!

[Sloth]

got a haynes? if not buy one. :d

[C612DNM]

That is very true. I was under the hallucination that this was a low mileage old 'un. That's where there's often no appreciable wear, but bags of gum that's waiting to cause disaster at a moment's notice.

I once stripped out a 50K mile Mk1 Astra 1300 engine that was glued up like a sticky toffee pudding. No wear, it was mint, but it hadn't had an oil change in something like six years (only did a few hundred miles a year). That would have benefitted from some flushing oil.

One of my mates used to work for WH Allen (who made ship engines) and the oil they used in those engines, other than being like treacle, had sooo much detergent in it that you could leave a set of gummed up pistons in it for 24-48hrs and they'd come out sparkly (and oily!). One of the lads in the workshop had an old Chevette and thought it would be a good idea to use this oil when he gave it a service. It lasted for less than two days before he had to strip it out. It was really really clean, but just plain worn out, previously held together with oily snot!

And the words of Bill Blydenstein should always be remembered. He used to have the RR plot from my Sport on his sales sheet for the B+ head.

[mowgli]

c612dnm, can you please pick up all those dropped names, the place is getting cluttered up.......

seriously, BB was a man to be respected.

[C612DNM]

Sorry about that mowgli. Too much OT. Have some more...

When Bill was a Shepreth, I often called around there (in the full race Sport out on a "test"), never got to visit his little workshop at Sandon, even though both places were no more than 15-20mins from my workshop.

I could throw a few more blasts from the past in - how about Keith Raymond, or that old codger Roy Gravestock!! (he'll turn up on here now!)

[nova-chris]

it will be the tappets Iver take them out and soak in sum petrol or put sum overs one in ther:thumb: all the same u can use tappets from 1.2 up to 1.6

[mowgli]

when i did my 1.6 head... the lifters needed leaving in boiling water for a bit to loosen them up. then i could take them apart easily.