I have a legacy turbo on a K plate with 90,000 miles on the clock, when it is cold there is a tapping sound from the engine and this goes away after the engine has warmed up, it is quite loud and has got worse over the last few days. A friend of mine says that it is "sticky lifters" whatever that is,is it serious, does anyone else agree with him or do you know of something else it could be, any help would be great as I am starting to get a little worried about it.

 

yep, got one myself, i think your mates right, although mine doesn't do it that much. My dad has one aswell and his makes that noise all the time.

Change of oil might help and a good flush, don't think its that serious though.

 

Same car 129k miles. Car needs oil change every 4k. The best oil I have used was "Silkolene" (Steve lawson did it) the noise is a great reminder to change the oil!!

 

These engines have hydraulic lifters and it is possible that with age lose the oil inside if the cam happens to stop with the valve being held open. The result is a large valve clearance until the lifter is replenished with oil. The oil holes in lifters are tiny and easily blocked. Before changing the oil put some engine flush (Wynns, STP etc) in and run the car for about 20 miles, then do the oil and filter change. Don`t use a thick oil in an engine with hydraulic lifters. If it is still noisey, and the lifters really are the culprits you may need to renew them, hoping the bores that they live in are not themselves worn!
JohnD

 

just checked with my dad, he found a wynn's additive you can use that helped his a lot. I had noticed in my service book that mine has had new tappits at 80,000.

now at 148,000 and with regular oil changes every 5-7,000 it's not noticeable, or i'm just lucky.