MX5Ireland

I finally got the car back from the mechanic today after 5 weeks and the electrical fault that I had on another thread is fixed.
BUT
When I started the car up the tappets were going mad. Now I'm fully aware of the tappet issue with Mk1 but my tappets would not stop making noise so much so people were looking at me driving home. This has just started out of the blue.
I did go 2 months ago to N.Ireland and when I pulled over after the boarder the tappets were going mad but at my destination they were quite.
Same thing on the way back start up was fine but at the Toll bridge going south to Dublin rattle rattle but when I arrived at my house no noise.
The oil is3 to 4 months old. Im going to do a full oil change latter today im going back to Castrol 10w 40 but I have a little man on my shoulder saying there may be something else up.

Question:

If I need to get the head done where would you go in Dublin and what money are we talking about and what would be the best way to do it ie recon/ 2nd hand etc

Regards
Elmar

Try the oil change first with a good engine flush . whymms also do a hydrolic tappet treatment , follow this with a good drive .Remember to only change the oil when its hot i.e. when cooling fan comes on .
If you need a head talk to Robert Maguire, autocheck on here .
MK2 heads have solid lifters ,I wonder if they retro fit the mk1 head ?
Either way robert is a good source of info and parts ,best of luck with it,
Brian

Thanks Brian
I talked to Elmar and advised as you suggested .Flush and change oil and assess the situation.I have sold several sets of mk2 tappets ( spring loaded type) for noisy mk1 engines.Seems to work well unless there is oil pressure or blockages which is unlikely

I had my mk1 sitting up for a short while & tappets were crazy loud when I started it up. Was slightly worried but did an oil change & through in a bottle of Wynn's Hydraulic Valve Lifter Treatment and its perfect now. Very cheap and easy fix!

elmar- change the oil - use a cheap not synthetic 10w40 and any old cheap filter - drain old stuff while engine is warm but not hot.

take the car for a good drive and give it a good italian tune up...do this each day for a week... you need to take the car through all the gears and be at the top end of the rev counter

after a few hundred miles - change oil and filter once more except this time use a good quality 10w40 semi synth and an oil filter with a non return valve in it.

the sticking lifter should be sorted after this.

this usually happens to cars that have been driven gently for a long time or cars that have been in storage
Solid lifters from a mk2 1800 can be retrofitted to eliminate the problem if the above doesnt work.

as for engine flush ...i wouldnt be a big advocate of them tbh

Thanks guys for the posts.

I changed the oil and the filter and the noise has gone away thank God as I love the car but the bills are starting to add up.
The oil that I took out was like water which I have never seen before on any of the oil changes.
Its my own fault I went for a bargain service kit and I got what I had paid for.

Elmar wrote:Thanks guys for the posts.

I changed the oil and the filter and the noise has gone away thank God as I love the car but the bills are starting to add up.
The oil that I took out was like water which I have never seen before on any of the oil changes.
Its my own fault I went for a bargain service kit and I got what I had paid for.

What rating was on the oil? 5W-30 will appear quite watery but it is the recommended oil for an mx5

leamyj wrote:

Elmar wrote:Thanks guys for the posts.

I changed the oil and the filter and the noise has gone away thank God as I love the car but the bills are starting to add up.
The oil that I took out was like water which I have never seen before on any of the oil changes.
Its my own fault I went for a bargain service kit and I got what I had paid for.

What rating was on the oil? 5W-30 will appear quite watery but it is the recommended oil for an mx5

10w-40 semi synth is the rec oil john

charged_rs wrote:

leamyj wrote:

Elmar wrote:Thanks guys for the posts.

I changed the oil and the filter and the noise has gone away thank God as I love the car but the bills are starting to add up.
The oil that I took out was like water which I have never seen before on any of the oil changes.
Its my own fault I went for a bargain service kit and I got what I had paid for.

What rating was on the oil? 5W-30 will appear quite watery but it is the recommended oil for an mx5

10w-40 semi synth is the rec oil john

Oops!! Although I used 5W-30 when I had tappet issues, solved the problem but will likely have to change it more often...

Glad I read this thread, it's put my mind (somewhat) at ease.
My mk1 resto has been lying up for some time & it is suffering from this problem.

I'm looking forward for swapping out the oil & giving it a full service.
Thanks for the advice in the post.

CFD