Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Strange Engine noise after starting - 1980's + 8

Thanks a lot for the replys!

In last month I did mostly short trips of not more than 50 km.
On this day I did a trip of 100km in the evening. After a break of 1,5 hours, the car was parked on grass, it occurs first time. After approximately 20 seconds it disappeard. After a drive of 15 minutes’ through gentle rain I parked the Morgan outside under a cover.

After Starting the Morgan next day, it took approximately 2-3 minutes until the engine was running normal. Then I checked the oil… It was low, so I refilled 1,5 liter to Max.

Then the Engine was working fine for the trip of 20 km.
Then after restarting, after 7 hours I took this video.
Today I started the engine again , but it sounds a litte bit more normal.

I hope that the problem causes on the moisture or on the low oil level.

Stefan

Moisture wouldn't do it but how low is low? Below minimum?

The Rover V8 is weak around the cam and followers. A follower may stop rotating and that would probably generate a clicking sound. It should clear after a long run.

Definitely sounds louder than any tappet I have ever heard!

The rover v8 operates best with very regular oil changes as they suffer from blocked top end oil ways due to coking. This results in worn rockers and noisy tappets.

The Italian tune up keeps things clean and working. Not a joke.

If you added 1.5 litres due to low level then that is a lot.
Check the level when the engine is cold. Checking a hot engine just after stopping will give a false low level as the oil will not have drained down.
Besides a low oil level and the possible wear it causes, how are your plugs and leads? Old leads could be starting to fail and temperature making them worse?
The noise in the video is certainly loud. What oil pressure do you have?
My 2002 touches 3bar when cold and on the move, dropping at idle as is normal for the engine. They don't run at high pressure.

Sounds like a diesel, It does sound like tappets, and I would rule out a blockage if it clears but does it again next start. if it only does it when the engine is cold, I would look at an oil change and go for a good quality synthetic. have you had colder weather than normal recently? If it happens at every start after being stopped for 30mins or more, you may have a problem with oil pressure, and you may need to look at the oil pump, does it come up to pressure quickly?
Good luck, and please let us know when you find the answer in case it happens to others.

Sounds like tappets to me, I believe there are seals that stop the oil draining back when the engine stops (although I may be mistaken) could be they have failed or there is camshaft wear. Seem to remember a similar problem on my V8 MGB 30 years back.

When I took the cam out of my Rover V8, two lobes had almost gone.

Thank you all for your replies!
Last Weekend I have done the oil change and filled in 15W40 instead of 10W40.
The first drive was horrible, because it took about 15 minutes until the strange noise disappeared, instead of 3-5 before the oil change.
But the next engine start after 24 hours was perfect, because it sounds very good as usual 