Lifters on N/A Cosworth.

[fingersnfumbs]

So, newly built Cosy N/A running great but hydraulic tappets noisey.
The reason I stayed with hydro's was because I hate noisey tappets and thought hydros would be quiet.
I could just change them all but reading previous posts it seems they are a bit of an issue and are often noisey for no aparent reason.

I have looked into mechanical lifters but am a bit confused to be honest what with different types and different shim thickneses it all seems a bit hit and miss what to actually order. I feel I could end up with lots of wrong size shims.

Another option is Newman adjustable ones. Has anybody any experience of using them.

Any guidance on where to go from here most welcom.

[Graham]

if you change to solid lifter you will have to change the cams as well.

solid lifers are a pain in the butt, dont go there!

how long has you engine been running for? minutes or hours?

were they new? they are often noisy if you have just thrashed the engine around a race track for half an hour, but go quiet again as the oil cools off.

do you have valve/piston contact? that sound like noisy tappets. is it all the time or when you rev the engine?

if you have forged pistons they are "slappy" when you blip the throttle until the engine warms up fully

[fingersnfumbs]

Thanks for the suggestions Graham.
Firstly the lifters are new but not ENA quality.
Camshafts are BD14, Fairly mild for an N/A i know but I really dont do high revs and peaky motors. Torque was my main goal.
Engine has only run for half hr or so. Its a fresh build so I was going to change oil and filter shortly anyway. Perhaps this may help quiten down the lifters.
Prety sure valve to piston contact is not an issue, lots of clearence there when checked staticaly with plastacine.
Pistons are Wosner N/A type.

[Graham]

Thanks for the suggestions Graham.
Firstly the lifters are new but not ENA quality.
Camshafts are BD14, Fairly mild for an N/A i know but I really dont do high revs and peaky motors. Torque was my main goal.
Engine has only run for half hr or so. Its a fresh build so I was going to change oil and filter shortly anyway. Perhaps this may help quiten down the lifters.
Prety sure valve to piston contact is not an issue, lots of clearence there when checked staticaly with plastacine.
Pistons are Wosner N/A type.

standard pistons or forged with cutouts?

there is one major drawback checking valve to piston clearance with hydraulics, the hydraulics compress so its not accurate!

[fingersnfumbs]

Thanks again Graham,
The Pistons are Wosner forged jobies with PTFE coating. They list them as 12:1 compression and are specific to N/A aplications.
I used a spare 4 hydo lifters I had for clearence checks. I made them solid by removing springy bit and replacing with a suitably sized bit of silver steel rod.
Im running a thick MLS gasket and had around 6mm clearence.

[fingersnfumbs]

Sorry forgot to say, yes the pistons have valve cut outs.
Just stried the engine again and it started with a noisey lifter then went quiet and ran fine for a while then got noisey again.
Im sure its just one or two lifters that are the culprit.

[Graham]

Sorry forgot to say, yes the pistons have valve cut outs.
Just stried the engine again and it started with a noisey lifter then went quiet and ran fine for a while then got noisey again.
Im sure its just one or two lifters that are the culprit.

give it some time

[fingersnfumbs]

give it some time

Been running the engine and Im sure its just one or two lifters that are noisey. It seems to come and go.

Perhaps I should just get some good quality lifters ENA? or can anybody suggest a better option?

[Graham]

Been running the engine and Im sure its just one or two lifters that are noisey. It seems to come and go.

Perhaps I should just get some good quality lifters ENA? or can anybody suggest a better option?

give it some more time..................

[Miniliteman]

Perhaps I should just get some good quality lifters ENA? or can anybody suggest a better option?

By ENA do you mean INA?
And what grade engine oil do you use?

[fingersnfumbs]

Ah, Yes sorry I meant INA.
I will as Graham says though give it a bit of a run before I get some.
Its Duckams 15/50 oil by the way. As its a new build was going to run it for a while then change filter and oil.
Perhaps I should go to synthetic oil.

[Graham]

synthetic oil wont do anything.

noisy lifters are usually either A worn out, which is unlikely, or B have a of bit foreign material in them which stops the internal valve sealing properly so they bleed down, or perhaps C are not rotating properly.

see what 20mins @2000 rpm does

[fingersnfumbs]

Thanks Graham, Great sensible advice as always.
By the way, love the latest You Tube.
'Free Horsepower' Going to try those things on my Pinto for sure.

[Miniliteman]

Ah, Yes sorry I meant INA.
I will as Graham says though give it a bit of a run before I get some.
Its Duckams 15/50 oil by the way. As its a new build was going to run it for a while then change filter and oil.
Perhaps I should go to synthetic oil.

In my opinion a 15W/50 is too thick (cold) for those hydraulic lifters.
I would use a quality 5W/50 oil (synthetic or semi-synthetic).