Joey

sorry it's on the wrong forum, but i know most people read this one. i have a 1990 jetta gl w/82k miles. and it runs fine. gets good mileage, never overheats, good power. but there is a tapping noise coming from the engine that sounds like a bomb counting down. it seems to be coming from the cam or something. i have the 1.8 sohc. i just changed the valve cover gasket today and everything looked fine under there. maybe the noise is coming from somewhere else?<br>please help me!<br>thanks, -joey<p>ps the tapping noise is proportional to engine speed<p>99.5 A4 1.8qm Autothority, lltek grill, etc...<p><br>

Mike

Hey Joey,<br>Usually a tapping noise in that area is a lifter tap. There is too much clearance between the lifter and rocker arm. Usually caused by wear on the parts. May be able to fix by a proper valve adjustment or may require parts replacement.

Audiboy

As far as I remember, 2.0L VW's use a cam over sheam/valve design eliminating rocker arms. This design is less prone to lifter noise - unless the gap is really massive which will cause loss of power at high rpm but still run smooth at idle. Maybe injectors? Has the noise been gradually increasing?<p>It's time for a 1.8T transplant :-)

ALD

The sound you discribe is similar to a sound last year when my Saturn ran out of oil. Fortunately I check the oil level at one point. My best suggestion, check the oil level.

steve l o

More likely than not, one of your lifters is going bad. Pretty easy to replace. Get a Bentley manual and go for it. Part should be pretty reasonable to buy. Could take like two-three hours to replace on your own. The tricky part is figuring out which one it is.<p>Steve

Audiboy

if oil level is not an issue as it could be easily checked, it could be the oil pressure. If you don't have a pressure gauge, run the car briefly without valve cover to see if oil is circulating around. Don't worry, if you keep the car idling for a few seconds only, you won't spill oil all over the place. Make sure oil and filter are in good condition, and if no oil pressure, yikes, the oil pump.

ALD

Then again, it could be none of the above, but the first thing that I would look at when I hear a ticking noise in a car is what is the oil level, and then the oil pressure.

Joey

well, the oil level is good. as for the pressure i don't know. i don't know if the 1.8l 8-vavle has hydraulic lifters. it sure sounds like the cam could be tapping a lifter. but i don't know. it doesn't overheat, even in the 100 degree heat wave with the a/c on we had in nj the last few days. this kind of leads me to believe the oil pressure is ok, but thanks for the suggestions. -joey