Jump to content
SAU Community

No Oil On Cams... Lifter Noise And Clatter, Please Help

Stephen Thorpe

By Stephen Thorpe,
in General Maintenance

 Share

Recommended Posts

Stephen Thorpe Proficient

Stephen Thorpe

Posted
Posted

R33 Series 2 1997 RB25DET

Rattle from cold coming from top end.

Doesn't reduce, as it gets warmer.

Never run for more than a minute as it sounds scary.

Oil Cap off whilst running has no oil sloshing or splashing inside.

Cam lobe on show is almost dry

Oil Pressure on guage seems to stay a little elevated

Normal Service History and Oil/Filter changes

Oil is a little dark but not too bad

Noise all of a sudden came on according to Driver

Car has now been parked gathering dust

160k on odometer.

Blocked Oil Feed Galleries?

Is there a screen filter installed somewhere in the head/block or into camshaft followers ?

Where does the oil enter the Camshafts

Any ideas... apart from Oil Flush and Change.

Is there something that could be blocking the oil access to the top of the head ?

Very perplexing...

89CAL Grand Master

89CAL

Posted
Posted

Normal service history means what exactly?

There are check valves in the oil feeds/restrictors if they are factory which stop oil from draining back if I remember correctly

If it were me I would start by pulling the cam covers off and having a proper look. Probably also worth pulling some cam caps to make sure that the oil starvation hasnt caused major issues (pull them off one at a time or pull them off evenly)

There is no real way to diagnose it without starting to pull it apart. There is still oil pressure which is a positive signt that the bottom end is likely still getting oil. It also points to a problem in the head or where the head gets its oil feed from the block which is through the restrictors and up through the studs holes

Stephen Thorpe Proficient

Stephen Thorpe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks Callan,

From what I understand, normal service history means regular oil changes although, I am not sure the grade of oil.

Coolant looks good, there are no leaks and apart from a couple of broken exhaust manifold studs the engine appears to be in good order aside the poor clatter from the top end and the obvious lack of oil in the head.

So there are restrictors in the head for the oil supply? Where are they and can you clear, or change them from under the rocker covers?

Good idea on pulling the rocker covers off and having a look... I will try that soon.

Stephen

Ben C34 Grand Master

Ben C34

Posted
Posted

Some times loosening up all the crap will be more likely to block oil galleries , so I wouldn't bother in this case.

Sounds like it's minimum head off, and to do it properly it's engine out.

I would go head off. Poke into restrictors to clear blockage, crank engine to spit out chunks in the oil, repeat. Or tap a thread into stock restrictors to pull them out and crank engine over to get rid of blockage and swarf caused by tapping. Then replace with new restrictors. Assuming the engine is worth saving.

Stephen Thorpe Proficient

Stephen Thorpe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Is it worth putting through an engine detox or engine flush plus (leaving it in longer) or is it way past that ?

Going to try that first... bathe the top in some oil and then add some cleaner and see if the noise disappears or changes.

Stephen Thorpe Proficient

Stephen Thorpe

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Some times loosening up all the crap will be more likely to block oil galleries , so I wouldn't bother in this case.

Sounds like it's minimum head off, and to do it properly it's engine out.

I would go head off. Poke into restrictors to clear blockage, crank engine to spit out chunks in the oil, repeat. Or tap a thread into stock restrictors to pull them out and crank engine over to get rid of blockage and swarf caused by tapping. Then replace with new restrictors. Assuming the engine is worth saving.

There are no visible signs of damage and it has been only ran for seconds not even a minute. Sure it will be fine.

Edited by Stephen Thorpe
Stephen Thorpe Proficient

Stephen Thorpe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

No I haven't... car is just parked for the moment. I will do this soon though. The one cam lobe I can see looks really good so hopefully all the bearings and cam is the same.

jjman Mentor

jjman

Posted
Posted

are you sure its not just the usual lifter noise that these motor can develop when older like they all are these days?

Im unsure of your experience with the origin of the problem based on your write up. is it your car n it just started one time or is it a car you are helping out on? did it start on a drive or on a start after sitting for a long time?.

  • Like 1
KiwiRS4T Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

Posted
Posted

You get some oil via the VCT as well. Your engine is not going to get anywhere near operating temperature in one minute. When did you last have an oil and filter change?

jjman Mentor

jjman

Posted
Posted

what exactly does it sound like?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtKMpKTZFYo

otherwise

are you sure it isn't some form of cam belt n harmonic noise that a lot of people experience?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7RvBYe1o4A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgKneqCQLi4

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • MBS206
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By MBS206 · Posted

      Even more fun, leave all the ADAS stuff plugged in, but in different locations, hopefully avoid any codes!   And honestly, all these new cars with their weird electronics. Pull all the electronics out Duncan, and just shove an aftermarket ECU and if needed a trans controller in, along with a PDM. Make it run basic but race car styled!
    • Duncan
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By Duncan · Posted

      To follow up a question from earlier too since I had the front bar off again (fking!) This is what is between the bumper and the drivers side wheel And this is the navigator side, only one thing but its a biggy! So basically....no putting coolers in the wheel arches without a lot of moving other stuff. Assuming I move to properly race prepping this car I'll take that job on and see how the computers respond to removing a whole bunch of ADAS modules
    • Duncan
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By Duncan · Posted

      So I prepped the car for another track day on Wednesday (will be interesting to see coolant temps post flushing out and the larger reservoir, with a forecast of 3-14 being 20o cooler than last time I took it out). Couple of things to mention; since I am just driving the car and not taking a support vehicle, I took the rear seats out and just loaded the back up Team Trackday style. Look at all that space! To cover off removing the rear seat....it is weird (note the hybrid is probably different because it wouldn't have folding rear seats) Basically, you remove the lower seat base, very similar to a r series but it is a clip that pulls forward to release the base rather than it being bolted down. Easy Then, you need to remove the side section of the rear seat on each side. There is a 14mm head nut at the bottom of the side piece, the it slides upwards off a hook at the top to release; you also need to unhook the seatbelt from the loop at the top. Then the centre piece is weird. You need to release/fold the seats forward with the tab in the boot on each side From there, there are 2,x12mm headed bolts holding the rear of each seat to the folding bracket, under the trim between the rear seat and the boot (4x christmas tree clips there, they suck). The seat is out but you can see where the bolts attach to the bracket
    • RP1421
      S15 Spec R

      By RP1421 · Posted

      As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them.  To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday.  Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine.  I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110.  Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year. 
    • joshuaho96
      R32 GTS (RB20DE) Injectors Replacement

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I would put a fuel pressure gauge between the filter and the fuel rail, see if it's maintaining good fuel pressure at idle going up to the point when it stalls. Do you see any strange behavior in commanded fuel leading up to the point when it stalls? You might have to start going through the service manual and doing a long list of sensor tests if it's not the fuel system for whatever reason.
×
×
  • Create New...