I posted this in another thread but i figured this seems to be a common issue with the v6's

Sticky it if you find it useful :badgrin:

Not all the photo's are displayed, due to the gay tag restriction, check the links...

from my experience the spring in one or more lash adjusters (lifters) seems to fail, causing a horrible "TACK TACK TACK" noise.

So what does a lash adjuster / lifter look like (see below) and this is how to release the adjuster to clean it. it should open, diesel is good for cleaning them, pump them a few times in the diesel to fill them then let them soak over night.
[img]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009611.jpg


Tools needed:
pliers
10mm socket
12mm socket
socket wrench/breaker bar
torque wrench (not %100 necessary)

Note:
1) don't star the motor with no rocker covers on... it makes a very big mess....VERY big mess... trust me...
2) don't over torque the rocker cover bolts, they will snap easy OR rip the thread, alloy is a very soft material and thread is easily ripped out & trust me re tapping isn't very fun...

FRONT BANK-

1) undo 6x10mm bolts round the rocker cover
2) using pliers slide the ring clip back on the right side rocker cover breather
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009628.jpg
3) remove the left breather hose to the inlet manifold
4) remove rocker cover
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009613.jpp
5) undo the 6x12mm rocker rail bolts
When doing this be very careful, unto the bolts in order NOT from 1 side to the other but like such
135642 - be very carful not to drop a lifter into the motor as this can and will happen
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009620.jpg


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009621.jpg
6) before removing rocker arms GENTLY lift the rocker and remove the lifter GENTLY, if it will not come out pull it out with the rocker rail being careful not to drop them
7) remove rocker arms (watch out for dripping oil)
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009608.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009614.jpg

REAR BANK - i don't have photo's sorry :(

1) remove the 6x12mm bolts securing the intake manifold
2) remove the air intake pipe to thorttle body & undo the 4 bolts on the throttle body
3) undo the 3x12mm bolts supporting the intake manifold at the rear of it (facing firewall)
4) remove brake booster vac line to intake manifold
5) remove the bolts securing the wiring harness (10mm bolts)
6) remove intake manifold
7) remove rocker cover breather hose to rocker cover
8) remove 2x10mm bolts on the timing cover securing the rear rocker cover
9) remove the 6x10mm bolts on the rocker cover
10) remove rocker cover
11) undo the 6x12mm rocker rail bolts
When doing this be very careful, unto the bolts in order NOT from 1 side to the other but like such
135642 - be very carful not to drop a lifter into the motor as this can and will happen
12) before removing rocker arms GENTLY lift the rocker and remove the lifter GENTLY, if it will not come out pull it out with the rocker rail being careful not to drop them
13) remove rocker arms (watch out for dripping oil)
14) drink beer

REASSEMBLY - The tricky part

1) put the rocker arms back in WITHOUT the lifters,
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009618.jpg
2) align them by pressing the clips in and slotting them into the grooves in the head, DO NOT FORCE THEM!
3) insert lifters one at a time gently
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009617.jpg
4) get a beer
http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/images/img_carlton_daught.jpg
5) insert edge bolts on the rocker arm and tighten equally but do not torque tightly, make sure everything is sitting flush, ie the rocker arms in between the head gaps
6) insert the other rocker arm bolts & tighten loosely
7) tighten rocker rail bolts in this order 1-3-5-6-4-2 etc.
8) if you have a torque wrench match the torque, im not sure of the setting. don't do them up as hard as you can as they are weak bolts & if you over torque they will snap. consult service manual for exact torque setting, i used 30nm
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c295/paradox616/magna%20parts/16012009623.jpg
9) put rocker covers back on front and rear
10) re-install intake manifold & bolt everything back together
11) your done now go get another beer!

nice job mate, i still dont think i am game enough to try that tho.
yeah most of the v6s tick. its a magna thing. my old 3.0L did it

Very nice guide mate. I'm sure that will help a lot of people on here with the famous magna ticking. I know mine has an occasional tick from time to time. Don't know if it's the same thing or not but I'm sick of messing around with these fiddly things for the time being and I doubt it would be as I have a recond head. I'm more guessing my prob is the good old timing chain :badgrin:

you put a lot of effort into it, hope it gets used :dancin:

hehe yeah,

this thread is good if you want to clean them also, i had a broken spring in a lifter, but everyone's issue may be different, its useful just to inspect things carefully and you'll find your issue

Man, I cant believe how some people can get some simple instructions wrong...you got one thing wrong in your write up which really annoys me...

Your using the wrong beer....:bowrofl: should have gone for a Coopers.


Seriously though, other than that this is an excellent write up.

well yeah, Carlton on tap is the only way i drink it, maybe we can settle on a pure blonde? lol..

nice write up, atleast i kno what that common ticking is.

i wouldnt be game to do it myself, all looks complicated

"maybe we can settle on a pure blonde?"

Any other type of blonde will do surely? Backrubs and words of encouragement, handing you the tools, etc.

---=== Yes, I Have A Dirty Mind! ===---

"maybe we can settle on a pure blonde?"

Any other type of blonde will do surely? Backrubs and words of encouragement, handing you the tools, etc.

---=== Yes, I Have A Dirty Mind! ===---
Problem though the're a kangaroo short in the top paddock. Heres a shot of her removing the rocker cover....

http://www.susanandmary.com/StuckMechanic.jpg

Not to detract from your indepth write up but previously I found my tack tack tack to be a dodgy belt (which then broke)

Since then the best I have had is a metallic whir underneath the rocker cover (is this perhaps the tack tack tack you are describing?)

Not to detract from your indepth write up but previously I found my tack tack tack to be a dodgy belt (which then broke)

Since then the best I have had is a metallic whir underneath the rocker cover (is this perhaps the tack tack tack you are describing?)

its possible, from the experience i've had with single overhead cam + rockers that use lash adjusters they're usually to blame, but not in all cases, my supra has the cams sitting directly on the valves which i think is a much better design (less moving parts to smash at higher rpm)

ive never had a belt go so i've never heard the noise, if you get a hose and stick it to your ear you can pin point the noise ie. tell if its coming from the timing belt at least, i was unable to pinpoint it to a specific cylinder but i knew which bank it was coming from.

Paradox, my friend, you're a hero. I would never have thought about tackling a job like this before, but now with your pictures and guide, I'm pretty confident I can do it! Just a question, is there a reliable way to tell if tapping/ ticking/etc noise is coming from the lifters or the tensioner? I'm a touch deaf, so just listening for it in a crowded engine bay with the engine running and thermos cutting in and out = fail for me.

Is this the bit where you insert a screw driver in your ear and stick your head into the engine bay? :D

The only way I surely know is to only remove the rocker cover and push the rocker arm down a the place just above the lash adjuster. If the rocker arm is easily pushed in then the lash adjuster is defective. You also need to TDC no 1 and then rotate the motor and test again.

If anyone can elaborate the steps of this procedure that will be great.

Ah thanks for that!

Is this the bit where you insert a screw driver in your ear and stick your head into the engine bay? :D

The only way I surely know is to only remove the rocker cover and push the rocker arm down a the place just above the lash adjuster. If the rocker arm is easily pushed in then the lash adjuster is defective. You also need to TDC no 1 and then rotate the motor and test again.

If anyone can elaborate the steps of this procedure that will be great.


you can do this, or just remove the rocker arms and inspect, not like its hard, plus with the engine position/rotation its hard to rotate the crank and see the Timing indicator on the timing cover...


screw driver works very well as a stethoscope but the noise is hard to pin point... i had difficulties finding it, but i knew the sound (from when my girlfriends car has a broken spring in one of her fords lash adjusters)

i wish i got a sample of the sound :( anyway... figuring out where the problem lies is half the work...

I did this to the lifters in my mums 'line. The engine was silent for a little bit then they started up again :rant:

Problem though the're a kangaroo short in the top paddock. Heres a shot of her removing the rocker cover....

http://www.susanandmary.com/StuckMechanic.jpg
Searching for the oil filler cap no doubt? Adjusting the throttle body? lol

Remove the spark plugs, the engine is easy to rotate then

Then you can test cyl by cyl but is not always the best way to get all the bad ones, and generally if one is going bad more are on the way.

As a rule, I just replace them all and also while there clean out the rail as well

Problem though the're a kangaroo short in the top paddock. Heres a shot of her removing the rocker cover....

http://www.susanandmary.com/StuckMechanic.jpg

Hey thats my sister (not sure of model year) working on my 1982 BMW e21 323i- she kept complaining about the lower airdam getting in her way, not sure why :bowrofl:

Hey thats my sister (not sure of model year) working on my 1982 BMW e21 323i- she kept complaining about the lower airdam getting in her way, not sure why :bowrofl:

sorry, I thought she was a 4 by 4 air-bag jack.:redface:

Top write-up, keep them coming. Good to see the fear of tools and oil is slowly fading on AMC. :cool:

Top write-up, keep them coming. Good to see the fear of tools and oil is slowly fading on AMC. :cool:

when you own a 20 year old imported sports car you have to know how to fix it your self :P

when you own a 20 year old imported sports car you have to know how to fix it your self :P
I can relate, after owning my 1988 Cefiro for 4 years i became very good at working on engines/cars

You guys think the v6's tick?

You should go out and get an astron 2. Then you'll know what ticking is all about. :P

You guys think the v6's tick?

You should go out and get an astron 2. Then you'll know what ticking is all about. :P

Not sure what's louder: the tick of an astron 2 or the pinging in 4th in a flipping 50k zone (ye old Sigma wagon).

Might give this a go tomorrow seeing I'll be replacing my rocker cover gaskets and plugs.
Just out of curiosity, how much do set of lifters cost?

Not as much as youd think !
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370259004887&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT
Cheapest au price Ive found is a local engine reco place that was selling them at $10 a pop .
Now does anyone know the best way to clean/unblock the rocker arm rail oil feeds ? and or price/part number ?

Now does anyone know the best way to clean/unblock the rocker arm rail oil feeds ?
Once removed I just used a can of penetrant aka CRC/WD40 with the nozzle extension tube to blow them out.

my old magna got written off that i origianlly did this to/took photo's, never made ticking noises again (about a year after writing this), not sure if i posted it but a spring broke inside a lash adjuster..

bought a 98 verada EI, had lifter noise @ high rpm, pulled it apart and found a metal shaving blocking a oil galary to 2 lifters, at high rpm they were starved of oil which caused noise... hopefully this might help someone else...

on other news my supra made 307rwkw @16psi :P verada's just my daily but its nice and cushy

Hey folks just started this job today on my ticking TL Magna. This car has only done 140,000km but at some point in its life it either sat unused for a long time or didn't get a decent oil change as there is a bit of sludge up top.

To make things more interesting, when I removed the lash adjusters they all basically fell apart! The new adjusters from MitsFix use a steel retaining cap but the ones out of the motor were a rubber O-ring style cap and they were all disintegrated to the point where a mild tap caused each one to fly apart. The oil gallery holes in the rocker rod for the rear bank were also severely gummed up. Cleaning the parts is easy peasy but I've had to order 20 new lifters from Malcolm as I only ordered four for the job (thinking I could clean the rest).

Oh, also I'll take some video and post it on YouTube as an appendix to this thread on how to do the job on a 6G74 motor.

Sounds great mate! Id be keen to do this but quite frankly it scares the hell out of me! A video might ease my fear. Its so frustrating hearing a nice supercharger whine with a mild "tick tick tick" in the background :/

OK job done - car sounds fantastic and I still have some new lifters coming for the front cylinder head (currently it's a mix of new & old in there at the moment). However I did learn the hard way that you need to really pay attention when you're putting the rear rocker cover back on or it will piss oil everywhere. *Cough* Also, if putting new lifters in it can take over 10 kilometres to get them to pump up; they have an anti leak-down valve in them to stop them from losing oil but the initial prime can take a while. I checked with Mr. Google and it seems this is fairly common. Anyway I'll put my video together and upload it in the next few days. In the meantime though, here's some quick pointers:

Do not turn the engine over while the rocker arm shaft is removed (or the bolts are loosened). If you do, the camshaft bearing journals could get seriously ****ed up. My dad did this once on his TS, and then he cracked a bearing cap while trying to force the camshaft back down. Herp derp.

The front head is much easier than the rear because it's not covered by the plenum chamber. This is where you want to "cut your teeth" so to speak. In fact you can do the entire front head, button it back up and check your handiwork before even going near the rear head. If you find this bit hard, or if you just can't do it right then you do not wanna go anywhere near the rear head because removing the plenum chamber is a bitch. You need to remove:


The six main plenum chamber bolts
Two bolts holding on a couple of bits of the wiring harness
The two bolts connecting the EGR pipe to the plenum chamber (without losing the metal gasket down behind the motor and under the exhaust manifold heat shield)
The two bolts holding the throttle cable to the plenum chamber
The two bolts at the rear of the plenum chamber to the "Intake chamber stay" bracket
The four bolts holding the throttle body to the plenum chamber (without losing the metal gasket)
The bolt holding the throttle body to the intake stay bracket


There's also a few air and vacuum hoses connected to the throttle body, plenum and rocker covers you'll need to be aware of too. They weren't too hard, but forgetting to reconnect vacuum lines generally screws up MAF-based fuel injection systems, so double check your work.

As for the rear head, the job is a bit harder because you're leaning further over the car although it shouldn't take any longer than the front head (aside from the plenum chamber anyway).

Oh, last thing I will do is run some Wynn's engine flush through it and change the oil & filter on Malcolm's advice.

I got some spare lifters from Bursons. From memory I got 3 for around $12.

And here's the first video. I'm going to make another one that explains disassembly later.

http://youtu.be/G8WDHVvHtFE

Good video mate! I believe I've broken a lifter as my tik tik has turned into a TAK TAK :/ only when the engine is under load however. Will be attempting this probably next weekend.

Kk.. I did rear bank last night, seemed alright, on the way to work the tak tak came back with s vengeance and now I seem to be running 1 cylinder down. Wtf did I do wrong?