I believe the tapping lifters is exacerbated by the need to use 20-50 oil
in our aging engines.  The oil just doesn't flow when cold.  Take a look at
your oil pressure gauge if you have one--it pegs at 85 to 90 psi at
start-up, which means the by-pass is opening.  This is why many report
lifter noise after short starts (moving the vehicle and shutting down).
The cam changes position, a new set of lifters is squeezed with no oil
pressure to keep it pumped up.  The next start will inevitably have a
couple of noisy lifters.  Many have reported no lifter noise (or much less)
with synthetics like Mobil 1.  Why? Because it flows much better cold.  My
engine has low oil pressure, as many do, and I have been leery of going to
synthetics for this reason.  It will probably drop the pressure even
further.  But, it would provide better lubrication?  Yes, but it will
probably also cause leaks in my old engine.  So, I put up with the 20-50
and add a little Marvel Mystery Oil over the winter.  I think the filter
issue is a bit of a crock, too as the filter sits upright enough to hold
most of the oil it  Never the less, I have been dutifully using Mann
filters.   If I ever put in a new engine,  I will definitely go to Mobil 1
after the initial break in time.

Jay

John Rodgers <jhrodgers@MINDSPRING.COM>@gerry.vanagon.com> on 03/07/2002
12:13:28 AM

Please respond to John Rodgers <jhrodgers@MINDSPRING.COM>

Sent by:    Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>

To:    vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
cc:
Subject:    Re: Knocking noise from lifters

Stephen Overmyer wrote:

> At 21:52 6/03/02 -0500, you wrote:
>

Steve, sounds exactly like the old classic WBX lifter syndrome. The WBX is
notorious for this. It happened on my engine even after it was rebuilt and
new
lifters installed during the rebuild. There are several steps to take to
eliminate this, some of which I have done, some not, but others on the list
recommend.

First, be sure you have the right oil for the engine. I run 20W50 year
round
as I am here in the south. Other parts of the country may require
changeovers
for winter operation.

Second, be sure you are using a Mahle oil filter. It has an internal relief
valve with a spring sufficiently strong to prevent leakdown and subsequent
loss of oil from the oil galleries in the engine.

These first two have worked for me. No more clackety clack from the
lifters.
However I find I must be diligent about oil changes a filter changes.

Third, and this I have not done, is to add Marvels Mystery Oil to the your
engine oil. This is a Marvelous (good pun) lubricant with good cleaning
action
for the lifters.

These actions should eliminate your problem. If not, then you may have to
replace the lifter to get rid of the problem.

Good Luck.

John Rodgers'
88 GL Driver