Tapping noise from top of engine

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
Oil filter was Bosch - I wont use any other on any of my Vehicles - I will indeed post details of my Oil Pressure test - I am not sure RE: Injector test, I have the Jlr Sdd which you can do most things with - and also a delphi DS150E - a little bit more generic RE: tasks you can do, the injectors were nib cleaned by me in an ultrasonic cleaner with vinegar and then petrol - had new injector seals - and injector seats were cleaned - it pulls fine - ticks over sweet - no Engine warning light - keeps good temp - does not overheat - no oil in water - no water in oil -
 
I would start with injector balance test, test is done at idle.

Have you had a screwdriver on each cylinder when its ticking over and your ear to it to see if one is making different noises to the others?

5/30 oil is std spec for uk cars, a few people
 
Oil filter was Bosch - I wont use any other on any of my Vehicles - I will indeed post details of my Oil Pressure test - I am not sure RE: Injector test, I have the Jlr Sdd which you can do most things with - and also a delphi DS150E - a little bit more generic RE: tasks you can do, the injectors were nib cleaned by me in an ultrasonic cleaner with vinegar and then petrol - had new injector seals - and injector seats were cleaned - it pulls fine - ticks over sweet - no Engine warning light - keeps good temp - does not overheat - no oil in water - no water in oil -

hi

I’ve got a tester by gap called a iid, fantastic bit of kit and allows u to virtually do everything the dealers diagnostics can

Dealers , they use the jaguar system for these engines

there has been a lot of issues with these engine, ideally a genuine engine oil filter should be used, or mahle, haven’t heard anything bad about bosch filters, only what I’ve read over the years

indeed Plse let us know how it goes , plus at least it’s given u a start ref the noise

plenty here and hope that’s helped
 
I would start with injector balance test, test is done at idle.

Have you had a screwdriver on each cylinder when its ticking over and your ear to it to see if one is making different noises to the others?

5/30 oil is std spec for uk cars, a few people

hi

many thks

have u heard reports about cleaning injectors on these, read mixed things where some say they can be cleaned , others say u can’t

does sound like the lifters , ur have a better idea than myself , but alas will have a better idea once more tests are done, inc the oil pressure test seeing the op hasn’t changed the oil pump as of yet, was just concern as it’s abit of an unknown ref pressure
 
Oil filter was Bosch - I wont use any other on any of my Vehicles - I will indeed post details of my Oil Pressure test - I am not sure RE: Injector test, I have the Jlr Sdd which you can do most things with - and also a delphi DS150E - a little bit more generic RE: tasks you can do, the injectors were nib cleaned by me in an ultrasonic cleaner with vinegar and then petrol - had new injector seals - and injector seats were cleaned - it pulls fine - ticks over sweet - no Engine warning light - keeps good temp - does not overheat - no oil in water - no water in oil -

Im pretty sure you cant clean or do anything with the common rail injectors.
Theres a few vids on youtube on the same engine with various noises.
The injectors can be quite noisy on their own.
 
Im pretty sure you cant clean or do anything with the common rail injectors.
Theres a few vids on youtube on the same engine with various noises.
The injectors can be quite noisy on their own.

that’s what I’m also reading , inc ultrasonic cleaning a big no no, haven’t seen anyone on the D3 forum clean them as of yet

Doesn’t quite sound like cam chains, suppose my money is on the lifters and seeing they can’t be adjusted don’t know if it’s an expensive job if req to replace the hydralic tappets
 
my guess it was okay til the injectors got ultrasonic screwdrivered :D

Could be few things, diagnostic is way to go

indeed , I looked into this a while back in great detail and the conclusion was they shouldn't be put into an ultrasonic bath / taken apart , would need to be put onto a proper tester after as u wouldn’t know 100% if they were working properly , inc having the correct spray pattern , these ones don’t need recoding

Of course there are companies that are able to recondition them, normally as always on an exchange basis

will at least have a better idea once the results come back of what the oil pressure is and also the injector offset balance

as a side note , genuine lifters are £24 each , 24 x required , gulp , lol
 
I’m not an expert on diesel atomisation or L323, but I have seen few threads over time. without the proper crack tester/shims they usually don’t come back. Yet,
The fact OP has it running suggests to me he didn’t strip it down too far just one is likely stuck with crud, something loosened up inside.
Just a guess...:)

We will never know until it’s read. I’m guessing blocked injector will throw a code you will recognise?
 
Last edited:
I’m not an expert on diesel atomisation or L323, but I have seen few threads over time. without the proper crack tester/shims they usually don’t come back. Yet,
The fact OP has it running suggests to me he didn’t strip it down too far just one is likely stuck with crud, something loosened up inside.
Just a guess...:)

We will never know until it’s read. I’m guessing blocked injector will throw a code you will recognise Gary?

indeed I’ve learnt with these engines have to be very careful , it took me ages to slowly learn from others of what the correct procedures are , live data is the best for the injectors , need the balancing offset pressure of them so can easily then see if there ok, as they have to be within a certain range

I hope I never come across as a clever clogs but surprised myself how much knowledge I’ve picked up in the last
3-4 years with my D3

maybe it’s because I virtually tore the thing apart, lol

I’m wondering if maybe the oil pump cover is getting weaker , therefore not getting the correct pressure at the lifters and thus causing the noise ???

But like I also say , won’t know until some figures come back , alas can plug a reader in and get no fault codes back, that’s another reason I like the iid cause u can then get live data and also allows u to turn modules on and off

also having a multimeter is a must with these and learnt some faults can take time to pinpoint , particular if it’s an electrical one
 
Smoke suggests to me unburnt fuel and a tick on one pot.
Oil pump would be nasty, I hope for dodgy injector :)
Had it on my TD5 too, turned out one injector wasn’t plugged in properly.

I’ve managed without diagnostics so far. Only due to the guys/gals on here.
Bloody RRs :rolleyes:;)
 
Just to confirm - the Engine was making the exact same noise prior to the injector cleaning - I am edging towards Hydraulic Tappet(s) - but it is hard to tell without further investigation - I would describe the noise more as a Hammering that increases with RPM - not so noticable on tickover, starts to be very noticable about 2500 RPM - Injectors tick - not sure about hammering - I did take the rocker box cover off a few months back and eveything looked in order - cant really do much without removing the Cams in there - when I do the Timing Belt I may remove the cams to get to the Tappets and see if I can spot any problems - both the intake and exhast camshaft looked good with no signs of scoring or excesseve wear - just been out and started her again - no hammering from the top end as she is still cold - sounded good - took here to 200-2500 RPM very very faint noise - then she gets all baggy when warmed up a bit.......
 
indeed , I looked into this a while back in great detail and the conclusion was they shouldn't be put into an ultrasonic bath / taken apart , would need to be put onto a proper tester after as u wouldn’t know 100% if they were working properly , inc having the correct spray pattern , these ones don’t need recoding

Of course there are companies that are able to recondition them, normally as always on an exchange basis

will at least have a better idea once the results come back of what the oil pressure is and also the injector offset balance

as a side note , genuine lifters are £24 each , 24 x required , gulp , lol
You can get 24 Ina/Swag Lifters new from a REP INDY for about £120.00
 
I'd be edging towards diesel knock

Dead tappet(s)
.

Try blipping the throttle and see what it does.

Also when was it last serviced?

It is possible the spigot in the oil filter has been fitted "incorrectly" and the oil flow is restricted, not allowing oil upto the top end.

In bad cases it will also cut oil pressure completely.
 
Last edited:
I'd be edging towards diesel knock

Dead tappet(s)
.
Try blipping the throttle and see what it does.

Also when was it last serviced?

It is possible the spigot in the oil filter has been fitted "incorrectly" and the oil flow is restricted, not allowing oil upto the top end.

In bad cases it will also cut oil pressure completely.

hi buddy

that’s what I’m also thinking , the tappets , doesn’t sound like a chain noise or tensioner

Possibly low oil pressure allowing them to knock , could be a weak oil pump as it could be the original

op is going to see what the oil pressure is first before doing anything else , just thought that was the best place to start for the op

funny enough I think it would be extremely hard to install a filter incorrectly , know when I done mine it was a right sod because of the wires around it,

unless someone puts the filter in the canister first then screws it on as indeed filter first into the spigot then the top , hard to see the canister edge when u screw it back down
 
hi buddy

that’s what I’m also thinking , the tappets , doesn’t sound like a chain noise or tensioner

Possibly low oil pressure allowing them to knock , could be a weak oil pump as it could be the original

op is going to see what the oil pressure is first before doing anything else , just thought that was the best place to start for the op

funny enough I think it would be extremely hard to install a filter incorrectly , know when I done mine it was a right sod because of the wires around it,

unless someone puts the filter in the canister first then screws it on as indeed filter first into the spigot then the top , hard to see the canister edge when u screw it back down


I'm looking more and more towards oil pressure aswell tbf.. ;)

On borrowed time, with the original pump ;)
 
Just to confirm - the Engine was making the exact same noise prior to the injector cleaning - I am edging towards Hydraulic Tappet(s) - but it is hard to tell without further investigation - I would describe the noise more as a Hammering that increases with RPM - not so noticable on tickover, starts to be very noticable about 2500 RPM - Injectors tick - not sure about hammering - I did take the rocker box cover off a few months back and eveything looked in order - cant really do much without removing the Cams in there - when I do the Timing Belt I may remove the cams to get to the Tappets and see if I can spot any problems - both the intake and exhast camshaft looked good with no signs of scoring or excesseve wear - just been out and started her again - no hammering from the top end as she is still cold - sounded good - took here to 200-2500 RPM very very faint noise - then she gets all baggy when warmed up a bit.......

hiya

is handy that ur good at spannering , save a fortune and indeed that what I’m thinking ref the tappets

maybe the oil pump is original and getting tired causing low pressure at the tappets ???

doesn’t sound like a cam chain or tensioner but at least when u get the oil pressures will have a better idea ans sounds like this isn’t ur first rodeo with engines , lol

may i ask what’s the mileage plse, seeing ur going to do the belts, also rear belt which I imagine u already know about

don’t want to teach u to suck eggs but plenty here to always help where we can
 
I'm looking more and more towards oil pressure aswell tbf.. ;)

On borrowed time, with the original pump ;)

indeed and does worry me ref the oil pump , think the op will get the pressure read asap for peace of mind

ref the oil pump , mine was original and openly admit I got someone who knew what they were doing to change all my belts inc the rear one , new oil pump and also water pump at the same time , all new antifreeze , plus aux belt , had that all done soon after I bought it

couldn’t find an invoice if the belts had been done, watched all of this work being done, mechanic had it all done in under 5 x hours , rear belt was done in under 45 x minutes , made me laugh when some garages claimed the body had to come off
 
indeed and does worry me ref the oil pump , think the op will get the pressure read asap for peace of mind

ref the oil pump , mine was original and openly admit I got someone who knew what they were doing to change all my belts inc the rear one , new oil pump and also water pump at the same time , all new antifreeze , plus aux belt , had that all done soon after I bought it

couldn’t find an invoice if the belts had been done, watched all of this work being done, mechanic had it all done in under 5 x hours , rear belt was done in under 45 x minutes , made me laugh when some garages claimed the body had to come off

Gotta find a chap who knows what he's doing, makes a world of difference.

The workshop master tech i work with, can fix anything you put under his nose, regardless of whether he's looked at it before or not.. ;)

Amazing what experience can do for ya! ;)
 
Back
Top