Hi all.

I have an auto 340 with a B14 engine and the tappets are really erm, tappy!!

It's done less than 50k, (allegedly) and burns a bit of oil, but starts and runs ok. I have adjusted them numerous times to the correct clearance, but they don't get any better. It has oil and it's getting round, but if anyone has any suggestions then I'd like to hear them

Many thanks.

James.

Hello, I had the same problem with a high-mileage 1.4 and if you set the tappets to the setting in the manual, they always tap, loudly. I think the problem is that the where the rocker hits the valve-top, the rocker gets indented and so if you put a feeler gauge of the correct thickness in the gap, the real gap will still be bigger as shown below...



... the solution for me was to set them to a bit smaller gap than the manual says. The diagram is from memory so maybe fairly wonky, but the idea is right, I think!!

Thanks. My brother is a mechanic and said the same as you, (as well as "it's old and a shitter") but Iv not had a chance to try adjusting them again. How much smaller do you think I should make the gap?

Sorry, I haven't got the Haynes manual here, but I remember that I used about 3/4 of the recommended gap and the problem went away. You just need to double-check that there is some clearance there, if you try this, which is easy to do by rattling the rocker and turning the push rod when you have tightened the lock-nut.

Set the tappets by turns. Can't remember what the thread pitch of the adjuster is, maybe the boltaholic might know? (You could also work it out comparing a the difference between say a 0.1mm gap and 1.0mm gap and seeing how many turns per 0.1mm you get.)

1 turn = 0.x mm clearance. Start with zero clearance and make the appropriate number of turns out to set the clearnace. Working on this basis, would compensate for the wear.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13296

There was a Renault version of the SPQR tappet adjuster, but I've not seen one in the metal.