Yes people, its that time again, I've been busy in the garage this morning with my digital camera and various tools, and today i will be giving you the lowdown on changing your hydraulic lifters on your YB engines


First we start off by soaking your new tappets for 24 hours in fresh oil (or in my case, 16 weeks )





After your tappets are nicely soaked (this is to remove all the air out of them) we can then start on the fitting in the car


Remove the cambelt cover so you have access to the cam pulleys and set the cam timing to TDC (take car out of gear to do this and turn the engine clockwise using a 24mm socket on the crank pulley)







Once you have done that, you may find it a good idea to blob a bright colour on each cam pulely and the belt, and the oilpump/distributor drive pulley - to aid refitting later (unless you are fitting a new belt at this point too)





Remove any strutbraces and your HT leads, and your breather pipes (if using an aftermarket breather system)





Once this has been done, you can then remove the camcover - this is the worst part of the job (likewise refitting it) as we all know how much of a time-consuming arse the 16 camcover bolts are to undo and refit )





We then remove the cambelt and put it to the right of the engine, being carefull not to damage it if we are to reuse it





Once this has been done, we can then remove the cam bearing caps. This is to be done with care. I personally find it easiest to slacken all 5 caps first, and then remove the front cap (which includes the main pulley bearing within) and then allow the cam to spin to find its natural resting position (this is just slightly anticlockwise of TDC)





Once you have remove the exhaust cam, taking note of the camcap numbers (1-5 with 1 being at the front of the engine and 5 at the rear), we can then remove the old tappets. To make this very very easy, you can use a strong magnet - mine is an old fishtank magnet.





Remove all the tappets on the exhaust side, check for any debris you may have dropped into the valve spring holes and then refit the new tappets, again, using the magnet to aid refitting. Once you have done this, repeat for the inlet cam side of the engine.





When refitting the cams, allow them to find their natural resting position, just off TDC, and then refit the caps, noting the number stamped onto them. When refitting the camcap nuts, use a blob of locktite or other threadlock and then torque upto the specified value in the technicians manual.


Once the new tappets and the cams are refitted and torqued up correctly, it is time to refit the timing belt and camcover. When refitting the camcover, make sure you use a new gakset (if using the paper one, or wipe clean the gasket if you are using a Cometic item) and also use new half-moon seals on the front caps. Place a bit of engine sealant onto the front half moons to aid sealing at the corners where they meet the gasket.





Once this has been done, you can refit the cambelt, after aligning the cams at TDC - this is where the blobs of colour come in handy





Check that the tension of the belt is correct, on the longest length (near the distributor), you should be able to turn it no more than 1/4 turn before it becomes tight


Refit your breather system, cambelt cover and HT leads




Before finally starting the car, check the oil level and make sure all tools are removed from the engine bay area. Remove the LT feed to the coil and turn over the engine on the starter to flow oil into the head and untill the oil pressure light goes out. Once this has been done, refit the LT lead to the coil and start the engine, watching out for any leaks and listening for any un-due noises.

While the engine is warming up, go to the kettle and get the most important part of the job done - a brew





Once run upto temp, check for any leaks and check the tightness of the camcover bolts again.









There you go - one easy tappet change, time taken, approximately 2 hours, and thats including the brew break

I hope that you find this guide helpful and informative, and that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed producing it

 

nice read

 

Nothing wrong with a bit of DIY

Although I'm sure I read about not using a magnet to get them out - but I guess it makes no odds if you are replacing them

 

excellent -- that reminds I have one annoying and noisey tappet which needs shooting

 

Not bad for a .

Did you break a nail?

Seriously, I always find your "How to..." topics clear and concise, to the extent that I would even feel confident in letting Phil (Bosch-man) loose (on his own car ) with these instructions .

 

Nice work Gracy, where is the paragraph that says "Its fixed the problem" though? Or hasnt it?

I would add that before fitting teh cams back in, i would move the pistons away from TDC to unsure no valves are inadvertantly bent when tightening the nuts up with the cams in teh wrong position.

Also note the Inlet cam is the one with an oil gallery running around its bearing face, in case someone gets mixed up.

Final addition, dont use a magnet to put them back IN. Only use magnets on followers to be thrown away.

 

Another good "How To" post gracey...

Am gonna need all these in a few years

 

How to fit an alloy radiator into your car...........?

I can do it's nemesis, How not to fit an alloy radiator into your car...

 

as said, do not use a magnet. a valve grinding tool is a useful alternative (the wooden stick with rubber suction cup at each end).

when do tappets require renewal? a thorough clean normally restores their function, although it requires some tricks.

 

fookin top work gracie

how much are tappets new ??

also next week...............fitting of mike r's rear shim kit pmsl

matt

 

Top read Paul

How long it it take for all 16 lifters to shut up

 

Stu - the problem didn't seem to be the tappets, it appears to be the front roller-bearings just behind the campulleys, altho these were brand new a couple of months since, however, once left running for about 30 mins at tickover, the weird gurgley noise had nearly gone when the engine revs are raised


why is using a magnet a bad idea also?

 

about 10 mins


now i can hear my little ends instead

 

Is this car gonna get to Germany

 

gracie - what shifts are you on next week ? ?

 

Matt - i'm on lates this week coming, i start at 14:40 each day, you can come thru in the morning if you wish on tuesday or weds? say about 10ish

 

will do my very best paul only prob is tho the shim kit will of arrived at my missus house today with no one in and im back in manchester pmsl

how did mike send yours ? courier ie had to sign or was it just dropped thru letterbox ?

matt the muppet

 

it won't of arrived at all unless there is someone in to sign for the package

royal mail special delivery, he's speclial like that

 

ive being told its a bad idea because when your use a magnet it will magnetise what your removing so when you put it back it will collect anything magnetic onto it so can damage it when the engines running.... so ive being told

 

The reason a magnet should not be used to remove the lifters is because the magnet “may” magnetize the little ball within the hydraulic lifter and in turn the little ball will “stick” to the body of the lifter and not function properly

 

Well played gracie,you should have your own forum m8.

 

now that would be silly

 

i would not use a magnet but as nick said a valve grinding tool is just the job

if you reuse ur tappets and there are now magnetized any debris which is floating about would b attracted buy them causing cam scoring or failure

i've learn't that its not always tappets but (piston slap) usually 2wd cossies!!!!

 

DON'T FORGET TO SEAL UNDER FRONT CAM CAPS PRIOR TO FITTING

 

Good bit of clear info

 

 

Picture is worth a thousand words.

 

Why do you have to let the lifters soak? when i did mine, i squeezed out all the oil so they were springy, then put them back in dry. They have been quiet ever since. Any reason for it?

Cheers
Mike

 

I presume its to remove any trapped air inside them

 

yeah its to make sure there is no air...

or it will take an age to get oil into them!

The magnet idea would be fine for removing them, I wouldn't worry greatly about magentising the ball inside.....

but if you want to be super careful its no bad thing!



Great guide!

oh yeah... be carfull undoing and doing up the cam caps... cams are britle and if your not carful they can snap!

Alex

 

Ive got my head apart at moment for inspection. Would it be wise to squeez the old oil out before re-fitting?

 

Good read

 

am i the only one that was under the impression that cam belts are not reusable when removed

i always renew a am belt when taking it off just like i would a sump plug and washer when servicing,,,,,,,, does that mean ive been wrong all this time

 

you can reuse them... so long as the are refitted so they turn in the same direction as they did before.

oh and of course assuming there are no splits, cracks or other deterioration!

Alex

 

Excellent write up dude, but you forgot the bit where the cam cap studs on the exhaust side pull out of the head!!!

The next step is to run round like a headless chicken panicking over the price of a new head, and then just helicoiling the bastards

Out of interest did you notice any damage to the cam caps? Mine were scored and I cant figure out why

Neil.

 

oh the memories!!!! And phone calls !!! " ste I'm in the shit" !!!




your back from out mongolia then hows the medical problem?

steve

 

LOL I'm sat in the hotel now - fly out tomorrow thank fook!

Stopped shitting through the eye of the needle now

Neil.

 

Not had the camcap studs pull out of the head yet

 

One day you will

I was super-careful with the nuts, and still pulled 2 out. I tried a bit harder and managed to pull 6 clear!

A steady hand and a few helicoils later and she's as good as new

Neil.