Loud lifters as temperature rises. Need explanation.

[Darius]

haha ok I can settle for VP. I'm on 1.75 yrs and I got 700 miles on it in there somewhere.

Thanks for the part no. It looks like they cross-reference with the VG30DE and VG30DETT, and possibly the CA18. I have found some generic ones by Paraut for $19.43 each and $17 from ImportPerformanceParts.net. The local Nissan dealer wants $57each. Crooks.
Modified by Darius at 11:36 AM 4/13/2007

[Sil240]

Haha.Mr. Vice President I envy those 700 miles. :-(

Talk to Krayton,He said they're $11 each.See where he's getting his from.

[Carl H]

i paid 8$ for my new oem nissan ones, gotta love working at a dealer...if i were you i would pull the head off and remove the blocked restrictor...i run dual restricted feeds with no noise from the head, tomei even says not to block that feed unless you are running solid lifters.

[kouki-gymkhana]

I have to agree with Carl on this one. It is most likely due to the oil orifice restrictor you recently installed. I know it would probably be a ***** to get it back out at this point but it's the only thing you have likely modified about the oiling system recently. The restrictor is likely not allowing the lifters to see the appropriate pressure they need to self-adjust.

The purpose of the oil restrictor is to limit oil flow to the head during sustained high rpm operation because the RB motors have a penchant for sucking the pan dry and accumulating most of the total oil volume in the head. Maybe the restrictor is *TOO* restrictive and is affecting oil flow at normal/idle engine speeds??

[Shocker]

Darius post this question on Skylines Austrailia see what they say, there should be an explantation.

[Darius]

Here's an update...the new lifters (which turned out to be OEM Nissan) did not help the noise issue, which means my old lifters were most likely good.

Since the lifters did not have an issue with priming before. I do not think it is due to the oil passage blocker since a ton of aussie guys have that setup and don't have oiling/lifter problems. I'll pull it anyways to be sure.

The only other possibility is that the valve install height is too short. The lifters are at their maximum expansion height for proper operation, so it is back to square one. I'm going to call the machine shop tomorrow, but I'm guessing my only options are to backcut the valves or redo the valve job on the problem cylinders to deepen the seat. Anyone have any suggestions or alternatives? I don't think Ferrea would help me out at this point and even if those a$$hats did, it would take two months to get my valves back again.

GOD I'm so sick of this f*cking *****!

[kouki-gymkhana]

Damn, Darius...so sorry to hear that the new lifters didn't fix your issue. That really sux. I bet you're happy you went with the generic ones, at least, and aren't out the $700+ for OEM lifters from the dealer. I just bought a new lifter...that's right 1, ...ONE,... UNO from the dealer and that sumbitch cost me $43!!

I'm at a loss in terms of advice to offer you at this point. I had no idea it took you so long to get your valves cut down from Ferrea!! I went to their headquarters in Ft Lauderdale directly and they cut mine down for me in about 2 hours.

BTW, I FINALLY fixed my compression issues and my hatch is good to go with 170psi +/- 2 of compression across the board!! (See my other thread that chronicles the saga)

Anyways, keep at it, Darius. You'll find the problem and fix it... I know you will.

-KG

[gawdzilla]

are there lash clearances that are measureable on the hydraulic lifter setups so you can check if you are within spec?

i'm only familiar with the solid lifter setup and on that one you can set the lash with the shims and measure them with the feeler gauge.

[Darius]

KG - Glad to hear your valves worked out. I was down in Ft. Lauderdale when mine were supposed to be finished but they sat on them for another month after that until I made a nasty phone call. They got them to me a week later and now I have issues. Glad to hear you have such good compression numbers. Damn 170?! Oh and I forgot to mention, I ordered some lifters that were listed as generic from a huge parts distributor and what shows up at my door? OEM Nissan for $15 each! I was pretty stoked.

gawdzilla - the hydraulic lifters have a certain lash limit that is next to none. Some of my lifter lashes are good and others are .25-.28mm (measured with a feeler gauge), which is way out of spec. It is interesting to hear the ones that have the larger lash because they are clearly where the louder ticking is coming from. How thick are shims btw? I'm wondering if I could add a 1mm shim beneath the bad lifters?? Just trying to evaluate options before tearing the entire head apart...again.

[Bluefire]

The only thing you can actually measure is the valve height. But you are going to need a dial indicator gauge. But the process alone is a real pain in the butt....

before all this though, i would get a stethoscope and pinpoint the valves making noise. Hopefully the ones making noise will coincide with the valves you replaced.

By the way, just to throw this out there, double check that the nvcs unit is not making noise. You can check by just unplugging the nvcs solenoid. This has been a common problem for s14 and s15 nvcs units also...

-Bluefire

[Darius]

If I got a dial indicator, where would I measure from, the cam journal surface to the valve stem?

I know it's not the NVCS because the front two cylinder for both intake and exhaust are quiet. The noise is from the 3rd to 6th cylinders.

Would it be possible to run "valve lash caps" on the tops of the valves in question? Check this link out for example:

http://www.vacmotorsports.com/...ision
Modified by Darius at 10:50 PM 5/15/2007

[Bluefire]

yeah as far as i can see the cam journal surface would be the best place to mount the dial indicator. The difficulty will be in positioning the gauge so that rotation of the gauge doesn't affect the reading...

I've never used the "valve lash caps" so I can't really comment on them.

[gawdzilla]

i'm not really sure how the hydraulic is set up, but on the solid there is a little "watch battery" looking shim that sits under the bucket, and the watch battery sits on top of the valve. as far as i know, the hydraulic setup also has these watch battery shims, and my guess is.. if they are too far under spec (thin), it will make your lash too big and cause the ticking. Maybe you need to buy new shims, or switch shims around and get a few thick ones grinded down to fit.

That's what i did with mine.. mic'ed the shims, used feeler gauges, then got certain ones grinded down so all the lashes were in spec.

[Darius]

mmm that's another good idea. I never thought of that being an option. You're right, there are little caps on the top of the lifter assembly itself (internal to the bucket) that just sit on there. I'll look into that too. The valve lash caps sound like they are fairly standard for drag racing applications and domestics, but I want to make sure that they'll stay in place and not mushroom out or anything gay like that.

[gawdzilla]

mmm that's another good idea. I never thought of that being an option. You're right, there are little caps on the top of the lifter assembly itself (internal to the bucket) that just sit on there. I'll look into that too. The valve lash caps sound like they are fairly standard for drag racing applications and domestics, but I want to make sure that they'll stay in place and not mushroom out or anything gay like that.

make sure you're supposed to cut those shims to spec first before you do so obviously. I was only referring to the solid lifter setup, which may be very different than hydraulic. Not sure if you're supposed to mess w/ the shims on the hydraulic.. might want to check w/ a machine shop or something, cuz it could also be your valve length being incorrect.

[240sxr33]

DariusHow did you fix it?I'm experiencing similar problem.

[slowrb20]

one of the possible reosons COULD be your using a mutil grade oil which means when you reach operating temperature the viscosity,resistance to flow, of your oil would be 30W.. since its thicker when it warms up you could not be getting proper lubrication to your lifters. not sure why but thats just my two sense on why you would hear it when its warm not cold..

[240sxr33]

I hear it when its cold and hot.

[S14-NEO]

way to go on resurrecting a 2 year old thread....lol

[Darius]

Thanks for bringin up memories that I had repressed. I will send u my therapy bills haha.

It was valve stems from Ferrea not being the right length. Several were too short and the hydraulic lifters could not take up the slack nd it ticked loudly as the cam lobe slapped on the lifter bucket. I had to buy valve stem caps from a CA company and have them milled to short so they would fit on top of the retainers. The fix worked but it cost me about $150 on top of everything else.