Richard Sykes

hi every one i have just bought a 99 impreza with a blown piston. So i got a good wrx bottom end and fitted my uk heads and manifold on to it, engine started first time oil light went out after 2 seconds but it sounded a little rattly for a short while any way the noise stopped and i toped up the pas fluid and coolant then took her for a gentle run after 5 miles i stoped and checked levels and listened for noises all seemed well, then as i approached my house i herd a rattle and pulled over the engine now taps like the tappets are shot but they are shims!!! any help would be greatly appreciated

merlin24

iTrader: (1)

If you set the valve clearance before you fitted the heads they should be ok.Did you clean the oil gallery out in the heads before you fitted them?
They do tend to accumilate debris and sealant and can lead to oil starvation to the cams,buckets and journals.

Richard Sykes

thanks for reply i have been in garage all morning checking it over the valve clearances on the n/s inlet are .10 .20 .10 .10 and n/s exhaust are .20 .20 .30 .20 do you think the slight difference will give a noticible tap thanks

merlin24

iTrader: (1)

If i remember correctly the valve clearances for UK outer shim are:
Inlets 0.006 - 0.008 in
exhaust 0.008 - 0.010 in
Normally set Inlets to 7 thou and Exhausts to 9 thou(middle of the tolerance)
If your readings are metric,then 3 of your Inlets are too Tight,
one of your Exhaust clearances is too loose.