noisy tappets?
You will have seen my posting up a couple of weeks back where I couldn't get my engine to run . Having sorted out that problem I now have a more serious concern. When I first got it going there was a loud clatter which went away after a few seconds - I presumed this was the tappets. The engine turned over very sweetly although I only let her run for a couple of minutes. I've done this about 4 times (start-up and running for no more than 3-4 mins) now however the engine is no longer turning sweetly - she starts up immediately and settles into a nice idle , the loud clatter of the tappets clear but there seems to be a noticeable mechanical noise coming from the driver side of the engine and it becomes raucous on lightly revving the engine. This engine has not done many miles (ie 15k) and I've changed the oil and filter with good quality lucas oil; there is absolutely no end-float, the oil pressure picks up immediately but she had been standing a while. Are the hydraulic tappets prone to wear or sticking? is this noise normal for this type of engine (can't think it is...)? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated . Thanks John