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Post by minty on Aug 22, 2017 16:51:45 GMT
Weirdly I get quite loud HLA clatter when the engine is HOT (and a little bit when first started....but its the hot part that concerns me) The oil was new when I picked the car up at the end of last year, but I have no idea of quality or grade, though I'm obviously guessing its not good stuff!
I have the following stuffs at my disposal, and wanted your opinions on what method to take.
Stuff:
5l Comma 10w-40 semi-synthetic (cheap at £15 quid) 5l Mobil 1 fully synth (0w-40) 1 x new Mazda oil filter Wynns HLA cleaning stuff (the one you chuck in with your oil)
Option 1:
Chuck in the Wynns HLA stuff, thrash for a few hundred miles, change out oil and filter to Mobil 1.
Option 2:
Change out oil straight away to Comma semi synth and add Wynns HLA stuff, thrash for a few hundred miles. Change oil and filter to Mobil 1
Option 3:
Change out oil straight away to Comma semi synth, thrash for a few hundred miles. Change oil and filter to Mobil 1 and throw away HLA cleaner.
What would you do??
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Post by cupidstunt on Aug 22, 2017 18:36:43 GMT
Remove rocker cover and go through each HLA pressing down on each one with a firm thumb.
Any that feel soft simply swap out.
I find it easier with the cams removed before testing.
Can try cleaning but in my experience with various HLA it's has very mixed results.
Remember to bleed a little oil out of the new lifters first otherwise you may find it's pumped up and when started it will miss on that cylinder.
Easy job to do. I would even reuse the cambelt if it looks OK.
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Post by minty on Aug 22, 2017 19:53:11 GMT
Remove rocker cover and go through each HLA pressing down on each one with a firm thumb. Any that feel soft simply swap out. I find it easier with the cams removed before testing. Can try cleaning but in my experience with various HLA it's has very mixed results. Remember to bleed a little oil out of the new lifters first otherwise you may find it's pumped up and when started it will miss on that cylinder. Easy job to do. I would even reuse the cambelt if it looks OK. Thanks Cupid, useful info and sounds easier than I thought tbh. Are the il motorsport ones that mx5parts sell the ones to go for? Sounds like something I need to do if oil change doesnt help 🙂 Ps I guess my only concern is my thumb won't know what a soft or normal hla feels like lol.
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Post by martiny on Aug 23, 2017 10:08:52 GMT
If it was me, I'd chuck the Wynns HLA treatment in now, give it around a tankful of fuel to see if it makes a difference and if it does, change the oil and feel smug. If it doesn't work then further delving is on the cards.
One bit of advice I've seen about testing HLAs is to see if you can get a feeler gauge between the cam and HLA. Can't remember the size suggested but 0.3mm rings a bell. Anyone else remember?
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Post by baconsarnie on Aug 23, 2017 12:00:06 GMT
Millers Nanodrive 10w50 and no hla noise (also reduced blow-by)... but then it's not £15/5l...
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Post by martiny on Aug 23, 2017 12:07:22 GMT
Switching to fully synthetic oil made my HLA tick go away too, but that was ticking from cold, not ticking when hot. The former is the HLA not filling when the oil is thick but the latter is the HLA emptying when the oil is thin. While it might be gunk causing the little non return valve to fail to seal, it might also be wear making the HLA leaky. I've no experience to say which is more likely.
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Post by cupidstunt on Aug 23, 2017 14:52:28 GMT
Remove rocker cover and go through each HLA pressing down on each one with a firm thumb. Any that feel soft simply swap out. I find it easier with the cams removed before testing. Can try cleaning but in my experience with various HLA it's has very mixed results. Remember to bleed a little oil out of the new lifters first otherwise you may find it's pumped up and when started it will miss on that cylinder. Easy job to do. I would even reuse the cambelt if it looks OK. Thanks Cupid, useful info and sounds easier than I thought tbh. Are the il motorsport ones that mx5parts sell the ones to go for? Sounds like something I need to do if oil change doesnt help 🙂 Ps I guess my only concern is my thumb won't know what a soft or normal hla feels like lol. Mazda dealers for HLAs. For the price of a can of cleaner I suppose it's worth a try
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Post by cupidstunt on Aug 23, 2017 14:59:12 GMT
As far as thumb pressure goes, the spring should compress before the lifter
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Post by baconsarnie on Aug 23, 2017 20:25:15 GMT
If the ticking comes on when hot (which I've also previously experienced) then I'd suggest oil viscosity is the problem when hot... i.e. Oil grade/quality is inadequate.
Be crazy to start dismantling the head before trying this first... have a chat with opie oils.
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Post by minty on Aug 24, 2017 6:35:25 GMT
As far as thumb pressure goes, the spring should compress before the lifter Thanks, I've been watching YouTube videos on cleaning them, if I need to go down that route.
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Post by minty on Aug 24, 2017 6:38:59 GMT
If the ticking comes on when hot (which I've also previously experienced) then I'd suggest oil viscosity is the problem when hot... i.e. Oil grade/quality is inadequate. Be crazy to start dismantling the head before trying this first... have a chat with opie oils. Yeah that my first thought. Doing the oil change today (cheaper stuff first) and then I'll flush again and put the Mobil 1 in. If none of that works, I'll look at inspecting/cleaning/replacing HLAs as Cupid mentions. Fingers crossed...
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Post by baconsarnie on Aug 24, 2017 9:03:28 GMT
I had really bad hot tick (track time or extended 'enthusiastic' use in hot weather) with Castrol Edge 5w40 if that helps at all...
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Post by boringgit on Aug 24, 2017 22:10:18 GMT
Drive it like an absolute twat.
If its still doing it, refer to the above.
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Post by minty on Aug 25, 2017 18:18:17 GMT
Drive it like an absolute twat. If its still doing it, refer to the above. You can count on that. Oil change done yesterday, will give it some Italian tuning for a tank and then change again. Will update this thread once I have more info...
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Post by wannabe on Aug 25, 2017 22:46:21 GMT
Different oil does seem to make a difference - Magnatec always made a previous car run/sound like a bag of spanners falling down the stairs, even in the same grade as another oil (Elf IIRC).
I think the manual states 5w40 for use under 20 degrees C ambient temperatures and 10w40 for over 20 degrees? I think Skuzzle put 10w40 in last time but I've since topped up with the 5w40 I have a bottle of, and it's pretty quiet and quietens down straight away from cold start at the moment. I'll probably change to 5w40 come winter.
I get noisy lifters after sitting in traffic for ages - sitting at idle for long periods presumably allows the old and likely weakened pump to be struggling without accelerating/maintaining engine load to lift its RPM!
I'd worry 0w40 was too thin to protect properly from cold start??
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