GTTurbo

I know this should be in the Technical section (it is indeed) but I would really appreciate a speedy response on this one from anyone in the know as my engine in the process of being stripped / rebuilt as I write!

My question is, are the tappets hydraulic or of the shimmed verity?

I know that will be obvious when in bits but I would, if possible like to pre-empt the outcome on this and perhaps order replacements if necessary in the mean time.

Thanks in advance

AndrewC

If it's a MY97 (phase 1.5) then it should be shimmed.

Andrew...

GTTurbo

Thanks, thats what I wanted to hear - new hydraulic tappets probably be £££'s

Dyney

Hydraulic tappets are about £60 each IIRC

Yours will be over bucket shims. (the shim sits in a recess on the top of the bucket(follower) The cam rests on the shim.)

GTTurbo

I beleive we have met once or twice before at subaru meetings - your car is the same age as mine and silver too if I remember correctly.

Mine is undergoing engine rebuild to resolve piston slap and as the tappets 'tick' slightly when the engine is warm / hot I thought it would be wise to get it seen to whilst in bits.

Have you had yours re-shimmed? My car is on 78,500 miles.

Hol

iTrader: (1)

With a name like GTTurbo, do I know YOU???
AndyH

GTTurbo

no no sorry I just remembered the name Dyney on a car like mine and speaking with its owner.

David

Dyney

Hello mate, which meets?
It's still silver

I've just built a new 2.5 US STI, and yes I did re-shim all the tappets as the **** I bought the new heads off nicked them all
Not ever re-shimmed the std heads though and it had done 110k miles.

GTTurbo

It was at the prodrive sale I beleive - must be a good 3-4 years ago now.

Did your original block sound a little ticky when hot?

Dyney

Ahhh, long time ago that

I only had a bit of slap when cold

Ritch96

hi fella's,
Don't wanna interupt but i think you chaps could help me with a bit of advice seen as you seem to have been through the piston slap thing.

My 96 uk turbo suffers from piston slap and i was after a bit of advice. It is quite bad now and i can detect it v slightly when warm. It is extremely noticable on a cold winters morning even to the girlfriend . I have noticed it gradually getting worse over the last three years.

My question to you is at what point did you go to the rebuild route? I'm sure mine will eventually need it but at the moment there is no adverse effect on anything other than a bit noisy as i say. It's done +90k now. Was it the noise that pushed you to rebuild or something else?

Cheers
Ritchie.

GTTurbo

I never liked the noise but when I had the major services done yearly, the guy who carries out the work said he would keep an eye on it.

It is only a danger to its self when cold if you beat it (high revs etc)

It will get worse on its own even give the most gentle treatment - just as it made its self apparent at about 20,000 miles onwards.

When the knocking noise is apparent when the engine is at normal opperating temperature, this is cause for concern if you enjoy 'driving' your car how it was intended and should indeed perform.

Saying that if you are just wanting it to remain working, you can treat it very gently and gain many more miles out of it. I have heard of them running on 2 to 3 cylinders until warm if the problem is left for a very long time.

Worst case, if you happen to be driving hard and the piston jams you could be needing a new engine.

I have just got mine back and it is better than new now after having a rebuild, I don't even have ticking tappets any more!

If you can afford it and intend to keep for some time, go for a rebuild.

Dyney

Richie,
Are you sure it's piston slap and not just a sticky hydraulic tappet?
MY97/8's have a known piston slap problem. MY96's don't seem to have the same weakness (well not to the same extent).

I only fitted the new engine (at 110K miles) as the head gaskets blew last summer and after skimming the heads and refitting them it was still not quite right. It was using water slowly (never did before) and had developed various oil leaks.
I had pushed it quite hard (274bhp running 1.2psi boost) so decided if I wanted to carry on modding the car I needed a new engine before this one let go

Before I blew the gaskets it was running really well

Ritch96

I am almost certain that what i have is piston slap. I have spent many an hour scouring through posts on here and have seen that it was more prevelant on the early phase two (97/98?) engines. It is not unheard of though for the early cars to develop it too. I would love it to be something else and any info as to things to check is much appreciated. My engine is also very ticky which sounds tappety to me.

I think an engine rebuild will be the only answer in the long run. I suppose that would involve a new short engine and then rebuild costs? What sort of cost is this? A worry is that some guys on here seem to have gone down that route and suffered more failures in not too many miles.

thanks for the very informative answers,

Ritchie.