I have recently been searching on these forums and asking questions where needed about replacing the tappets or Hydraulic Lash Adjusters in my 1996 TE Magna. I have just tackled this job and would like to show how even a noob like me is able to do this.

Before you rush out, buy tappets and replace them, you might want to try some "Lifter Free & Tune Up" which is an additive that is available from any good automotive store. Either that or try a different oil with a good engine flush.

Heres another thread on this task if anyone is interested.
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64269

When it comes to buying tappets a V6 SOHC will have 24, i bought 12 and refurbished the old 12 i took out of the rear bank and used them in the front.

Pricing: I called around for various quotes and the cheapest i found was from Autopro (Outbound Auto Parts) Brighton Rd, Brighton for $8.40each. I was quoted up to $20 so make sure you do your wallet and favor and shop around.


One thing you need to keep in mind is that when you are doing this job, just replacing the tappets wont do, you need to pull the rocker arms off along with the shafts and clean them out with some Diesel and wire to ensure that they arent blocked. Trust me i tried to skip cleaning my shaft on the front bank and 1/2 hour later i had to redo it.

Tools needed.
10mm Socket
12mm Socket
Pliers
Diesel
Wire, or a metal coathanger.
Torque wrench (its handy but i didnt use one)
Torch

Torque Specifications
Rocker Arm Shaft Bolts 31nm
Upper Inlet Manifold Bolts 17nm
EGR Tube to Manifold Bolts (If applicable) 18nm


First of all you need to determine where the ticking is coming from, if its coming from the front bank then your job will be done 1/2-1hour sooner. If its the rear bank you are going to have to take the intake manifold off.

With the manifold off you should see this.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/576/dsc00233kr.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21

Proceed to taking the rear rocker cover off.
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/9766/dsc00234rq.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21

The way to determine a faulty tappet is to push down on all the rocker arms and if they travel down then chances are the tappet in that arm is faulty and must be renewed. I didnt have any travel in my rear bank but i did them all anyway.

When i started researching this i had no idea what i was doing so ill add some basics.

This is a tappet or hydraulic lash adjuster. This sits in the recessed end of the rocker arm. The little cap on the left (see pic) is known as the plunger cap and if you can push that in easy then it needs to be cleaned/renewed.
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4105/plungercap.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-23

Below is a quite idea of what you are looking at.
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/3487/partsid.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-23

1) Rocker Arm (Exhaust Valve)
2) Spark Plug Seal (Mine need renewing)
3) Rocker Arm (Inlet Valve)
4) Rocker Shafts

Ok now your going to want to remove the 12mm nuts holding the rocker shocks in place. A good idea is to loose them but dont remove them as this will help the assembly stay in one piece as you pull it out.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6858/dsc00238y.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21

When loosening only loose them 1/4 turn at a time and dont go from one side to another. If you have a repair manual it will help you with the order but its along the lines of.

If you are looking down ontop of the gear it should be something like.
135642
246531
Refitting is reverse. DONT over tighten the bolts. In the other thread the guy used a torque wrench set to 30nm, i just did it sensibly with a normal socket but a torque wrench is the safer practice.

In the pic below is the TIGHTENING sequence for the rear bank. It is a good quide though. Remember removal is reverse.
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/9849/rearheadtighteningorder.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-23

Once loosened you can either tape the tappets into the rocker arms to prevent them falling out (atleast one WILL fall out), i just tilted the arms back abit and let them drop into my fingers. Pliers will also help get a firm grip.

In the pics below you can see that i have taken one out and 2 up the back are falling out.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1102/dsc00242y.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/8774/tappets.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-23

If these falls out and they didnt fall too far into the motor you can use pliers to get them out, or try a magnetic pick up tool.

Once removed you should be looking at this.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9634/dsc00244t.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21

Put the assembly down and dont mix up the order of the rocker arms as this can lead to premature wear.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9549/dsc00245tj.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21

One the left side of the rocker shaft (in the middle, refer to pic) you can see a little hole, this supplies oil to the arm and if this gets block can lead to problems. While submurged in diesel wire will help clear it. NOTE: There is more than one to clear.
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/5020/oilfeedhole.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-23

Put the shafts in some diesel and let it sit until you are done filling the tappets/adjusters.
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/5410/dsc00248ku.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21

I filled my tappets with diesel and i did this by standing it up right in the diesel using wire to push down on the ball inside the tappet, and then pumping it (midway through pumping i removed the wire). Then once i removed the tappet from the diesel it wouldnt plunger anymore and that is good news.
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3005/dsc00249mv.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21

Time to refit.

NOTE ABOUT REFITTING.
In the pic below you will see a flat part on the end of the rocker shaft, there is one on each shaft in each head, in the rear head this must sit on the timing belt end of the motor, in the front the flat parts must sit on the distributor end of the motor.
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9210/flatrockerend.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-23

The easiest way i found was to put the shafts and arms back into the motor and hand tighten the bolts 1/4 (so the shafts dont pop out)

Then tilt the arms back and carefully slide the tappet into the rocker arm. I will use the earlier pic as a reference here.
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7893/dsc00243dp.jpg
By peaandham (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/peaandham) at 2010-12-21
Just assume those tappets are new ones :).

If needed you can do the front bank the same way, then put the motor back together and run it and listen for ticking. If there is ticking once you've started the car up dont panic it should go away just slowly rev the car to about 3000rpm and back to idle over a one minute period to help bleed the air out.

***This can always be edited so if you think i have missed something or can add something please speak up***.

Nice write up mate.

The same process can be applied to a 2nd gen also, you only need 12 instead of 24 Adjusters.
As with filling them, either deisel or oil will work, I used oil to fill the adjusters in the Mother in Laws 2nd gen, after start up, 30 sec later, quiet as.

As with filling them, either deisel or oil will work, I used oil to fill the adjusters in the Mother in Laws 2nd gen, after start up, 30 sec later, quiet as.

I have heard many suggestions, i was told by a mechanic that you dont need to fill them because they are fed oil on start up anyway. I would not advise anyone to do it this way though because if you do it right, you only have to do it once.

The Haynes manual say they should be filled with oil but many members say it takes too long to get it into the tappets, so diesel was a win win idea.

I have heard many suggestions, i was told by a mechanic that you dont need to fill them because they are fed oil on start up anyway. I would not advise anyone to do it this way though because if you do it right, you only have to do it once.

The Haynes manual say they should be filled with oil but many members say it takes too long to get it into the tappets, so diesel was a win win idea.

The way I did it with the oil was use a syringe with a very small nozzle and squeeze in, keep doing it till only oil flows out and it's then full.

Excellent writeup, pictures are really good in explaining how to do this job. Needs to be stickied or somesuch.
The inside of the engine looks just as you want it, just a light coat of varnish and no hint of sludge. Not bad for a 14 year old car. lol

The diesel is used on old lifters to clean/revive/test them. If you start with new lifters any oil will do, the lighter the better. So it really depends on what you want to do, recycle old lifters means you need to use the diesel fuel, new lifters you can use anything (as long as its oil and you can get it in and the air out).

EDIT: looks like the lifters are the same as those for the 12 valve, good news for me as I have 10 out of the 12 from a 12 valve V6 which cleaned up well.

QUESTION: Did the later 3.0 or 3.5 24 valve engines change the lifter design at any stage?

Excellent writeup, pictures are really good in explaining how to do this job. Needs to be stickied or somesuch.

The diesel is used on old lifters to clean/revive/test them. If you start with new lifters any oil will do, the lighter the better. So it really depends on what you want to do, recycle old lifters means you need to use the diesel fuel, new lifters you can use anything (as long as its oil and you can get it in and the air out).

Thanks Max you were a big help in feeding me info that helped my complete this task.

I used Diesel in the new lifters aswell as using it to clean old ones. Worked a treat, and since i cleaned all the bleeder and oil supply holes they would've been filled in no time with oil anyway.

Im thinking about revisiting the pics and adding some drawings to help people understand what i am talking about.

Again, a brilliant writeup; well done on the pictures.

You probably spent a few hours on this job, figure $60 an hour for your labour. Saved money and learnt a lot (plus added confidence in tackling future jobs) in the process. A definite WIN/WIN for the DIY home mechanic! lol

What's next, a cam belt change? lol

Unless someone beats me to it, I have pics of a 2nd gen V6 with Rocker covers off to show differences, need to find the HDD first, but again the process is pretty much the same

this is awesome...., i WILL be doing this in the new year!

im a wee bit tight these days, so i think ill be attempting to re-furbish all 24 of mine lol
but ill start with the front and see how it sounds after that!
cheers for the well documented write up!!!

also, think ill be heading to the wreckers and learning how to do this with out damaging my car :D
and if i find a few good tappets ill be getting them aswell!

Thankyou, pics are good.
Does anyone know if the same HLA's are used between 3 and 3.5 engines, or between 2nd and 3rd gens? And is it different for the 2.6s or are the lifter inserts a universal thing?

this is awesome...., i WILL be doing this in the new year!

im a wee bit tight these days, so i think ill be attempting to re-furbish all 24 of mine lol
but ill start with the front and see how it sounds after that!
cheers for the well documented write up!!!

also, think ill be heading to the wreckers and learning how to do this with out damaging my car :D
and if i find a few good tappets ill be getting them aswell!

Cleaning out the current ones and just replacing the defective ones - jammed or not pumping up - is a good way to save money. You might only need one or two.

Thankyou, pics are good.
Does anyone know if the same HLA's are used between 3 and 3.5 engines, or between 2nd and 3rd gens? And is it different for the 2.6s or are the lifter inserts a universal thing?

The ones in the pictures above look identical to the ones on my 3.0L TS V6. Don't know about the 2.6 lifters or later 24 valve engines like the 380 6G75. I think there was a design change sometime during the life of the 3.5 V6.

Cleaning out the current ones and just replacing the defective ones - jammed or not pumping up - is a good way to save money. You might only need one or two.

hopefully yer, ill get a few good ones from the wreckers just incase mine are stuffed, the cheaper the better when your unemployed (knee surgery) lol

Just a note...

Please please PLEASE make sure you use a torque wrench to tighten up any engine bolts or compenents. If you don't have the right amount of torque on a bolt it might let loose or wear down something..

You don't want to rev that baby and have it fall apart, or a valve shot through something..

Just a note...

Please please PLEASE make sure you use a torque wrench to tighten up any engine bolts or compenents. If you don't have the right amount of torque on a bolt it might let loose or wear down something..

You don't want to rev that baby and have it fall apart, or a valve shot through something..

Not only that, but if you do not torque your rails, you can distort the carriers for the cams and end up with a seized cam, also with second gen the torque is also vital for clearance

I like this DIY !

Nice writeup mate, could come in handy in the future!

Nice writeup mate, could come in handy in the future!

it will only be handy if they sticky this thread, please do...

First page updated with arrows to help serve as a guide to what i am explaining.

Not only that, but if you do not torque your rails, you can distort the carriers for the cams and end up with a seized cam, also with second gen the torque is also vital for clearance

Anyone know what the torque should be?

31nm for the 3rd gens not sure for the 2nd, but most likely the same.

It's what I used for the mother in laws 2nd gen when I did hers

To be specific 31nm.

Updated first page with related tourque ratings.

To be specific 31nm.

How much tolerance for inaccuracy is there in that? I have one of those $60 torque wrenches which does from 10Nm to 210Nm. That's a very, very big range and one would have to expect that it's probably only 10% accurate.

It's usually 10% up or down from the figure given, like wheel nuts 100 Nm + - 10, ie 90 to 110 Nm.

I have one of those torque wrenches too, done headbolts, manifolts, cam belts etc with it, no problems.

EVEN tension is the important part.

Bookmarked... thanks heaps! I am going to be trying a flush from Madmagna, and if that doesn't work I will be needing this!