Re: loud mettalic noise

["Ed Shiers" <mcji6es2@fs1.me.umist.ac.uk>]

thanks for the advice. one thing that i did notice was that 1 lifter 
was covered in scratches and had a kind of hazy finish on the 
surface. another one had the same effect but to a lesser degree and 
confined just to it's centre.
however both lifters revealed no broken spring etc underneath.
Also I should say that the car has never had a rattly tappet in the 
past.- eg on startup. One thing that i did do about a week before the 
noise occurred was replace the oil and filter- with coma fully 
synthetic- 5w-40 i think. The problem also seems intermittent - ie/ 
doesn't seem to be on an exact cycle like a tappet
> Hello Ed,
> 
> I'd try replacing the hydraulic valve lifters.  Here in the US they're 
> available for as little as 7 USD each.  An engine oil flush followed by an 
> oil change is also advised.  Valve noises seem to increase with lower oil 
> levels, keep it topped to the line on the stick.
> 
> HTH,
> 
> -Tony