I want to change the camshaft on the Bravo (1.4 12v) so i've bought this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130097672327

I also need to replace the tappets, when i asked the bloke who's going to fit these parts for me he said that the followers in the kit i've bought ARE the tappets.

When looking at these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....K:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=4565688834&rd=1&rd=1

I think he's wrong. Is he??? do i need to buy the tappets in the above link?

Thanks.

You're right - these are only followers not tappets

Why do you replace the tappets? Are they worn or stuck?

Also - will you replace the oil distributor? Dunno the name but I mean the "spider". Plus its o-ring seals of course, as they cause the loss of oil pressure in the "spider".

Tomasso said:

You're right - these are only followers not tappets

Why do you replace the tappets? Are they worn or stuck?

Also - will you replace the oil distributor? Dunno the name but I mean the "spider". Plus its o-ring seals of course, as they cause the loss of oil pressure in the "spider".

Click to expand...

The tappets are noisy the car is running rough so wanted to get that done first.

Do i need to replace the oil distributor???

If the reason why you are replacing the camshaft is that the cams got worn due to lack of oil it is most likely the oil line is either clogged or the o-rings are leaking and oil is not getting to the cams.

You might try to flush the "spider" clean and replace the seals only... but the cost of seals is close to the cost of the whole new set.

A guy from my Polish forum got his 1.4 engine done recently. I'll ask him about the tappets.

Well not so much a lack of oil as an overload. I had the oil changed after having the car about 3 months and he drained 6 litres

the tappets are noisey because they arent getting oil. they arent getting oil because the oil pick up pipe and oil flinger bar are blocked. they are blocked because its a 1.4 and it happens to every single one of them. you can bet money on that.

dont replace the tappets, or indeed anything else, until you've sorted oil circulation to the head first. you may find it starts working perfectly once you do that.

either way i doubt you'll need to replace the tappets, they're just noisey because they're dry. you can stick as much oil in the engine as you want, if it isnt getting to the head you'll have noisey tappets. plus the performance will be bad because dry hydraulic tappets cant adjust the valve clearances correctly, leading to poor compression.

if the cam lobes are obviously worn then replace the cam, if they arent worn why waste the time and money.

How do i unblock the oil thingumajigs? or what do i ask the bloke to do?

there is a pipe that the oil pump uses to suck up oil from the sump (pickup pipe), it tends to get blocked up regularly on the 1.4 models. if you bath it in parrafin overnight you can get the crap out.

under the rocker cover on the head there is a long bar that is used to spread oil evenly (oil flinger bar). it gets blocked up, preventing oil from spreading across the cams and causing dry tappets to become noisy. cleaning the bar will sort the problem out.

several 1.4 owners have recommended regular cleaning of both.

if you want to try the quick and easy method of restoring oil circulation, get the engine very hot, then drain approx half of the oil out, and stick 3 cans of engine flush in with the remaining oil. let the engine idle for 40 mins giving it regular periods of high idle (2000rpm), then drian all the oil out (hopefully full of crap), fit a new oil filter, and then fill up with fresh good quality 10w40 oil.

after this it should quieten down within a few miles of driving, and run noticably better.

hopefully you will notice that a few mins after you start idling the engine with engine flush it gets less tappy. once that happens you know the engine flush has made it to the tappets and is doing its job.

Is there any chance of a quick 'how to' so i can clean my pipe and flicker?

Cheers in advance jug

Thanks for that Jug,

1) Remove the Rocker Cover.

2) Undo the bolts that are circled red in the picture below.

3) Carefully pull from the head. The pipe seats the head at the point's which I have circled in yellow

4) Soak the oil feed pipe in parafin, but do it away from your house because it stinks.

5)Put it all back together ensuring that the oil feed pipe is seated correctly before tightening the bolts.



I've got another oil feed pipe from the scrap yard that I keep in a bath of parafin so when i do a service I swap them over.

TBH I have never had to clean the oil pick up pipe on myn, so I'm not to sure how you do that.

Ignore the numbers on the pic it's the head bolt tightening sequence.

Cheers man big help!

jug said:

there is a pipe that the oil pump uses to suck up oil from the sump (pickup pipe), it tends to get blocked up regularly on the 1.4 models. if you overnight you can get the crap out.

under the rocker cover on the head there is a long bar that is used to spread oil evenly (oil flinger bar). it gets blocked up, preventing oil from spreading across the cams and causing dry tappets to become noisy. cleaning the bar will sort the problem out.

several 1.4 owners have recommended regular cleaning of both.

if you want to try the quick and easy method of restoring oil circulation, get the engine very hot, then drain approx half of the oil out, and stick 3 cans of engine flush in with the remaining oil. let the engine idle for 40 mins giving it regular periods of high idle (2000rpm), then drian all the oil out (hopefully full of crap), fit a new oil filter, and then fill up with fresh good quality 10w40 oil.

after this it should quieten down within a few miles of driving, and run noticably better.

hopefully you will notice that a few mins after you start idling the engine with engine flush it gets less tappy. once that happens you know the engine flush has made it to the tappets and is doing its job.

Click to expand...

does this happen on the 1.6 models as well because my tappets soundd rough but it happens intermitently??? as in will start it its fine run it for 10 mins then will start tapping, also i have lost quite some power as well

its not a known issue on the 1.6 but it can happen to any engine (usually at very high milage but earlier on badly serviced engines).

have a quick look at the camshaft lobes, they are a good way to tell if oil circulation has been an issue.

Is this the same process to cleaning a Brava 1.4 sx ?

Realist said:

Is this the same process to cleaning a Brava 1.4 sx ?

Click to expand...

Yes exactly the same engine.

Could anybody give a "How To" On cleaning the pickup pipe Please

i would do it the lazy way. drain engine oil then refit sump plug, remove rocker cover, remove oil bar, pour engine flush/kerosene/parrafin down the pipe that supplies the oil bar using a funnel. collect the fluid by draining the sump into a container, then pour it again and repeat until you are happy that the fluid can be poured into the sump at a decent rate, proving the path the oil will take is clear enough. also clean out the inside of the oil bar.

Thanks you this site i'v been able to go through a list of problems i'm having with the Death noise coming from my 1.4 12v Brava, It just sounds like this falling apart, when it starts* after a gud 3/4 sec of it turning over* the HOLE engine Rocks i can hear a Tapping noise at first i thought it was engine Knock and when down all those lines then tested the HT and coil pack no problems there, even lifted off the oil cap to try and see if the noise came from within the engine block no luck there. It just sounds like there a Gnome inside my engine with a Slag hammer. Im just about to open up and take a look at the tappets see if there dry but i only recently cleaned out the oil spray bar its been awhile since last oil change mind think i'll get that over the week,

BUT is there anything else i could have missed out that could be making my engine sound like a Trackor?!

Vercetti

sounds like the usual oil starvation problem.