Hi
My blacktop is in and running fairly smoothly. However it has a fairly pronnounced but intermittent tapping noise. It comes and goes as the engine
warms up. It doesn't sound to be from the head although I haven't had the cam cover off.
As it is a blacktop it doesn't have hydraulic tappets. I guess the valve clearances could be out, but it doesn't sound like valves.
Are the Zetecs prone to any bottom end problems? I was told the engine was fine and had done 60k when I bought it.
It may just be what Zetecs sound like, but there is certainly a lot more mechanical noise than from the CVH that came out.
My plan at the moment is to see if it goes well and if so live with it.
Any suggestions?
You can hear it at the end of the clip here:
Cheers
Stu
[Edited on 4/4/08 by whitestu]
mmm. I have a phase 3 zetec too but don't have a noise like that... Does sound a bit like tappet noise but as you mentioned it shouldn't be.
Where did the engine come from? Miles etc? Condition of the oil you took out. Have you chopped the sump/pickup pipe?
Just a thought - are there slides in the carbs? Could be one of those bouncing up and down.
Cheers
JC
Tensioners aren't that robust on blacktops and can sieze up, creating weird tapping noises.
Just had one die on my tintop, leaving me with a cam belt which wasn't tensioned. Amazingly no damage was done even though I did 300+ miles in
this condition, as it failed to skip any teeth.
Give it a few oil changes within quick succession. Use decent oil (GTX or suchlike)
Ford dealer round here is notorious for using marginal-quality oil making the engines noisy.
PS Have you run it for any length of time? If it's been stood for a while then it may just need to have a good circulation of oil...
The cam belt tensioners are fine so its not that.
The engine supposedly came from a focus with 60k on it. The guy had swapped it for a 2.0. The oil that came out was very clean. I have chopped the
sump and pick up, but the oil light goes out on the starter.
It has been stood for some time so may just need a good thrash.
Stu
[Edited on 4/4/08 by whitestu]
Bottom end noise tends to happen only when the oil is hot and thinner. Bottom end noise (big ends) is a ka ka ka ka ka.........noise
Steve
Doesn't sound like bottom end noise at all (and, unfortunately, I know what that sounds like!). It's coming from the valve train, and sounds like a tappet.
quote:
It's coming from the valve train, and sounds like a tappet.
I had a very similar noise on mine it turned out to be the crank hitting the oil pick up pipe as i had raised when i cut the sump down. The funny thing is that it did not do it all the time. Hope this helps.
That's a possibility, although I wouldn't have thought I'd shortened it that much.
Stu
Worth checking only a small job on a seven, mine did sound like cam followers. Took to local ford gararge and they had never heard anything like it befofe, it drove me round the bend trying to find it.