tapping...ticking sound...

[A80Avant]

actually what does it mean?it didnt get it from the other thread that you told me so i wanted some more information about it.
Also here is a small audio sample i took with my mobile phone from my engine at Idle.Is that tapping?Is that normal?It mostly came behind and below the throttle valve potensiometer.I wouldn't say that it would be coming from the missing/broken stud of the exhaust manifold,and also no fumes are coming out of there so i can relax about that.
But is this sound something new to worry about???

Also,when the car is cold,i have 4bar on the oil pressure.
when it is around 70degrees(engine temperature)it falls on 2 bar,idle

When it is fully heated(around 90) then it drops on 1bar on idle.
In acceleration the pressure is 4.5bar

I have plenty of boost,the turbo kicks in in around 3500rpm(i dont know why so late,but it may be the chipped ECU)....

thanks again guys...im still learning...and also a bit heart acheing visuallising the possibility of an really early recondition...turbos,pistons,manifold....too much!!!

[Ski]

cant listen to the audio as im at work, but when i got my s2 i was worried about tappets, turned out the injectors are tad bit loud on the s2's.

[S2 Ant]

Ideally you would want to have at least 1.5bar to 2bar oil pressure when fully warmed up, mine used to get down to around 1-1.4 bar when hot when the oil was a bit low on the dipstick (still within the correct area tho) and it used to tick as well.

I now make sure the oil is at least 3/4 up the recommended amount or just above and its fine, also makes enough oil pressure, i still do get the occassional ticking after a thrashing but then the engine has now done 165k, so it probably wants some new tappets.

Ive also come to the conclusion that the injectors are noisy too.

What oil do you use and where abouts is it on the dipstick?
Im still using 10w40, i wasnt kean on using the thicker stuff (10w60), only because it will hide any noise like this, but the problem is still there, so when it shows up again with the thicker oil its likely to be that the problem is a lot worse!

[S2 Ant]

cant listen to the audio as im at work, but when i got my s2 i was worried about tappets, turned out the injectors are tad bit loud on the s2's.

Replied before me LOL, yeh my injectors seem to be noisy as well. But my tappets are also quite loud from time to time, then quiten down again.

[A80Avant]

actually as i wrote to a different thread the previous owner as i too,use 10/40 oil.
I did have my oil levels lowered and i put in around 1/2 a litre just to get it around the middle of the the recommended amount on the dip stick.
Tapping is heard also in warm,not only in cold starts.
Is it the oil being too thin for this temperature weather?
Is it the oil just being low?
How much does it cost to replace all tappets?My RS2 has done 132.000km already and franckly i don't know how well it has been treated before the previous owner.

Also it seems that the top gasket is leaking so i will have that changed as well.
are the tappets expensive to change?
thanks
vasilis

[S2 Ant]

Tappets ive no idea about replacement costs, altho as there are 20 of them i doubt its cheap.

The rocker cover gasket tho is an easy one to replace, just make sure you torque the cover back on properly as if its too tight it will damage it and just leak again, is an easy enough job tho, should take about an hour by the time you've removed bits in the way and put it all back together again.

[A80Avant]

yeah,i will have to do one thing at a time i guess...

[Graham]

Tappets i believe are about £7-10 each, you can take the chance and replace the ones which the noise is coming from or bite the bullet and change the lot. Cos you can always guarantee when you fix one or 2 another 1 or 2 will start tapping. Try Martyn or Alan at Vagparts through the forum, they sell them as to do ECP also i got mine from Volksrange at Stockton On Tees (01642) 670306.
HTH
Graham

[BRY]

If the noise is under the throttle body, it isn't the tappets.
Mine makes the same noise, its a valve or something down there, and it has not got any worse in twelve months.

[A80Avant]

if you heard the sound clip,when the noise gets louder,thats when i moved my mobile phone right about above and to the left side of the throttle valve potensiometer(when i say left i mean right when looking at the engine bay in front of the car)

but what could it mean?

also is there a picture of the tappets?i cant find the greek equivalent word and hence im confused in its meaning....

[BRY]

Tappets;



Not the same as ours but they look very similar

They act on the valves like in this picture, again not our heads (V8) but hey I'm doing my best!
Top row of valves without tappets, bottom row with them installed.

[A80Avant]

thanks BRY,
that makes sense...
so if it is not the tappets,what could it be?

[leo]

conrod bearing... I have it once , about 2 years ago. it's ended with engine rebuild. What temp of oil do You have in normal drive ?

It can be the ignition distributor rack - have You made changes to his position ?

But of course - most probably that are the Tappet, like BRY said.

[A80Avant]

in normal driving i never get above 70degrees.Even if i push it,it has to really get wild to reach 100(which i have never caught by the way...)
what is the ignition distributor rack?

[leo]

Number 17 . Sometimes this part makes tapping noises when has too much backlash/shake . But it's very rare.

I remember also that the chain between cams sometimes makes also such noise .