318i Tappets-From Sewing Machine to Ultimate Driving Machine

[robsy]

Ive just bought a 318i Convertible which has done 120k - tappets are abit loud form cold and dont get that much quieter when warmed up -

Whats the best way of shutting them up??

last 1.8 i had i just changed the oil and went for a foot down all the way blast on the motorway which really did quieten em down - but any advice would be appreciated as its a nice looking car which sounds awful....


Cheers

[blitz877]

get a new cam/followers and tappets mate

[robsy]

any ideas of cost for that?

[blitz877]

cam is £65 tappets around £55 and followers are £8 each iirc mate all from ecp or gsf

[robsy]

hmmm...might have to this then but i'll try some fresh oil and blast - Cheers blitz

[blitz877]

no probs mate

[Brianmoooore]

A couple of months running with a cheap oil intended for diesels, and then some decent 10W-40 cured one of mine (most of the time) permanently.

[Gortour]

You can also try some engine flush, add it to the oil, run the engine for 10-15 mins, and give it an oil change.
Cleans the oilways out - hopefully - as long as they're not too bad.

[Stu_D]

Hey,

Hope you don't mind me piggy backing on your thread, but i've got a 325 tourer that is tapping like mad! is it easy to adjust the tappets, and or is it worth it? what damage are they doing etc.

Cheers

Stu

[Brianmoooore]

You can also try some engine flush, add it to the oil, run the engine for 10-15 mins, and give it an oil change.
Cleans the oilways out - hopefully - as long as they're not too bad.

That's essentially what the diesel specific oil did in mine, but slowly.
Not a fan of flushing oils in engines that are in need of flushing, because they act to fast and rubbish can end up getting stuck where it shouldn't.

[Gortour]

Remove the rockerbox, each tappet has a 'roller' with a 10mm (from memory) nut
The 'roller has a hole in it, which you put a thick piece of wire into, slacken the nut, insert feeler gauge, and rotate the 'roller' till the gap is correct.

[E30Mark]

The 6 cylinder cars have adjustable tappets, the 4 pots have hydraulic tappets (not adjustable)

[Gortour]

Stu said he had a 325... but as you quite correctly say Mark, Robsy's 318 will be hydraulic...

[Stu_D]

cheers guys, so i can adjust my 325's tappets, be nice to hear the sound with a tapping!

Out of interest what sorta damage/loss of power or performance would i be suffering from?

[robsy]

You can also try some engine flush, add it to the oil, run the engine for 10-15 mins, and give it an oil change.
Cleans the oilways out - hopefully - as long as they're not too bad.

That's essentially what the diesel specific oil did in mine, but slowly.
Not a fan of flushing oils in engines that are in need of flushing, because they act to fast and rubbish can end up getting stuck where it shouldn't.

This sounds like the cheaper option - so would i need a thinner oil or a thicker oil??

best grade to do this ? and would it be ok to drive it hard on t he motorway with such an oil??

Its been so long since i had a 318i ive forgotton the basics...

[HairyScreech]

a diesel oil is just normal oil with a little bit of the engineflush/detergent in it to prevent the build up of carbon that occurs in a diesel engine (due to there dirty incomplete burn) it wont hurt a petrol engine realy and will help get some of the collected shite out of the tapets and oil galleries that is stopping them being fully presurised atm.