[IFFY]

Had a little issue for some time on my car, which has now started to annoy me.
At idle after the car has warmed up, I get a gurrgling tapping noise coming from the right side of the engine. The right side of the engine would be the side where the exhaust manifold is. The noise gets louder with slight revs but then disappears as the revs go past about 1000 rpm. Now the obvious culprit is the hydro lifters but I want to be sure if they are. So how can I be? And what others possible causes could there be for this noise?

Also I woulod like to ask what causes the hydro lifters to wear? In specific, does low oil cause this? The owner before me was a women and i don't thik she got round to topping the oil until the red warning light would come on. And given the fact that these cars are oil thirsty: that would of have happened pretty often.

 

[garmcqui]

if she let it run until the red oil light (low oil pressure) came on, she will have done it some serious damage.

Never heard hydraulic lifters give a noise described as "gurgling", it's normally just a ticking noise.

 

[Cendrian]

Purely because of a gurgling sound, hows your coolant level sitting?

 

[IFFY]

coolant is spot on. Just changed it. That has had no effect on the noise

 

[bmwmike]

aircon...?

 

[IFFY]

Even if the aircon aint on? But it's been hapenning for some years anyway so dont think it is that.

 

[TheEnd]

I would have though it would have something to do with the heater valves.
Try turning the temperature to maximum hot or maximum cold, and the tapping noise should stop.
Any gurgling will be from air in the system, which should eventually fade.

 

[dellboy1959]

I would say it's coolant related ie air lock,bleed the system and see what happens before you leap into the realms of expensive what if's :thumbsup
Just make sure the heater is set to full heat when you do it.