the heat sheild that sits at the front of the engine.

does it really need to be there or not, ive seen cars with them on and without them on but unsure if i actualy need it, i listened closly to the ticking sound under my bonnet and it seems to be coming from under the sheild i just dont wantto screw the car anymore by leaving it off.

ty all

the heat sheild that sits at the front of the engine.

does it really need to be there or not, ive seen cars with them on and without them on but unsure if i actualy need it, i listened closly to the ticking sound under my bonnet and it seems to be coming from under the sheild i just dont wantto screw the car anymore by leaving it off.

ty all

mine's off, it looks better without it. HOWEVER, if you take it off, this will make the front of your engine so hot it'll burn your hand when you try to check your oil at hot. In the end it serves it purpose but it'd dog ugly and I can live without it. lol

PS, if the 'ticking sound' is coming from under the shield, you more than likely have an exhaust leak that needs to be fixed.

i think he just means the thermal expansion and contraction and stuff...

it is dog ugly though, isnt it.

ive left mine there, never got around to removing it.

i think he just means the thermal expansion and contraction and stuff...

what?

meh i can deal with waiting to the car cools to check my oil :D

i agree it is ugly but yeah just wanted to make sure having it off wouldnt scrw the engine or anything ty all

meh i can deal with waiting to the car cools to check my oil :D

i agree it is ugly but yeah just wanted to make sure having it off wouldnt scrw the engine or anything ty all

I polished the heat shield on the standard engine...looks ALOT better :D

like a slow ticking once you turn the car off... the different parts cooling at different rates. makes a ticking noise

like a slow ticking once you turn the car off... the different parts cooling at different rates. makes a ticking noise
He didn't say when he turned it off though :S

nah the ticking is always there mainly when its sitting below 1700 revs, i know it sounds more like a timing chain and have made a couple posts regarding it but i had the bonnet open today giving the bay a good degrease and hose and yeah started the car after and it sounded more like it was coming from under the heat sheild...btw the noise is there whenever the car is turned on, it stops when the car is turned off, i know its prolly a timing chain but i atm cant afford the labour to fix it and cant do it myself so im looking everywhere :P

Could be that or tappets

nah the ticking is always there mainly when its sitting below 1700 revs, i know it sounds more like a timing chain and have made a couple posts regarding it but i had the bonnet open today giving the bay a good degrease and hose and yeah started the car after and it sounded more like it was coming from under the heat sheild...btw the noise is there whenever the car is turned on, it stops when the car is turned off, i know its prolly a timing chain but i atm cant afford the labour to fix it and cant do it myself so im looking everywhere :P

low oil pressure at startup. my car ticks at startup also. It's the hydraulic lifters mate, replace them or clean them with a pin and a small tub of diesel fuel by placing the pin inside the hole and pumping the spring. As the diesel fuel enters it will clean the inside of the lifter.

Else, there's not much you can do. Ask mal about what to do at startup to get better oil pressure.

tuff i like it you always reply so quick and i love your ride but arrrrhh why did u have to put tappets into my head now ill never get any sleep wondering lol :eeek:

any yann its not just at starup mate its while im driving also if i take the foot off and fall below so many revs it ticks away again, oil pressure is another thing i should look into i spose /sigh

in my old lexcen i use castrol gtx but with the magna would that be ok or go with the gtx2 or another completly differant oil? its got 305k on her

tuff i love you for being quick and i love your ride but arrrrhh why did u have to put tappets into my head now ill never get any sleep wondering lol :eeek:

tappets/hydraulic lifters. lol

tappets/hydraulic lifters. lol


arrh you qouted me before i gay downed my post a little lol

my opinion is that 80% of 1st gens that i have seen with them on have developed a crack in the factroy headers . most of the time it between 3 and 4cly. maybe they keep too much heat in? or maybe it's luck that most I have seen have been at the wreckers. but I've had mine off since day one and the tp has been mine for 4 years.

Was going to say, if it sounds like a loud ticking when you put your foot down and occasionally at idle, and it's coming from behind the heat shield (exhaust manifold) then have the manifold tested for cracks or hairline fractures. This occasionally happens to Astron II's and results in a nice tick-tick-tick depending on engine temperature (mostly when cold). Nice set of extractors fixes it up no worries. :D

This may not be your issue and i'm sure more knowledgeable members will have much better input on this, but can't rule out possibilities I suppose.

EDIT: smooth2, damn, beat me to it by literally a second or so. lol

ty guys, its when i ease my foot up not when i put it down but ill get the heat sheild off after work tomoz and see ifi can see anything might be time to convince themissus i need some new pacemakers before rego :D

Removing the heat shield didn't seem to do anything bad for my second gen.

Be very careful of low oil pressure, it's what killed my old astron. I know it's a pain in the ass but remove the sump and make sure that there is nothing blocking up the pick up. Mine had sucked in so much "gasket in a tube" stuff that it wouldn't suck oil unless you gave it a good rev (not the best thing to do on an engine with no oil)

At 305K the engine is bound to make a few "I'm tired" noises.

Heatshield - it's there to protect the radiator from heat damage. At speed the exhaust manifold glows red hot - this heat radiates outwards. Without the heat shield the radiator, especially the plastic top tank , is likely to suffer. They can go brittle with age and heat.

---=== I give Mal permission to delete any of my posts he finds objectionable. ===---

At 305K the engine is bound to make a few "I'm tired" noises.

Heatshield - it's there to protect the radiator from heat damage. At speed the exhaust manifold glows red hot - this heat radiates outwards. Without the heat shield the radiator, especially the plastic top tank , is likely to suffer. They can go brittle with age and heat.

---=== I give Mal permission to delete any of my posts he finds objectionable. ===---

plastic top tank?? is that inside the radiator cause theis nothing plastic around mine? unless your referring to the coolant / overflow bottle on theside of the engine bay

the heat shield also shield the o2 sensor and its wiring from the heat. the wiring can melt very easily and or cause the sensor to be faulty. just get some extractors if your that worried about it lol

plastic top tank?? is that inside the radiator cause theis nothing plastic around mine? unless your referring to the coolant / overflow bottle on theside of the engine bay
That referrers to where your radiator cap is, that whole top section is called the top tank. I could swear mine is not made of plastic but hey as its referred to as plastic I guess it is

']That referrers to where your radiator cap is, that whole top section is called the top tank. I could swear mine is not made of plastic but hey as its referred to as plastic I guess it is

they are in fact, plastic. They're a thick heat and pressure resistant plastic.

yeah +1 noisy timing chain, i thought you meant when you turned it off.

yeah +1 noisy timing chain, i thought you meant when you turned it off.

timing chain is a constant rattle at lower RPM. It sounds something like a bike chain coming loose from the gear.

Ticking can be caused by; leaking exhaust, worn hydraulic lifters, misadjusted timing.

a and c would continue throughout rev range, whereas hydraulic lifters are more likely to free-up with higher oil pressure/more engine speed.

OP, take them out and give them a clean, it'll cost what, $10 to get some diesel fuel and a pin. might as well rule out one thing.

Radiator is aluminium, with both bottom and top plastic tanks crimped on. Have a good look at the top of the radiator and you will see a whole lot of tabs that have been bent over to hold the top tank on. Older radiators are copper and the top tank is metal, soldered on.

timing chain is a constant rattle at lower RPM. It sounds something like a bike chain coming loose from the gear.

Ticking can be caused by; leaking exhaust, worn hydraulic lifters, misadjusted timing.

a and c would continue throughout rev range, whereas hydraulic lifters are more likely to free-up with higher oil pressure/more engine speed.

OP, take them out and give them a clean, it'll cost what, $10 to get some diesel fuel and a pin. might as well rule out one thing.

i dont spoze its an easy job with a nice step by step around somewhere :D

ty for the info though ill defanity find some time soon i hope to find that workshop manual i downloaded from the site and have a go