Richmac Posted May 31 Report Posted May 31 Hi I have a TR4 with what I thought required the tappets resetting however after two attempts the engine is still noisy. If I put my hand on the rocker cover the noise can be felt vibrating though. What else could this be please and how could I diagnose? Thanks Richard Quote
jerrytr5 Posted May 31 Report Posted May 31 If you are fairly sure it is from the top of the engine & you set the tappets to 10 thou you could try setting to 8 thou to allow for wear. The rocker shaft could be worn, see if you can detect play in the rocker on the shaft or take it off, dismantle & inspect. Jerry Quote
Richmac Posted May 31 Author Report Posted May 31 Thanks Jerry I can try that. I've now added a video VID_20260531_203913721.mp4 Quote
Ralph Whitaker Posted June 1 Report Posted June 1 10 hours ago, jerrytr5 said: If you are fairly sure it is from the top of the engine & you set the tappets to 10 thou you could try setting to 8 thou to allow for wear. The rocker shaft could be worn, see if you can detect play in the rocker on the shaft or take it off, dismantle & inspect. Jerry +1 Also check for a bent pushrod and loose end caps on the pushrods. Ralph Quote
trchris Posted June 1 Report Posted June 1 Sounds top end rattle l would also close the gaps a bit, however before adjusting remove the rocker shaft and check for wear and as Ralph suggests pull and check push rods Chris Quote
Z320 Posted June 1 Report Posted June 1 Hi Richard, the problem with adjustig the tappets is the pitting of the rockers. When you adjust the gap with a feeler gauge you "bridge" the pitting (groove), while the stem shaft later "dives" in there and has much more gap. Knowing this I adjust the gap by rocking the rockers fast by hand and make them all sound about the same. Try this: what ever you adjusted, rock them each by one by hand and notice they all sound different! The one most loud has the most pitting, the most quite one is the best. Adjust all according to the most quite on and well be pleased. Of cause this is only my really very poor advice and can not stand the serious advice of a professional car technician. Ciao, Marco Quote
Richmac Posted June 1 Author Report Posted June 1 Thanks for all your replies really appreciated. I will have a look but I may take it to an expert if I can find someone willing to help me. Do you guys think its ok to drive in the short term without causing more damage please? Regards Richard Quote
Bfg Posted June 2 Report Posted June 2 Just a thought.. I don't suppose the posts, studs &/or nuts holding the rocker spindle in place are loose.? On Katie the posts were aluminium and one had a crack down the post, others were damaged where locking screws had cut into the top of the metal. It's also possible that the rocker arm bearings are badly worn. To check for this you simply need to take the rocker shaft off to feel for slack. I ended up replacing the whole assembly. . posts, shaft, & rocker arms. Pete Quote
jerrytr5 Posted June 2 Report Posted June 2 Bit difficult to identify from a video, but does sound a bit noisier than it should. Having said that, it's an old TR so will be fine to drive while you investigate as far as I can tell. It's only a few nuts to remove the rocker shaft and inspect. Jerry Quote
Z320 Posted June 2 Report Posted June 2 20 hours ago, Richmac said: I will have a look but I may take it to an expert if I can find someone willing to help me. Regards Richard I recommend you to make it your own and get experience. Quote
Richmac Posted June 2 Author Report Posted June 2 Well for an update it turns out that the noise was the tappets hitting the rocker cover all along. Moved rocker cover over a little and now all is good. Thanks to Steve Denton who suggested to check that I hadn't been that dumb first. Thanks to all of you who contributed with support its much appreciated Regards Richard Quote
Brianjone5 Posted June 2 Report Posted June 2 Richard: thanks for closing the loop on your issue. Many do not do this. I am glad it is resolved. Quote
Ralph Whitaker Posted June 3 Report Posted June 3 18 hours ago, Richmac said: Well for an update it turns out that the noise was the tappets hitting the rocker cover all along. Moved rocker cover over a little and now all is good. Thanks to Steve Denton who suggested to check that I hadn't been that dumb first. Thanks to all of you who contributed with support its much appreciated Regards Richard Interesting, I recently fitted an ally rocker cover the same as yours, I did not realise that they were so close to the rockers. I must have been lucky when I fitted it and will have to watch out next time I remove it that it clears OK. Ralph Quote
Z320 Posted June 3 Report Posted June 3 19 hours ago, Richmac said: Well for an update it turns out that the noise was the tappets hitting the rocker cover all along. Moved rocker cover over a little and now all is good. Thanks to Steve Denton who suggested to check that I hadn't been that dumb first. Thanks to all of you who contributed with support its much appreciated Regards Richard Even with my original rocker cover there is no free play to install it different. Quote
stillp Posted June 4 Report Posted June 4 On 6/1/2026 at 9:56 AM, Z320 said: Hi Richard, the problem with adjustig the tappets is the pitting of the rockers. When you adjust the gap with a feeler gauge you "bridge" the pitting (groove), while the stem shaft later "dives" in there and has much more gap. Knowing this I adjust the gap by rocking the rockers fast by hand and make them all sound about the same. Try this: what ever you adjusted, rock them each by one by hand and notice they all sound different! The one most loud has the most pitting, the most quite one is the best. Adjust all according to the most quite on and well be pleased. Of cause this is only my really very poor advice and can not stand the serious advice of a professional car technician. Ciao, Marco I've often thought about grinding a feeler gauge to be narrow enough to fit in the wear groove, or using a steel rod of suitable diameter. Is the groove actually from wear, or is it that the case-hardened layer has been hammered into the softer metal underneath? Pete Quote
Z320 Posted June 4 Report Posted June 4 I‘ve been recommended to do it with a dial gauge, but sadly I‘m not patient enough at all for this… Quote
Ralph Whitaker Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 I have one of those Gunson click adjust tools which takes the guesswork out of the equation as it automatically compensates for wear on the rocker tips. Ralph Quote
james christie Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 (edited) Do those Gunson click and adjust tools still exist? I recall that they were a subject of much discussion in the early seventies as they were thought to be the bees knees for our worn out Minis, Trs, Rileys, Wolseleys etc but nobody that I knew managed to master them! james Edited June 5 by james christie Quote
RobH Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 37 minutes ago, james christie said: Do those Gunson click and adjust tools still exist? Still available. https://www.gunson.co.uk/product/G4094/Clikadjust-Tappet-Adjuster Quote
Ralph Whitaker Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 (edited) 22 hours ago, james christie said: Do those Gunson click and adjust tools still exist? I recall that they were a subject of much discussion in the early seventies as they were thought to be the bees knees for our worn out Minis, Trs, Rileys, Wolseleys etc but nobody that I knew managed to master them! james Yes they are still out there I think, got mine only a couple of years ago. When you first use it a bit of a fiddle, you have to put a 25thou feeler across the worn rocker and adjust the tool down till it just nips it, then if say you want 10 thou tappet clearance you have to slacken the tool, counting the clicks until the 10 thou feeler just slides in on top of the 25 thou one. make a note of the number of clicks. then you can remove the feelers and screw the adjuster down until the rocker makes contact with the valve then back off by the required number of clicks which should leave you with the correct gap. Obviously if you have say 10thou inlet and 15 thou exhaust you have to calibrate the tool again for the exhaust, but once you have worked out and made a note of how many clicks for your particular car you don`t have to calibrate it again The main reason for this initial calibration is that different cars may have different rocker ratios, ie the distance between the pushrod cup , rocker pivot, and valve stem, so the number of clicks on one car for 10thou may not be the same as another model or make, likewise if the adjuster threads are metric or imperial. But once you know how many clicks you need for your car (and have hopefully made a note somewhere) you never have to do it again and subsequent checks are easy. Ralph P.S. Don`t be surprised though if you can still hear the tappets on your TR, they were known not to be quiet from new. Edited June 6 by Ralph Whitaker Quote
Z320 Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 (edited) I see a problem with the use of this tool on my 4A: no 1/2“ socket fits on the rocker lock nut, because the nut is too narrow to the rocker body. Edited June 5 by Z320 Quote
TR NIALL Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 3 hours ago, james christie said: Do those Gunson click and adjust tools still exist? I recall that they were a subject of much discussion in the early seventies as they were thought to be the bees knees for our worn out Minis, Trs, Rileys, Wolseleys etc but nobody that I knew managed to master them! james Yes I still have one from the 70s and like others never got the hang of how to use it. Quote
PodOne Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 4 hours ago, TR NIALL said: Yes I still have one from the 70s and like others never got the hang of how to use it. Same here seems a good idea but a lot of faffing about sits now back in its packet with a collection of other time saving gadgets 😂 Quote
RogerH Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 You could always close the gap to zero then open the adjuster 60'. This will give you 0.010" Adjust accordingly to give other gap sizes. Roger Quote
Z320 Posted June 5 Report Posted June 5 (edited) My calculation is, - 8 clicks (AI: 30 for a hole turn), are too much, this will be a 0.45 mm gap! How od I calculate? 8/30 of the 24 tpi of the adjusting scwew x the ratio of the rocker levers, about 40/25 mm (valve side/adjuster side) - 60° is much better, this should be a 0.283 mm gap - 53° will be a 0.25 mm gap - all ON A TR 4 CYLINDER, others different Can anybody check and confirm, please Edited June 6 by Z320 Quote
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