middo

I am sure I have a broken lash adjuster on my 92 Legacy turbo (UK).
I need to know if they can be replaced without removing the engine and an idea on part costs. The noise is on the O/S head.
Any help much aprecieated.

Steve

mart360

Steve not sure on the legacys layout,, but

the affected rocker cover / cams/ and adjuster will need to come off..

i would recon that the only need to remove the head would be if a valve has gone us.... and im not sure if it can be done in situ..

prhaps if the head bolts can be removed from the block and there is enough room to slide the head past the pistons it may be possible

are you sure the lifter is bust,,, have you tried putting some of that lifter oil in?? i occasionally get a clonky one,, but a blast over 3000 rpm usally does the trick


Mart

middo

Mart
The adjuster is not snapped just doesnt pressurise anymore. The engine runs OK just very noisy, untill yesterday it was an occasional noise which would go if I let it tickover for a few seconds but after a 6500rpm blast the noise has been constant. I am hoping new lash adjusters is all I will need to fit.
Have you any idea what they cost?
Also this lifter oil? please explain this.

Regards Steve

mart360

Hi steve ..

prrwww adjusters aka hydraulic tappets for a ford

bout £10-30 for scooby poss 100-300!!! i have no idea on that...

the oil is an additive by either wynns or stp (or a major player)

its a very thin oil you add into the engine and it has some gunk for eating carbon/ oil deposits (not exactly sure) but my understanding is it flushes the lifter so any crap which is blocking the feed holes is removed and pressure is restored...

all the high revs bit does is pressurise the lifter and blows any crap out of the holes..

mart

oh it was 4.99 for the bottle

middo

Thanks mart, looks like trip to halfords tomorrow and phone dealer for the bad news if oil treatment fails.

steve

mart360

now for the really worrying bit...

because you cant tell which adjuster has failed just by looking at it, the usual recommended course of action is to replace them all

you have 8 in one cylinder head ouch,,

fingers crossed on the lube method..

another alternative as well as the lube is to run an engine flush into the system and change the oil

then when the oil is changed add the lifter lube

mart

middo

mart

I now have it all in bits as the lube wouldnt shift it but i know which one is not working but am struggling to remove the damn thing.

I have got the ball bit out but have no idea how to remove the hydraulic bit, can you help?

steve

mart360

Not to sure what you mean by 'ball'

the lash adjuster is basically a round disk about i inch accross and approx 2 inches in length... the top and bottom are the same diameter the waist of the adjuster is a little bit smaller, it will have some holes in for the oil flow,, usually these will just pill out and inderneath you will see the top of the valve stem,

which is retained by 2 collets and a disk type arrangement,,, do not move this lot or you will have to take your head off to replace..

it may be that your adjuster has broken and you have one hald left in the hole, it may look line a upside down bottle cap... tru a pair of pliars on the internal face to see if you can get a grip to lift it out..

ther is a pdf for the engine internals on the board some where this may help with the descriptions

mart

middo

Thanks mart

now sorted and running ok. My engine has a different setup in that the hydraulic slug is in a small bore in the head, i have managed to remove it with a strong magnet and fitted a new one, all very fiddly but now ok. I checked with the dealer and they would have removed engine and replaced all 16 lash adjusters at a cost of about £1000, i have done the job including gaskets for £40:20 plus sore knuckles!

Regards steve

STE.W.

Well done that man

I've been lurking in the shadows watching to see how this one panned out.

I too have Leg T with noisey lifters and so does me mate

Would you care to put in writing how you did the job for us mate.

I would be very interested in copying your procedeure and doing this my self.

Well Done Again Mate.

Ste.

middo

Ste

I dont mind telling how its done but on the clear understanding that is is a very difficult job and not for the fainthearted. Unless you are a reasonable mechanic with lots of patience you are likely to regret starting this job!

I only did the O/S but the N/S is similar(cam sensor to remove).
Take off the air box and hoses, chassis leg bracket, coil packs, exhaust heat shield and rocker cover.
Then remove cam belt and cam gears and rear belt cover from head.
Now remove cams, while catching followers as they fall off the minute the cam comes away from retaining them.
Now you will see 8 ball heads, push and pull on each one and note the amount of travel, less than 1mm is correct, my faulty one was about 5mm. If they are not completely U/S like mine then it is worth considering changing them all (£23:58+vat each).
Then using a small pin or similar remove the tiny circlip and remove the ball ended slug. Now down the hole is the lash adjuster which i got out with a magnet(book says use tweesers), these have a small O ring which makes them difficult to get out as it grips the bore well.

Then refit parts in reverse order.

Note 1 Prime new adjusters before fitting by pushing check valve in with 2mm rod and operating plunger in a tray of oil untill full then remove rod and push plunger to lock check valve.

2 When fitting cams you need to locate followers, i used a piece of welding wire looped between two ajacent ball rod holes (you need to make two of these to fit cams one at a time). Then offer cam gently to head while fine tuning follower fitment, when cam is located properly it will rotate easily.

3 Do not rotate cams more than a little and never both at once as the head valves WILL touch and bend.

4 When removing timing belt, chalk timing positions on belt to help refit.

Hope this helps

Regards Steve

mart360

Hi Steve,

glad you got a result on this one,,,

was a bit worried that you may have popped the valve collets out!!!

from your previous post!!

the question is how can a main dealer justify £1000 for doing that lot

mart

middo

Mart

The cost is so much because they would take out the engine to do the job as they are dead right when they said it was very fiddly to do.
Also they would want to change all 16 lash adjusters so there would be no reocurance of another one going pop next week.

I would agree if doing all 16 I would remove engine.

Regards Steve