So on the track this weekend I made 5 back to back runs with only 2 minute cool time. Not enough and in the process I started hearing a bad chatter from the engine. I and a lot of other people decided that the noise was the hydralic lifters. What had gone wrong is that I didn't set my oil pressure to the turbo low enough so it took all the pressure out of the system. So the question is, is there anyway to pull them and fix them?

 

lol@stupid oil pressure crap.

Check the cam pulleys first. What oil are you running and which oil cooler?

 

Try changing your oil first.

 

A few years from now come back and read the quote...

 

LOL, yeah I know. My bad and now I'm paying the price. I changed my oil from 10-30 Syn to 15-50 Syn. No difference. I turned off the oil to the turbo (under no load and made sure the turbo didn't move) just to see if I could raise the pressure and solve the prob. No difference. So do I need new lifters? Or can I pull them and fit? Or should I just bite the bullet and get solid?

 

Lifter noise at the track is good. It means you're going fast. Just let it idle a little before you go out.

 

Change the oil, let it ride.

 

I'm not talking a little noise. I'm talking a clickity clack. Pretty bad!!

 

Could be spun and/or damaged crank bearing. Mine made a slightly slow valve click that was about ten times louder then standard valve click. Happened when I shifted 1 rpm before the rev limiter for a couple miles of twisty roads.

 

lifter noise is pretty well known in theese cars. read http://www.miata.net/garage/hla/cleaning.html

 

start the car, shut if off within a couple seconds, wait 10 seconds, start the car again. is the noise still there?

If so, it's not a lifter problem

Your real oil pressure gauge probably wont show much above 15 psi at hot idle...and thats accurate

 

fooger 03, your a life saver. That link ( where it works or not) is great, and good knowlege to know. THANK YOU!!!

 

So does anyone know if this link to cleaning the lifters works? I'm willing to try it, but it takes some time. Is it worth it?

 

Have you tried the ATF trick yet?

 

I cleaned my lifters about 2 years ago in my 94. It took about 4 hours working slowly. When I pulled apart the first lifter I wanted to puke. It seriously smelled like dinosaur ***. After the cleaning and running for about 15min the lifter tick went away. It seemed to pull a bit stronger for the next week until I got used to it. The lifter tick came back around a year later but only when the engine was very hot and engine oil was low.

 

Well good news is that its not the lifters. Bad news is its main bearings. Oil pressure dropped to 20 PSI at 800 rpm's. 42 at 2500 rpm's. So I stuck my head into the engine bay and heard that the knock was lower. Looks like I get to pull it!! LOL. Luckly I love to work on it!!

 

Might as well clean the lifters while you have the engine out of the car then.

 

Yeah, I'm planing on it, and returning that dang Stage 3 puck too!! Now I hate to change my own treads but what a good set of main and rod bearings? Just glad I don't have to pull the head, thats always a head ache.

 

Well after pulling out my engine, (AND HAIR) it turns out that the noise I heard wasn't lifters. I took it down to a few buddies shops, then to a machine shop. Nobody could figure it out. So I pulled and ripped it apart. Mains were a little worn, rod bearings look great, wrist pins beautiful, rings in great shape, lifters are better then okay, to tell you the truth their wasn't anything wrong at all. So I gave the engine to a machinist I know and he's polishing and balancing the crank with new HIGH REV mains and rods, hone with Wiseco Pistons, lapping the valve rain, and everything else. The cool part is that (I'll take pics) the bottom of the stock piston looked great. No heat scaring. So I guess 14 psi wasn't to hard on it. I hope to have it back up and going by next week, and upload some pics!!

 

x2

I took off mine yesterday and I nearly puke when I removed my cam bolts...

Damn old boiled oil smell like "dinosaur ***" !!