Help changing tappets please!!!

[alex_e3]

As per title, i'm taking the 2 litre out of the blue one to put in the naples tomorrow. However, the tappets were noisy on initial start up for a couple of minutes. Hence i've bought new ones to put in whilst it's out.

I've not taken the camshafts out before. I know how they come out, but what is used to seal the part of the head that seals them in? Is there a gasket or do i have to use a sealant or instant gasket type thing?

Also, how exactly do i go about changing the tappets? I bought the ones off ebay for £55. I've read something about priming them on here - also read about the possibility of it doing damage if this is not done correctly?

Do they just lift out and the new ones go straight in place?

I've tried the search function for information on this, but to no avail!



Many thanks,

Al :-)

[kneesparks]

My Williams was very quiet untill i put some new oil in it, it was 15/40 fully syin but its making the car sound rough on start up, im going to put some semi syin in it now as is a lil thiner and should stop the tick on start up. Prob use 10/40 you could try this as it my solve the tick b4 you take your car to bits?? :wink:

[matty w]

do you mean it was tappy everyday cause if its sat a while it will tap for a while,i've just put a fully rebuilt engine in mine and they took about an hour to quieten down

[Lunner]

Wanna be using 5W40 in your engines boys

Shell Helix Ultra is highly recommended

[alex_e3]

The engine's coming out anyways - so now is the best and easiest time to do it if any!

I've tried all types of oils - 5W40, 10W40, 15W40.......... none of them have quietened it down. It only does it for a couple of minutes from cold- but it's just annoying and embarressing, hence why i'm changing them!!!

[Lunner]

Tappets come out piece of piss once camshafts are out, don't forget to release the bolts a bit at a time, evenly over the area of the cam carrier, and make sure you keep inlet seperate to outlet side.

The carriers are machined to match the head, but even so i used a bit of liquid gasket to be sure they sealed

[alex_e3]

Cheers for that mate!

Does anyone know about the priming of them? & what damage could be done if they are not primed correctly?

[Lunner]

Sorry forgot about that, IIRC mine came ready primed, but if you want to make sure just imerse them in a tray of oil for a bit and let them fill up

[Wobba]

You need to leave them in oil to prime them I believe. Google away mate.

[alex_e3]

Is it as simple as that?!!

Mine came in little containers filled with oil. I think i'll soak them non the less anyway.

[robi1000]

As Lunner said, undo the bolts on the carriers in a clockwise manner a little bit at the time. Otherwise you might break that disc on the cams. If you break them just a little bit and you don't notice it, cams might sieze (like in my case), so be carefoul and pay attention to that.

[bbaazz-08]

leave them in a small bucket of oil overnight mixed with a bit of transmision fluid.......an old trick i was thought........also you can just put a little in with the oil it helps to get into the tappets more easily....dont worry you wont **** it up

[matty w]

i refurbed a set before if you hit them on a peice of wood the tappet comes out the middle i drained them all down de-greased them and pumped them back up with new oil

[alex_e3]

Cheers for all the replies guys!

I will report back by the end of the week after i've swapped the engine and other parts over.

Al :-)

[number1]

i refurbed a set before if you hit them on a peice of wood the tappet comes out the middle i drained them all down de-greased them and pumped them back up with new oil

I did that with mine, Replaced them on saturday and theres no tapping noise anymore :D You need Sealant to go between the cam carriers and the head, i use hermetite gold, its a non hardening compound and works a treat, make sure you have a torque wrench handy to do the carrier bolts back up,
Might as well do the cambelt when you do this as its got to come off also,
As for priming the followers, after id tapped the middles out and cleaned them i primed them in oil by using a pin punch on the ball bearing in the inside of the actual tappet, repeat until all oil stops coming out, then fill the bucket with a bit of oil and all will be fine, might tap for a little while until all air bleeds out,

[alex_e3]

Cheers mate!

Ripped the engine out last night. My record time of 2 hours 5 minutes!!! Got ripping the engine apart today. Damn cambelt cover bolt rounded off on me :evil: Took the cam carriers off etc... and put the brand new tappets in. Put a small smear of instant gasket upon re-fitting, and it seeped out slightly from all edges so nicely sealed hopefully.

The tappets were new, but still soaked them in oil for a minute and tried compressing them lightly. Popped them in and popped the cambelt an everything else back on (cambelt has only covered about 5k miles). Dropped some oil over the tappets with everything put back, then turned it over lots of times by hand, starting slowly to make sure the tappets were compressing and listening for dodgy noises. Didn't hear any nasty noises, all seemed and felt normal.

Now i've gotta take a few more parts off the old car, then start ripping the 1.8 out of the naples! Then will report back after start up. Before starting up i'm gonna leave the plugs out, take fuel pump relay out, and turn it over on the starter for ages to get some oil pressure. Then start her up and see what happens - nothing bad i hope :?