Mole Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Since fitting Jenvey DTH TBs,air box and Emerald ECU, my 1.8 K-series seems to have developed a ticking noise when running. It varies with engine speed and seems to be on the inlet side but I can't locate it any closer than that. At first I thought that it might be one of the hydraulic tappets that hadn't oiled up, but it's the same after after a blat as it is at startup. I have changed the cams BUT I ran the new cams with the standard MEMS and plenum before fitting the TBs etc and didn't have this noise (or could it have been muffled by the plastic plenum?) There doesn't seem to be any effect on running, the engine idles and revs smoothly (certainly much better than in standard form). Does anyone else have a ticking engine? What could it be? Is anything getting damaged? SV 52 CAT the mole is hibernating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveP Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 My R300 developed a 'ticking' noise on startup after about 500 miles, and it is still there after a blat, but can't hear it during normal running, only at idle. It's been in for it's service and is still there so I presume that nothing was found to be amiss. I think the R300 has mechanical tappets, so it can't be due to them. To be honest, no idea what it is - but it still goes fine. I'm trying to to get too concerned about it. SteveP Edited by - SteveP on 28 Mar 2003 09:06:08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miraz Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 It might well be the injectors that you can hear...you might be able to isolate the noise by putting the (blunt) end of a screwdriver in your ear and holding the tip against the bit of the engine that you want to listen to. Miraz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilyhands Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Geoffs advice is sound, the plastic plenum tends to deaden any noise whereas the TBs will amplify it. Stevep, mechanical followers are not a guarantee of silence, quite the reverse in fact if one or more is badly set, the quietest and most reliable followers are hydraulic, valve clearances on solid followers are hard to set and are always a compromise between the clearance required when cold and that required when hot, hydraulic followers automatically adjust for the expansions and contractions which makes them the answer to a maidens prayer, if only they would work on more extrem lifts and durations... and if only the Caterham didnt suffer with oil aeration. Oily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 mechanical followers are not a guarantee of silenceArf..!! Don't I know it. 😬clearances on solid followers are hard to set Arf..!! Don't I know it. 😬 Worcs L7 club joint AO.//Membership No. 4379//Azure Blue SLR No. 0077//Se7ens List Tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveP Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Fair point Oily - the point I was trying to get across is that as I have solid followers and still have a ticking noise, it isn't necessarily the followers which are causing it. SteveP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 I'm pretty sure the R300 has hydraulic followers. The cams aren't aggressive enough to warrant solid followers. In the past Caterham only fitted solids to the SLR and R500. The SL had hydraulics as had all the 1.6 and 1.8 supersport variants. As the R300 engine is little more than supersport variant it is unlikely to have solids. When I heard an R300 start up for the first time ever recently, it was rattly for a few seconds, then it became smoother. I put this down to the followers filling up. Worcs L7 club joint AO.//Membership No. 4379//Azure Blue SLR No. 0077//Se7ens List Tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 V7 SLR you are not totally correct in your answer some 1400 and 1600 SS were supplied with higher lift and longer duration cams and solid lifters. These were mainly for the race cars but a few were supplied for road use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Thats right Rob - the "Roadsport" models . dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveP Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 I made the assumption that it had solid lifters after reading the Supersport R article in Feb's Low Flying "Numerous options, such as uprated bearings, mechanical tappets and a lightweight flywheel can be fitted to make it a full R300 engine ..." SteveP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted March 29, 2003 Share Posted March 29, 2003 My 1.4 SS has a metallic plenum and this makes the injector solenoids quite noticeable. since these are on the inlet side this may well be your "problem". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 I noticed yesterday after a 40 mile blat that the ticking noise seemed to have disappeared. It was back again on re-start after a 20 minute stop. This makes me wonder if it is a tappet that is just very slow to fill and drains down once the oil is hot. SV 52 CAT - the mole is awake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Cragg Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I had a very similar experience back end of last year. After a lot of head scratching and inspections I found a loose spark plug It had me and several others fooled for a while and was initially diagnosed as a sticking cam follower. A bit of a long shot but worth checking before you do anything else. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 According to Simon (Caterham aftersales) the R300 has solid tappets, but the "R300" upgrade for standard or SS 1600/1800 retains the hydraulic tappets. Doesn't really help solve Steves question - but thought it might be of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted March 31, 2003 Author Share Posted March 31, 2003 I'm off to check for loose spark plugs 😬 SV 52 CAT - the mole is awake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveP Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Adam, Yes, that was my interpretation of the Supersport R article aswell, in that you might get the same power following the upgrade, but you don't get the overall same engine. SteveP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted April 7, 2003 Author Share Posted April 7, 2003 After further investigation, I have concluded that the ticking noise is coming from one of the injectors. I have noticed that the noise disappears on the overrun when the throttle is closed completely - i.e. when fuel is cut off, but reappears as soon as the engine resumes idling. SV 52 CAT - the mole is awake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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