aaaaggghhhh - the noise is driving me crazy!

aaaaggghhhh - the noise is driving me crazy!

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zebra

Original Poster:

4,555 posts

219 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Could do with a bit of help. I freely admit that I am not the most technical person in the world; beyond petrol, oil, coolant and water, unfortunately engines and the zebra do not see eye to eye.

I'm finding that my 111r plant is making a noise akin to the sound engines make when short of lubricant, a sort of sewing machine ticking noise. I've taken it to the garage who say the engine's fine. Just wondered whether any of you have had similar issues because it's driving me mad. More importantly, because it's a metallic sound, I'm concerned that I'm subjecting the engine to unecessary wear. Even with air filters and a stage II exhaust it's all I can here when I'm driving and it's starting to taint my enjoyment of the car to the point of wondering why I got rid of the 111s. Never had this with the k-series; if anyone else has suffered this then please let me know whether you rectified the problem or failing that. solid guesses as to cause of irritating problem.

ps, before anyone asks, I have checked the oil (do that every third fill)- it's fine

In anticipation of results and sitting with ear plugs in place

Zebra

cuzza

2,042 posts

258 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Has it got the right oil? Perhaps try something a bit thicker if you want to quieten it that much but you'll lose a bit of cold start protection.

zebra

Original Poster:

4,555 posts

219 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Thanks for the advice on the oil; what do you recommend aboce the 5W 40 that is in the manual?

Further info: the noise is not there at start up and is only apparent when the engine reaches running temperature. Is that problem tappets?

gooby

9,268 posts

239 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Not a problem - that is the noise that the yota makes.

S Works

10,166 posts

255 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
If it's what I think it is (like a high pitched tapping noise in-sync with the engine speed - i.e. if you rev it gets faster) then this is common on the K series, and is generally attributed to the hydraulic followers. IIRC it can be resolved with a dose of flushing oil and an oil change. Only guessing, but perhaps it could be the same issue in the 'yota.

I don't think it's a terminal thing and generally goes away after a while.

zebra

Original Poster:

4,555 posts

219 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Never had it with the k-series, only on the toyota lump. But yes, it is in sync with the engine.

Never changed the oil myself (see initial post), only topped up. Therefore, how long will it take, how easy is it to undertake and which oil would you recommend?

Cheers

Zebra

zebra

Original Poster:

4,555 posts

219 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Gooby, thanks for the reassurance as to the fact there is no problem, will probably still look to change the oil.

cuzza

2,042 posts

258 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
How many miles has it done?

Might be worth trying to find out what oil is recommended for an Exige running on track - it's the same engine and with the Exige having a track bias they might recommend something along the 15W 50 line.

Tim, I'm always wary of flushing oils - they can cause more problems than they solve, particularly on older engines (which, admittedly, this probably isn't).

zebra

Original Poster:

4,555 posts

219 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Bought it march _ covered 4379 miles.

S Works

10,166 posts

255 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
cuzza said:
How many miles has it done?

Might be worth trying to find out what oil is recommended for an Exige running on track - it's the same engine and with the Exige having a track bias they might recommend something along the 15W 50 line.

Tim, I'm always wary of flushing oils - they can cause more problems than they solve, particularly on older engines (which, admittedly, this probably isn't).

Indeed I too would talk to Oilman and seek his recommendation.

Re: flushing oils, this is something I remember reading from junks and others on SELOC before when this was brought up as an issue on a few K-Series cars.

If gooby says it's normal then I suspect it's just one of those things that comes and goes.

GTRene

17,441 posts

229 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
the special bmw high rpm engine's like the S54(E46 M3) engines who go also to 8.000rpm recomende "Castrol TWS Motorsport 10W-60" (not the RS!!) it can withstand 3x higher power on the internals before it brakes through the seal of protection! then the RS and most other oils! so I think it also is one of the best for the toyota engine? it can be pricy but your engine will be better protected, so in the end its cheaper
Normaly this Castrol TWS Motorsport 10W-60 is only availeble through the BMW dealers, but you can also order it by ebay or maybe some other people if you ask kindly
GTRene

Castrol also recomend 10w 60 se the list

www.castrol.com/castrol/castrolhomepage.do?categoryId=3205&source=castrolglobalcountrylisting

choose; under tools, then wich oil chould I use...then choose cars, then look up your model... castrol also did sponser Toyota WRC
have fun.


Edited by GTRene on Thursday 27th July 13:49

zebra

Original Poster:

4,555 posts

219 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Thanks GTRene - checked out the site and am going to change the oil.

Thanks everyone for the quick responses.

philz

107 posts

248 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
zebra, my 111R sounds exactly the same, it seems pretty normal I think. Mine's just been serviced by Nick Whale so it should have the right oil in it too.

GTRene

17,441 posts

229 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
philz said:
zebra, my 111R sounds exactly the same, it seems pretty normal I think. Mine's just been serviced by Nick Whale so it should have the right oil in it too.

The right oil is not always the best under a lot of different conditions...and a lot of garages use their home brand oil what they use in a lot of cars? when you do often high revs you need a very good oil that can handle a lot of punnishments before it brakes the seal/oil film...
most oils are good today...when you drive normaly...or under normaly conditions and not do record braking lap times or street runs but when you often give the car a good workout(when all is on ideal workingtemp) then you need a good oil, and the castrol TWS 10w 60 is such oil for a wide powerband and that can resist high rpm and thats specialy for the mainbearings, and ofcorse many other stresd parts in the engine.
GTRene

philz

107 posts

248 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Considering that Nick Whale are a highly respected Lotus dealers I'd hope that they'd use a decent quality oil and they haven't filled my car up with olive oil or something!

grinzzz

566 posts

222 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
If it sounds like a sewing machine perhaps it needs sewing machine oil?



mines the same, although the squeaking from the front end when warm drowns out the ticking from the engine so I guess I'm lucky.

jondude

2,386 posts

222 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
I know that the S1 has some kind of charcoal emissions container which ticks away like mad for about 10-15 minutes....then stops.

So I am wondering if your car also has this set-up and that perhaps incessant ticking is a sign it needs repair/servicing?

gooby

9,268 posts

239 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
zebra said:
Bought it march _ covered 4379 miles.

It had an oil change at 1k miles - just chill out and let the engine wear in. After another 3-4k miles the engine will loosen up considerably and when it takes off you wont give a stuff what noise it is making you will be holding tight.

It is worth noting that the carbon canister can make a loud ticking noise. At 9k she will have her next service and ask them to have a look.

Remember you have baught a small car with minimal sound proofing. You are very close to a compact and powerful engine. You will get some noise, some of it will be intrusive. Or to put it another way TADTS.

If it worrying you that much use a 10-60 oil (I do, but not for those reasons)

There are many ways to make the sound insignificant. Stage 1, Stage 2, Larini, Tubular, quicksilver, hurricane, blaupunkt etg etc

GTRene

17,441 posts

229 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
I also found this on Elise talks USA...

Also note that Lotus suggests the use of Castrol 10W60 on the track. BMW dealers carry this grade for the M3/M5 models.

the name changed and the old RS became TWS.

There's a new RS which is not the same as the current TWS

Both the BMW approved TWS Motorsport and the new not approved Formula RS are 10W-60 oils but with different characteristics. The viscosity at 40°C and 100°C are the same since they both are SAE 10W-60. But other values as the pour point (-54°C vs -42°C), flash point (240°C vs 208°C) and total base number (8,6 vs 11,0) are very different.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But pay atention! the old (bmw aproved)RS became the new TWS but there is stil a RS version(formula) that you can buy in a lot of carshops...(not the TWS) but the "new" formula RS 10w 60 is not that strong as the TWS special made for BMW M engines and very importand! and you noticed that only after 40k miles but by then its to late! the new TWS is 3x stronger then the RS with its oil-film! so when you do track or often high rpm(we all do) then go for TWS it cost a bit more but is way better and you can let it also sit longer in your engine so it pay out double? when you do oilchange ask them what they put in or tell them only TWS 10w-60 I do that or bring it myself!
I also have heart about a Castrol "RS Racing" 10w 60 wich could be good too and as the word suggest Racing but that you have to look up if that will do or is also that strong as the TWS.
GTRene



Edited by GTRene on Thursday 27th July 21:55

zebra

Original Poster:

4,555 posts

219 months

Friday 28th July 2006
quotequote all
Thanks guys

It's all good info. Probably going to follow Gooby's advice and wait till 9000 mile service which will occur well before Christmas and see how I feel about the noise then (and then change to 10w 60, thanks again GTRene). It's reassuring to know whatever the problem, however small, there's someone who can provide an answer. I feel more comfortable knowing that others have the same issue. Whatever the issues, I slept better last night and enjoyed the 6.00am drive into work with the top off.

The carbon filter used to be a problem with noise on the S1's but I think its resolved on the S2's; never even heard it on my old 111s.

Zebra