Help - Engine Problems...

[payaya]

TPS!

Haha.

[payaya]

I think I may have found the problem.

The rocker arm piston on the exhaust cam of cylinder 3 was not moving freely. All the others could be moved freely up and down with little effort, but this one I had to use a lot more force to lift it, and it wouldn't fall back completely on it's own without pushing it back down.

Of course if this piston doesn't lift into place when mivec is activated, the rocker arm for the mivec cam lobe won't lock into place. So with the exhaust valves on one cylinder opening to the non mivec cam lobe only, not only are they not opening fully, but they are opening to a different timing spec to the rest of the engine.

Thankfully it looks like I have been able to free it up by manually moving it up and down repeatedly until it now moves freely.

Of course it had to be the rocker arm piston at the furthest rear point of the engine though!

So now I just need to put everything back together and get some time to head down to WP to confirm the problem is now fixed. Maybe this week, if not hopefully next week. Fingers crossed!

A rocker arm should not push up and down freely. Not sure about the mivec jumbo, but in any engine if there is free play that means bad.

Sorry to be critical Payaya but again you're talking about sh*t you clearly know nothing about as though you do. Have a look at the engine manual. I'm not talking about the rocker arm, I'm talking about the rocker arm piston. This should move freely up and down, in fact if you read the section on adjusting valve clearances it clearly describes testing for this as part of the process...

Ok I confess I always skip those pages of the user manual!! Ok engine sounds like timing is being pulled right back once is hits mivec. Engine knocking? Knock sensors?

[Shane001]

Ok I confess I always skip those pages of the user manual!! Ok engine sounds like timing is being pulled right back once is hits mivec. Engine knocking? Knock sensors?

You're right and you're wrong payaya

If what I suspect is happening then yes the exhaust valves on 1 cylinder are opening at non mivec timing and non mivec lift/duration whereas the rest of the engine is opening at normal mivec timing/lift/duration.

But no it's not an overall timing issue otherwise I'd be seeing a much bigger power drop. Also no knock (yes I log it).

Astron, inside the engine is super clean, not a spot of sludge to be seen anywhere under the rocker covers, so a flush is a waste of time. I'm suspecting a bit of debris rather than sludge or oil gunk build up. Which could also explain why that one rocker arm piston was 'sticking' and manually forcing it up and down freed it up, but it may just have dropped the debris that was jamming it into the oil line to block up somewhere else. That's the theory at this stage. Won't know until I pull it all apart. Won't be hard to spot when I do though because as I say the engine is spotless; you could degrease all day and it wouldn't be any cleaner.

PS: Want a clean engine, run Castrol Edge 5W-30! I still can't believe how clean it is under the covers.

[Taz]

PS: Want a clean engine, run Castrol Edge 5W-30! I still can't believe how clean it is under the covers.

Good to see someone else thinks that the stuff is awesome instead of rambling on how thin it is and tappet noise etc etc

[Shane001]

PS: Want a clean engine, run Castrol Edge 5W-30! I still can't believe how clean it is under the covers.

Good to see someone else thinks that the stuff is awesome instead of rambling on how thin it is and tappet noise etc etc

as Ben would say, tappet noise has nothing to do with oil and everything to do with correct adjustment

And for anyone who says 5W-30 is too thin, read the manual

[Bennoz]

I swear to god, when I get back, I'm still going to run a query on the database that removes all reference to oil grade & tappet noise! There's so much of it, n00bs would find it hard to NOT believe!

[Shane001]

I swear to god, when I get back, I'm still going to run a query on the database that removes all reference to oil grade & tappet noise! There's so much of it, n00bs would find it hard to NOT believe!

can't help yourself can you Get back in the surf

[payaya]

I swear to god, when I get back, I'm still going to run a query on the database that removes all reference to oil grade & tappet noise! There's so much of it, n00bs would find it hard to NOT believe!

Your are not wrong on that one. If I had my time back I would have tried any of the solutions posted by other people.

I would have never cleaned the lifters as the noise returns shortly after.
Oil additives such as PRO-MLA/Nulon lifter free etc work then the noise returns.
Use a K and N or genuine filter does nothing.
Use Penrite or Mobil 1 all synthetic.
Bleed the lifters by cycling them. The noise bloody returns.

I reckon people talk crap just for the sake of it. I have never seen something fix lifter tick forever. If something did exist everyone will be on it.

I reckon if I just bought new lifters and used average oil I would have has less ticking and spent less money than doing all these suggested miracle cures.

The only thing I can confirm some oils do better than others as masking part of the lifter noise.

Who's tried Shell Helix Ultra 5W40? Worth it? I find semi synthetic 30 buck sh*t better than Nulon Fully Synthetic 10w40 and Penrtie 10W50. I find dealerspec Valvoline 10W30 semi does wonders in keeping the engine clean.

[payaya]

PS: Want a clean engine, run Castrol Edge 5W-30! I still can't believe how clean it is under the covers.

Good to see someone else thinks that the stuff is awesome instead of rambling on how thin it is and tappet noise etc etc

as Ben would say, tappet noise has nothing to do with oil and everything to do with correct adjustment

And for anyone who says 5W-30 is too thin, read the manual

Its funny in a way when I think about it. Why are we even discussion this? Why should we? It's a problem that should have been addressed decades ago, but guess what? Current gen lancers still tick!

When was the last time you heard a car tick? Considering 99% of cars don't tick it cant be hard to make them not tick.

If I could make a call to myself 10 years ago and tell myself stop looking for solutions and trying what other people say as it doesn't work I would be a better man.

[payaya]

PS: Want a clean engine, run Castrol Edge 5W-30! I still can't believe how clean it is under the covers.

Good to see someone else thinks that the stuff is awesome instead of rambling on how thin it is and tappet noise etc etc

as Ben would say, tappet noise has nothing to do with oil and everything to do with correct adjustment

And for anyone who says 5W-30 is too thin, read the manual

So why are some members still getting lifter rattle after the adjustment? Where to then? Live with it?

At least the hydraulic guys have a definitive solution by replacing them.