Recently my focus has picked up a tapping noise from the top of the engine when running, any ideas of what could be the cause of this?
Thanks in advance
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I take it this is a petrol engine. If it has hydraulic tappets one or more has likely failed.
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I dont think these engines have hyd tappets, they are 'bucket and shim' tappets, and any tappet noise should come on very gradually, as the clearances on these engine usually last to very high mileages.
The tapping could either be a cam bearing or even a noisy petrol injector.
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You can pick up a mechanic's stethoscope on Ebay for a few quid. Very useful for pinpointing the source of odd noises like this.
Might also be worth a quick check of the auxiliary belt and pulleys. A fray in the belt or a loose pulley can make noises like this.
Does the frequency of the tapping increase and decrease with the revs?
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This is indeed a petrol engine, apologies for not mentioning it to begin with.
After some digging it seems that this engine has conventional tappets with shims, self-adjusting hydraulic valves where not used after mid-1998.
The auxiliary belt looks fine and taught as does the cam belt.
It is a high mileage car having ~103k on the clock and has never had the valve clearances adjusted. Has anyone had any experience with this with regard to cost etc.?
It may also be worth mentioning that there is some squeal from the power steering pump/auxiliary belt during normal running. I'm not if this is related or not.
I will get hold of a mechanic's stethoscope and see if any of the injectors are making a noise and test to see if revving increases the frequency of the noise.
As a quick note I am only getting around 29mpg out of it which I've heard can be injector related.
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My money would still be on an injector, as the tappets hardly ever get seriously noisy on these engines even at the stated mileage. The low mpg is quite easily caused by this also .
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