DmcL

been a bit since i was on here last. since then the fiestas come off the road and is for sale or parting and ive got my hands on a mint 2 litre sierra glsi.

recently a tappet has started protesting whenever i give it a thrashing or rev it near the limiter.

lastnight i swear i could hear a noise from the engine. the car wasnt thrashed and the tappet was quiet but i could hear a very feint muffled tapping or clicking and a liquidy sort of noise... its hard to describe as i havent heard anything like this before. could i just be nervous after the tappet acting up and just be hearing the tappet in question with fluid in it and the cam sprayer bars at work? its so feint it would probably go un noticed to the untrained ear..

what sort of sounds are associated with problems these engines develop?

EssexBoyRacer

If these are the same as in the granada they are cam chain driven with a hydraulic tensioner I think.

Over time these develop a tick noise.

DmcL

its definately not the chain. its barely noticable but its not the chain. its like a muffled tapping or slapping and a whooshy sort of liquid sound, both very feint.

the clicking is one of the tappets or hydraulic lifters. the brainiacs at the sierra ownesr club all say that problem is a tappet and should be sorted with an oil flush and change as it only pipes up and makes a loud noise when i cain it in 1st out of roundabouts or down big stretches of road.

EssexBoyRacer

is this noise inside or outside the car?

not an airlock in the heater matrix?

DmcL

sounds like its coming from the top half of the engine. its hard to locate because its so feint. it would probably go un noticed to the untrained ear. the car has done 101k miles.

wouldnt be piston slap?

im gonna run some fuel system cleaner through it today and flush/change the oil in the next few days.

what doesnt make sense is that the car was well maintained before i bought it so it wouldnt have been neglected and before the fella i bought it off there was only 1 previous owner.

cossy boy 1992

well no mater what dont put it down to milage i also have a 2 liter dohc mine has done 250 k yes thats right alot of miles i dont have any knockin smoke or nothink i have a 3 inch cossy exhaust all the way threw on it as well yet still drives like new when i got it home engine flush new oil and filters and so on made it run like a dream try that mate and see what happens then drive it for a few miles calm let everythink oil back up and see

worth a try

MarkN

I've recently bought a 2000E with one of these engines in that I'm working my way through. They have a couple of favourtite problems relating to the timing chain and the head gasket.

I had a water "sloshing" noise from my heater matrix, which turned out to be the head gasket. Pressure was escaping from the cylinders into the cooling system which then sent the air into the heater matrix causing the noise. Mind you - you can also get an airlock in the heater matrix which can be partially cured by swapping the pipes around on the water pump if this has not already been done.

I was really glad that I decide to change my head gasket. When I took the head off, the timing chain guides were all smashed, and one of the bolts had worked its way completely out. The bolt, and all the debris was sitting at the bottom of the timing case rattling around the crankshaft pulley. The torques bolt had a straight edge ground onto it through contact with the crank pulley. How it didn't get into the chain and snap it I'll never know - but the moral is not to assume your timing chain is OK on these engines without inspecting it...