Noises?

[Paul Mason]

I am slowly starting to teach myself not to worry about the carcophany of 7 noises.....the dry sump cluck, the diff clunk, the gearbox whine, the rattle of the battery tray, the ticks of the injectors, the phut of the slight leak on the difficult to get to inner primary joint and being consoled with gauges telling me I've got correct temperatures for water and oil as well as oil pressure......

 

However, once warm and on a light throttle at 2-4k revs there is a tappet rattle (I think). 1.8k, VHPD head, Piper 1444 cams and hydraulic tappets, running comma Motorsport 5w50. Even if oil pressure at 60 (though definitely worse when I lift off after enthusiastic driving)

 

Question is, is this a noise I should just learn to live with? Do they all do it? Is there the possibility of any damage? It's not mega loud, but something my ears haven't learned to ignore yet. No issues with oil pressure or usage as I say, so hopefully it's a "they all do that Sir" noise. I do wonder if having an airbox and less induction noise may highlight other noises....

 

Thanks in advance

[SM25T]

Ear defenders.

[Paul Mason]

Can't don that......I simply cannot let anything get in the way of the angry bark....that's a noise I do not want to lose! Interestingly I do drive sometimes with earplugs in depending on journey type, but whilst it cuts the noise, the metallic clacks seem to be more prevalent?

[Roadsport06]

Without ear protection it is a sound you'll lose.

 

[SM25T]

Yes indeed. Once it's gone ... it's gone !

[Paul Mason]

Yes , indeed, and at some point I'll mature and hopefully not too late (as I say I do wear plugs on longer runs). However, the original question was whether a specific noise was an indication that I was damaging my engine and not hearing......

[Roadsport06]

It may be off topic but hearing loss is more of a problem than an engine making noises. It is progressive, short or long journeys your hearing is being damaged without ear plugs/defenders.

 

[Ian Mackenzie]

My understanding is that 1444 cams should have solid cam followers, are you sure yours are hydraulic?

[Paul Mason]

I've got the 1444 from the spec sheet for the car but no idea if actually accurate or not (no reason to doubt tho) spec reads "Block was from a Caterham and hence has a Caterham engine number (via DVA) this was sent to Scholar for their EVO conversion, hence these liners can be bored to 1.9 if required liner heights set to precisely 4 thou. VHPD head was brand new along with all the oversize REC valves, piper 1444 cans piper springs piper steel cams". I've never had it apart but the chap from S &C who I bought the car from said they were hydraulic?? To be honest, it's not a problem per say, no issues of performance or pressures etc. Just want to ensure I'm not unwittingly doing any damage

[Ian Mackenzie]

The easy way to check is to look at the valve clearances, for 1444 cams they are:

0.25mm inlet

0.30mm exhaust 

If they were hydraulic they should be 0mm.

I'm still sure they need to be solid lifters... Oily is the man to confirm this.

Cheers

[Paul Mason]

Thanks Ian, guessing I can do that by whipping the cam cover off and buying myself a feeler gauge, so potentially not beyond my capabilities. There's an invoice in the pack for some work done to the head and a few other bits by DVA so I may just go and check that to see what's on it. I'm guessing if they are solid followers there would be the potential of a little more "clack" than with hydraulic ones?

[oilyhands]

They will be solid followers and steel caps rather than hydraulic followers and steel cams. If they were hydraulic they would foul on the caps and the engine would have self destructed long ago. If the follower clearances have slackened then you would hear some tapping..

Oily

[Paul Mason]

Ian, just looking at the invoice for the 2016 work done by DVA, couple of things do indeed suggest solid followers (if I'm understanding it right), so I think you are right. There's an entry for "linish followers", another for "reshim follower clearance" and another for "shims" which I guess wouldn't be done with hydraulics?

[Paul Mason]

Thanks Oily, hadn't seen you comment whilst typing my last. If the follower clearances have slacked and that's the noise I'm hearing, is it harmful? Is it complicated to reset the clearances, I.e need someone experienced.....last time I did such a thing it was on an OHV A series MG metro engine which was a doddle with a spanner and a flat screwdriver.......but am guessing this won't be......