I've got a good intermittant tick in my 83 with too many miles on it. I was going to adjust the lash but I was told that 83's were the 1st year for hydraulic lifters. Anyone know? Should I just find the suspect one or two and replace them? I plan on going crazy on it with turbo/exhaust/IC upgradesand rebuilding with forged pist. after I get my 327 built for my 78Z (sorry guys). Any info appreciated.

78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

I'd find out if the ticking noise is of a bad nature and not just normal engine noise for a car with that many miles. I hear there expensive to replace but I'm a firm believer in replacing one thing with all the others. so I'd do 1 and and do the rest at the same time. Especially if your gonna go nuts with mods etc....


Gavin,
Melbourne
Australia
73' Datsun 240z

 

Its intermittant. Does it at startup and at lower RPM cruising. Stopped for a while when I added a oil additive but came back with a vengence after chaning the oil. If I rev the engine a little bit it stops for a 10 or 15 seconds and comes back. I'm pretty sure its a lifter bleeding down but I've never pulled the cover on this car (only had 4 months). Adjusting lash on my 78 did wonders so I was hoping I might be able to do same here, but lifters would complicate issues.

78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

As a Mitsubishi tech, I can tell you that Mitsubishi lifters do the same thing...most of the time, though, they are caused by a substandard oil filter.

Have you tried running a Nissan oil filter?

Bill
92 GSX
77 280Z

 

on a p90a head, which you have, the lifters are out of production and you will not be able to find them anywhere. i had a p90a head on my car and my valves went bad and i replaced the entire motor due to the lack of parts. change your head, and while you are at it, give it a good overhaul. sorry for the bad news.

SoCalZ Prez
http://www.socalz.org

 

Another *fix* is to soak them overnight in diesel or kerosene, that'll help clean out the passageways...which is the #1 reason most hydraulic "lifters" go bad, althought, these aren't really lifters, they're hydraulic lash adjusters...

Bill
77 280Z
www.dsetuning.com

 

Haven't tried that yet. I just put on an STP.
Thanks

78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

Oh man thats bad. I'm going to look at an 82 ZXT this week so I might get rid of this one.
Thanks


78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

Thanks Bill, I'll try this first before I panick.... then I'll panick.
Thanks..


78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

lol. i wish i would have known that before i ripped myhead off and went crazy to hell with it! lol

SoCalZ Prez
http://www.socalz.org

 

Yeah,

I'm a tech for Mitsubishi and all of our cars use HLA's (Hydraulic Lash Adjusters) very similiar to the ones used in the '83's.

Mits was spending so much money replacing them under warranty they put out a few TSB's on the subject. Before they were replaced we were supposed to soak them in diesel to make sure they were cleaned of any sludge.

What happens is that sludge or other contaminents can block the passageways inside the HLA's (I'm going to refer to them as that, since it's easier to type) not allowing them to pump up.

Another problem that we see alot of is people using cheap oil filters. Mits filters have an anti drainback device inside that prevents air from gathering inside the lifters. I don't know if Nissan filters do, but I'm sure they can't hurt. I've fixed more than one case of bad lifter tick by doing nothing more than a good oil change.

I sincerely hope this helps your problem, as I just picked up an '83 ZXT engine with a P90A head that is fully ported, polished, and has a Schneider cam in it.

Bill
77 280Z
www.dsetuning.com

 

Thanks alot. I'll pull em, soak em, and put a nissan filter on it and hope for the best.. And I'll buy the 82 ZXT just in case.. It better not tick too......

78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

LOL, well, if it's an '82 and it ticks adjust the valves. If it still ticks. Cry.

If you want I can send you the TSB that explains how to clean them in detail.

Bill
77 280Z
www.dsetuning.com

 

hey thanks for kicking some knowledge down to us little morons, heheheh. maybe im speaking for myself. i have the motor in my garage. im going to pull the lifters and soak them for a while. maybe this will let me use that head again. hopefully. thanks man.

SoCalZ Prez
http://www.socalz.org

 

Hey, no problem at all. I just uploaded this to my site in hopes that it will help you out some.

http://dsetuning.streetkiaz.com/tsb9911006.pdf (it's the TSB in PDF form)

I have a question that maybe you could help me with...I bought an '83 ZXT engine to drop in my 77 280Z, but I'm not 100% sure which wires I need to splice into the new harness...any suggestions?

Bill
77 280Z
www.dsetuning.com

 

hey did you get the wiring harness? its much easier to do that with the harness. it is sooo simple, you just unplug it from the ecu, and then pull the rubber plug on the firewall, and it comes right out.

but i have heard of ways to do the zxt swap into 77-78 very easy. i just did my 79. i gave her an 81 motor and harness.

SoCalZ Prez
http://www.socalz.org

 

thanks that would be great.. milehineil@attbi.com

78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

http://dsetuning.streetkiaz.com/tsb9911006.pdf

I uploaded it to my site, so if you want, you can check it out there...I hope this helps!

Bill
77 280Z
www.dsetuning.com

 

Got your TSB, thanks alot. Question though the final phase appears to suggest that you install them before removing the diesel fuel or repriming them with oil, can this be. Also after doing this do you warm up the car and adjust the valves like the older Z's or do you adjust them like s/b chevy (set to 0 lash and then 1/2 to 3/4 turn tighter). Thanks again. Looking foward to trying this out.

78Z & 83ZXT and lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

Actually, the advantage of running HLA's is that you do not have to adjust the valves like most L28's or chevy engines.

The miniscule amount of dieself left in the HLA's won't hurt anything, but if you'd like, you can clean them with brake cleaner (it dries very very quickly) before reinstalling.

You don't have to prime them, you just put them and fire it up. They may be quite noisy for a few minutes, but this will go away.

Bill
77 280Z
www.dsetuning.com

 

once again he speaks, lol.

i was having TERRIBLE lifter noises before i pulled the entire motor and replaced it. what do you think was going on? remember i had a p90a.

SoCalZ Prez
http://www.socalz.org

 

LOL,

well, it could be that your lifters were actually bad, or it could be that your oil filter wasn't as good as it could be (on DSM's, the only filters that really help with lifter tick is a Mitsubishi filter and a Mobil One filter, everything else appears to be garbage when it comes to helping with lifter tick)

First thing you do when trying to fix a lifter tick is change the oil and use a good quality filter. You can use an engine flush here, it may, or may not help. I've never tried it, but I've heard of techs running a quart of diesel through and engine, flushing it out, and actually curing lifter tick.

If the above solution doesn't work, then the only thing that's left is to try and clean them. If the engine's hydraulic pressure can't make it's way into the HLA ports then there won't be enough pressure in the HLA chamber to take up the valve lash.

When you adjust valves you are manually removing excessive valve lash. All an HLA does is remove it via hydraulics.

Bill
77 280Z
www.dsetuning.com

 

Thanks again for all your input. You've been a HUGE help. I'll let you know if it works. Anyone need a ZXT? I have an extra one now.

78Z, 82ZXT, & an 83ZXT. Lovin every minute of it... Scotty we need more power!

 

i had the entire motor apart and i cleaned every oil port with brake cleaner. it was basically a rebuilt motor. the ticking started after a while. coulc it be revving the motor high?

dk

SoCalZ Prez
http://www.socalz.org