patricks Hi all wanting to change my hydraulic lifters on my z22se and have a few questions Do i have to change all the lifters or is it Ok to just change the bad ones Is there any way of confirming my lifters are bad without having to actually take them out of the head. As i dont want to go the trouble of removing them if they turn out not to be the problem Im pretty confident at least some of the lifters are bad because on cold start up i have knocking/tapping sound which goes away after about 90 secs. Also the noise subsides somewhat if i use an oil additive like wynns to clean up lifters but unfortunately the sound returns after a few hundred Km or so.....
evocarlos the lifters are flow thru so the additive won't do much there easy enough to change but expensive for a set of 16 what grade of oil are you using ? maybe try a thicker oil before taking the plunge and buying lifters have you considered the timing chain tensioner ?
patricks Hey carl im currently using 0-50 Group 4/5 full synthetic - went to a thicker oil on the previous oil change (as in 5-60) which helped for about 6000km but as it got close to next the oil the change lifters became louder and fuel economy was a bit higher. So ive switched back to 0-50 with the oil additive which initially helped but now taps/knocks - really not 100% sure where its coming from but sounds like cylinder 4 exhaust and cylinder 1 or inlet. Not too fussed about the cost of 4-5 lifters tho - ive found a website that sells genuine GM ones for $10 USD each🙂
evocarlos try putting the recommended grade oil in for a while that's why your engine is rattling taken from the astra owners manual.. i put 0-40 in a brand new engine and it sounded like it was broken until about 4mins running had passed i switched to 5/30 fully synthetic and it's now like a sowing machine in comparison
patricks Same deal carl in 450.000km trust me ive tried every possible grade of oil. I have run 0-30, my engine chews thru it and its not any quieter on start up. My handbook says 10-40 or 15-50 - much warmer climate here than in UK. Generally its happiest on 0-40 which is what ive used for the most part. The noises started at about 300,000km then decreased markedly after i used various engine flushes and oil additives but recently noise has returned. Doesnt sound like bad chains otherwise would have snapped long ago That said do i have to change all lifters or only bad ones?
Dave_Gilbert 450000km it must have had atleast 1 chain in its life? Id do a complete head overhaul and both chains atthat mileage. 280000miles, thats the highest z22se i can think of. Keep it going. 🙂
patricks Hey dave no i assure you ive not done one chain change yet - im the second owner had it since 66,000KM........only just changed the water pump recently and thats it........ive only ever used the best fuels V power and the best oils.....and to be honest i think it would be in pristine condition were it not for the fact that it ran low in oil at one stage (the light didnt come on the dash but it was below the min mark on the dipstick) Hell of course ill keep her going - i love driving it - have a kind of emotional attachment to if after all these years - courted my missus in it even lol. Have driven new cars including my old mans alfa guilietta (great steering on it by the way) and a bmw 330ci but i still prefer the astra g - damn underrated car......
Dave_Gilbert Jesus. Cars over here would be well dead. i would do the chains and give the head a overhaul. reseat the valves, new stem seals, all new lifters and new oil n filter. N should be good for another 450000km. 😉
patricks This is Gods country mate. Warmer climate - oil gets to moving parts quicker🙂 Gosh all thats going to cost more than the car is worth i was kinda hoping just to replace the bad lifters and if the noise was still there then do the chains..... How is ur turbo rebuid getting on? Should be wicked fast........
Dave_Gilbert Its all built mate, n running pretty good, i just need a new clutch and maybe a small adjustment to timing. Then bigger injectors and remap to around 220bhp. If you can do the work yourself it shouldnt cost that much to do. Go for the lifters first n see what happens.
patricks Sounds nice.....that should show a z20net a thing or two lol. Yeah ill guess i wil start with lifters all 16 of em. I dont have the tools (not even a torque wrench) to do most of what u recommend and ill have to learn on the job - still should be fun tho
evocarlos dont think the climate has much to do with it the engine will still have an 88c thermostat installed for the lifters being that the engine is high km i would change all 16 you can get a set from usa far cheaper than the uk that's for sure http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-GM-ECOTEC-LIFTERS-1-9-2-0-2-4-2-2-2-4-Ion-Vue-Cobalt-HHR-Sky-Aura-Soltice-/111396481222?hash=item19efbf68c6&vxp=mtr
patricks Gosh thats dirt cheap Carl - can i trust the seller that its genuine GM?? I saw lifters on this site for $9.80USD each but its definitely original GM stuff http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/catalog/frameset.cfm Just a theory no idea why chains snap all the time over there - its much less common here especially for post 2003 models with revised tensioner.....i also know of a vectra over here with 300,000km all original too. And to be honest i suspect my balance chain tensioner myt be on its way out........ill start with lifters first tho........thanks again to both of u for ur input gents
Dave_Gilbert A mate of mine has a z20net with around 320bhp. So hes beating me by far n close to evocarlos aswell. 😉 i cant go to muh further because i dont want to forge the engine. (Yet lol)
evocarlos zzp are suppliers of genuine gm parts i have installed a set in my engine not so long back the chains snap over here because people do 40-50,000 miles without changing the oil and filter and after 4000miles the oil filter is destroyed crushed or with a hole sending all dirty particles to moving engine parts and most critical the oil jet and the head orifices get blocked causing premature wear then eventually failure haha james saying he's at 320 thats like me saying im at 400hp 🙂
