Lifter and oil problem

[El_Freddo]

Hey all,

Got a problem regarding the good old EA82:

My sisters engine has just been rebuilt and installed by my dad. It started first time but oil doesn't seem to be getting up to the cams, creating a rather loud ticking noise (sounds like two early diesels under the bonnet). We haven't pulled the cam covers off a) cos they tend to leak after and b) time factor as my sister needs the car tomorrow.

We took it for a drive and was still noisy after (about 5km running up to 100km/h). But after we turned it off and started it after a few minutes it ran fine, a little noisy at first but then it went quiet like it should.

That all good, laura drove to gisbourne (about a half hour drive along country roads and freeway) with out a problem. But on the way home she exprienced the exact same problem and gave us a call. The ticking continued until she turned it off at home. Another couple of minutes turned off then restarted and the lifter noise subsided a little bit but no where near as bad as it was before.

Now, we're sure the oil isn't getting to the cams, but can't figure out why after turning the engine off when its hot then restarting it a few minutes later changes the problem to being non-existant, we thought shortly after startup it would build pressure to get the oil up as any car should. Anyone got any ideas? This car is going to Port Douglas next weekend and we need to sort it out asap, any input would be appreciated.

Sorry for all the reading.

Cheers

[timmo]

I guess you replaced the oil pump seals when you did the rebuild, but maybe look into this- it might be sucking air.

[El_Freddo]

Thanks Timmo, we'll be looking into this as a last resort on the weekend.

I just got an update when i told dad your theory. One question, can the pump suck oil and not leak oil when the engine is not running?

The update: This lifter ticking problem does not occur in the morning when laura drives to work (again out to gissy), but when she drives home in the afternoon the problem is there again. Then she doesn't drive the car til the morning again and the problem is gone...

Bizarre

[timmo]

Thanks Timmo, we'll be looking into this as a last resort on the weekend.

I just got an update when i told dad your theory. One question, can the pump suck oil and not leak oil when the engine is not running?

The update: This lifter ticking problem does not occur in the morning when laura drives to work (again out to gissy), but when she drives home in the afternoon the problem is there again. Then she doesn't drive the car til the morning again and the problem is gone...

Bizarre

what grade of oila re you using?
well i'm only going on what someone told me, but when the seals are stuffed the oil pump in sucks a bit of air and then aerates the oil which reduces the oil pressure. So this seemed true for my car when I was having lifter problems - the further I drove the worse the rattle became. Also in the morning the air temperature is going to be cooler meaning the oil will be nice and thick from startup. As for leaking if its sucking air - I dont really know - but again on mine before i did the seals it was weaping a bit, but so was every other seal so it was a bit hard to tell haha.

when you did the rebuild did you replace the seal on the shaft of the pump aswell as the mouse ears one on the block?

Hope this rambling from me helps

[El_Freddo]

Hey Timmo,

Thanks for your hasty reply.

I have since spoken to dad who as spoken to one of his mates, "bob" from queensland who also knows a bit about subies.

Bob also thought that its sucking air, but suggests that it maybe in the pick up line through a crack in the line. We're going to try over filling the sump to see if the problem disappears.

I know for sure that the bunny ear seal was replaced, dunno about the seal on the shaft. There wasn't anything wrong with the oil pump before the engine was rebuilt. And the oil grade thats used is something like 20w50, pretty standard i think (from what i know of oils).

Its still very odd to me that the problem is there in the arvo and not in the morning. To me if there was a crack it would be there all the time and possibly open up as things expand. Or if it was sucking air from a seal you'd think it would be there all the time... But the way the engine is allowed to heat up and run for some time at full operating temps and the problem is there one time and not the other baffles me...

All the lifters were working fine when the engine was pulled out...

Thanks for your input, keep it coming as we need to try everything possible.

Cheers

[Fang]

I did the following to fix my lifter tick -:

Put new seals in the oil pump
Used 5W40 Elf Excellium Oil

I recently used Penzoil and it seemed to return - so back to Elf I will go.

[r00fi]

This lifter ticking problem does not occur in the morning when laura drives to work (again out to gissy), but when she drives home in the afternoon the problem is there again. Then she doesn't drive the car til the morning again and the problem is gone...

Bizarre

It is bizarre. The last time I fixed the pump seals in my EA82T the lifter tick seemed to be completely random prior to the fix.......

[El_Freddo]

Well, after speaking to bob, dad pulled off the cam covers to clean out an oil pressure regulator valve (ball and spring) that sends oil to the cam followers. I think there was a bit of gunk stuck between the ball and the oil line, thus leaving the line open and not building up enough pressure to send oil through the lifters.
That fixed most of the lifters, now we have one or two dodgy ones that are being replaced with some spares (they too could be dodgy).

Thanks to all that put in, greatly appreciated, i think we've now got it under control.

Cheers

[El_Freddo]

It only took a trip to Harvey Bay in Queensland to get rid of that pesky lifter tick...