Hi,

this morning when starting the car I heard a very loud tapping noise coming from the engine bay. It sounds it is a valve tapping noise. The noise disappeared after 2 minutes or so. I know this can be totally normal when cold but I'd like to know what is causing that sound. It is a lack of lubrication when the engine is cold and the valve tappets are not properly oiled? If so, should I use a thinner oil for winter (now I use 10W40 because my engine has 217000km, S40 2.0 140cv phaseI)?

I also heard such problem may come from a worn or stuck valve lifter. My actual oil (Castrol GTX Magnatec 10W40) has a high ash content. Is it possible that it has clogged a lifter and cause it to make noise? Should I then flush the engine oil to remove the deposits?

Thanks

I have used the follwing oils in my S40. Valvoline, Amsoil XL7500, Schaeffer Supreme, and Mobil 1 - all 10W-30. The Mobil 1 followed closely by the Schaeffer's has been the quietest upon startup. Not one tick.

I would try not to use a non synthetic on a turbo car. The synth or even a blend will give better flow upon startup, thus no lifter tick and is more resistant to coking at high temps in the turbo.

mormit
--
85 245DL 248,000mi V15cam 'Old and Rusted', 02 S40 'New Hotness'

Hi!

This may sound crazy, but last summer when i started my car it kept this tapping sound as well...noise disappeared when engine warmed up little bit.
I took it to the dealers service garage and they find out that
the cause was manifold!!! It wasn´t enough tightly fit...
bolts were loosen by the time and one of them had fallen.

Hello

which bolt has fallen? Manifold to engine or manifold to exhaust pipe?

Concerning my noise, I'm pretty sure it comes from the valves because the noise is well timed and comes from the upper part of the engine. Will try to clean everything with STP complete fuel system cleaner to see if I can get some dirt out of the valves also.

Bye

Hi!

It was manifold to engine.
So there was a "leak" which backed up when engine warmed up.
Because of the "leak" it kept this tapping sound which did go up and down with the revs, so i thought it was from the valves as well.

(i hope you did "get it" what i´m trying to say, my english ain´t so good)

No problem Ease, you're english is perfect. I also have trouble to speak in english but I think it's not a problem to undertsand what we mean :)

I'll try to check if one of the manifold bolts is broken.

Great! Thanks. :)
BTW Where are you from???

Yeah, check it out...it may not be it,
but in my case it was the cause of this nasty noise.

from Switzerland, and you?

I´m from Finland.

So, you like S/V40?
I like my car a lot, maybe it could me more "sporty" like those MB AMG, BMW M, Audi S, models, for like interior in T4 looks almost same as in 1.8l versions.

There is a common problem of the o-rings becomming pinched or worn on the oil pump and oil pump pick-up-tube. I had the exact same problem, and the dealer knew exactly where to look for the problem. FYI, my car had about 110,000 miles on it at the time.

Do you know exactly which o-rings were involved? I have to change my timing belt in a couple of week so it would be a good time to change the oil pump o-ring and gaskets. Is it the thin o-ring that is located around the oil pump body?