Bleeding The Tappets

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:36 pm

does anyone know how to bleed the tappets?
thanks

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:38 pm

I am no expert but i don't think the tappets can be bled. Do you mean adjust the tappets?

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:40 pm

my flatmate said could be but hes most likely wrong lol........

its to stop that stupid clicking noise!

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:48 pm

Yeah they need readjusting with a feeler guage to set the correct tolerances. Bentley manual will tell you all you need to do. Not too compicated from memory.

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:52 pm

Everything above is WRONG...

M40 Engine has hydraulic tappets, which cant be manually adjusted.
However i have heard somewhere on the zone, that you CAN bleed them.
IIRC it involved drilling a hole in them, then soaking them in degreaser or something...

Im off to do a search...

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:52 pm

m40 i.e 1.6 and 1.8 8v are hydraulic and tapping here is cam ,follower wear that needs rebuild.
m20 i.e 2.0 and 2.5 are adjustable eccentric covered in tech guide.

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:18 pm

You can bodge them by crushing them in a vice (without damaging the head) to loosen the sludge inside thats solidified around the spring, but to get them out the cam and timing belt have to come off.

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:29 pm

sounds a bit of an effort then..... may take me a while to do it then!!
thanx everyone

Post Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:31 pm

going to this trouble i would just fit new ones but more than likely need cam and followers to cure properly!check spray bar too as they do clog if vehicle has exeeded oil change intervals and or cheapo fence painting type oil....lol

Post Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:22 am

is it a very big/expensive job to have tappets adjusting?
my mechanic said last time i took the car in they needed doing although engine runs sweet at the moment,
ive also read on one thread that this can make a difference in performance?

Post Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:27 am

If they are anything like the M3 tappets its not a major job. The guy who looks after our DTM car re adjusted mine in around an hour.

They might be totally different on your car though??

Post Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:50 am

smithy318i wrote:Everything above is WRONG...

M40 Engine has hydraulic tappets, which cant be manually adjusted.
However i have heard somewhere on the zone, that you CAN bleed them.
IIRC it involved drilling a hole in them, then soaking them in degreaser or something...

Im off to do a search...

Mind to post more about this info ?

Thanks in advance...

Daniel

ad318i wrote:sounds a bit of an effort then..... may take me a while to do it then!!
thanx everyone

May i know WHat model are you driving ??
M40 basically u can't adjust because of hydraulic tappets

M20 you can adjust by yourself
-remove the valve cover

- you can choose to remove spark plug or not its up to you, due to the efforts to turn the crankshaft pulley when compression stroke..

-remove the fan clutch (optional) you still can adjust the crank pulley if your hand can go in, or you can adjust the pulley from bottom.

- Set both intake & exhaust valve for the cylinder in close position which means either (compression stroke) or (end of exhaust stroke) so that the camlobe are totall free from the valve lifter for both Intake & Exhaust side..

- Use common ring 10mm to loosen the valve lifter nut, use a metal wires around 3mm to adjust the small hole on the valve lifter, at the same time measure the valve clearance by using feeler gauge...

i've set occording to haynes manual but the gap is too big and cause the noise.. so i set mine to 0.10mm intake, 0.12 exhaust, it still can be lower if u feel the noise is occurred BADLY i mean...

apply the same method to all other cylinders..

Install everything back in reverse order..

hope this help...

Post Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:56 am

its an M40! so dont think ill have 2 much luck

Post Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:06 am

too bad but i'm glad to see if ad318i can post up the information that he intro before this...

Post Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:51 am

M40's tap tap tap all day long, chances are the cam is worn...

On my old engine (M42) in my 318iS it had hydraulic tappets, on cold mornings one of them started to tap real bad, i used a can of Wynns oil additive from Halfords that was meant to quieten tappets, and it did! To say i was amazed at this stuff working was an understatement!!!

Basically the tappets fill with oil, which over time sludges up, i guess this additive breaks down the sludge and allowed new oil in. Since then I've fitted another engine anyway, so can't say if it is a long term solution...

Adjusting tappets on a M3 (S14) is another story, you change the shims to acquire the correct gap, and you need a proper tool to do it!