It all started last spring on initial startup. That tick tick tick for about a minute. It disappeared for a few months then came back every third or forth cold start. I did not feel up to pulling the engine so I went at it from underneath. I was hoping to feel the bad one and just replace it but soon realized they were all toast. The seals were all dry and cracked and one seal was gone entirely and eaten by the engine.
The car has 79,000 miles with frequent oil changes but stored winters. It was about 12 hours work and under $400.00 in parts. The new seals have heavier duty white seals on them and are manufactured by INA. All quiet now and purring like a kitten. A large moose stuck his head in the garage and watched the procedure for a few minutes . He left without any comment on the problem.

 

That is pretty typical - and at that mileage not surprising. It seems the O ring is the main culprit, and I am not sure how good the quality is on those new lifters. I like the Viton seals (which you get from Wrightwood racing gaskets for instance) since they apparently are hardier than the stock O rings, but this should last a good long time anyways.

Its is a lot of work to dig into all four covers, so 12 hours is about right, especially if its the first time, and if there is lots of cleaning.

Nice work!

Cheers,

Mike

 

Where did you order them? Pelican lists them, is there another option?

 

+1



Andreas

 

I got them from Sid at Vertex.

 

What are those? How do you check if they need to be replaced. I'm at 70k miles. Would they be much easier to replace with engine dropped?

 

These pressurize with oil and keep your valve clearance adjusted. If your /engine compartment is clean , everything is rust free and hardware is in good shape its definitely easier to go in from underneath. I have a hoist so that's easy for me to say.

 

yup...I'm getting occasional noise on cold start up now too. Maybe another item to add to the winter to-do list.

Gonna have to start watching some how to DIY's on this.

Any special tools needed?

 

Thanks, but you overestimating my knowledge base. What are "these" called or better what is the part number?

 

They are called hydraulic valve lifters part #993 105 141 03. Made by INA OEM I believe

 

get them azautohaus

cheaper than pelican and free shipping

 

Thanks.

Another newb question...do you have drain oil before you take the camshaft cover off?

 

No draining required - you will lose a tiny bit, but not much.

Replace all the gaskets on the valve covers unless they are quite new.

You will need a good smaller torque wrench - hopefully not crap but a good one. A way to check is phone your local calibration shop, they will give you feedback on which torque wrenches are good. The torque wrench is for the rocker arm hold-downs and valve covers, rockers are 10 ft-lbs, covers is 7 ft-lbs. You cannot reach all the valve cover bolts, but you should be able to use the tool on all the rocker arms.

Do a rocker one at a time. The rockers are worn to the camshafts, so you do not want to mix them up. Rotate the engine (clockwise, in neutral via the fan nut) until the pressure is off the lifter, then remove the rocker, remove and replace the lifter, and then place it back and torque back up. I pre-soak the lifters (not sure if that does much), and put break in lube on the feed of the lifter where it contacts the top of the valve. Again, not sure if that helps, but can't hurt. Rotate the engine and work your way to the next one. If you do not understand firing orders so you know which one to do, then go by feel - the rockers that are ready to be replaced will feel slightly loose.

When done, before starting, if you want to be especially ****, pull the DME relay and crank for a bit to flush fresh oil into the lifters, then replace the relay and start.

Lots of other little points, but it's pretty obvious when you see it. :-)

Cheers,

Mike

 

Inspired me to order the parts and take care of it this winter!

 

on the turbo you're gonna be cursing

what a biatch