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AHHH!! tick tick tick tick Hydraulic P90a issues.. HELP!


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hey guys..

 

i have a P90a hydraulic head and I have been having issues..

 

once the engine gets to operating temp and I am at idle the car makes a TICK TICK TICK TICK mainly due to the lower oil pressure at idle.. the hotter the engine gets the louder the ticking gets..

 

I am at F (full) in the oil level.. and am running 20w-50 with a few tablespoons of gear oil with no luck...

 

it has progressivly gotten worse over the past few months..

 

any ideas on how to fix this? I also changed the oil pump and added a new gasket so oil pressure is standard according to my FSM.. but the head obviously doesn't like it

 

seems to me i just need a P90 now.. if i convert the P90a to solid lifters.. will the tapping still continue? all the valve are too spec and are not off.. hurmm

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no no its definatly the head.. i ran out and checked all the bolts.. they are all torqued town..

 

but its coming straight from the head.. i used a screw driver and put my ear on the end and listened... definatly from the head

 

the guage is stock.. maybe i should upgrade the guage.. can I use the stock oil pressure sender?

 

but 2 oil pumps? hurrmm

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As cozy said, I would not trust the stock gauge either. It isnt really that trustworthy, second though, and Im remembering this from a post on Zcar or here a long while ago.

 

I believe the member was Lifergaurd or something to that effect, that actually had taken the lifters apart, throughly cleaned them, replaced the old springs with new, and the put them back together.

 

Im sure if you do a search on here or zcar it should come up. I do know that you can take them apart, and clean them, its hard to find the proper spring for the lifter but it is possible.

 

I did have a P90A that I was going to use for a 240Z ages ago and did do the cleaning. Depending on the PO, they can become quite filthy.

 

Tearing them down though is easy as is cleaning and when you put them togother just make sure you put a bit of oil in them.

 

I never got to try the whole thing out as I sold the motor, but its worth a try before removing the whole head.

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I have to ask, you don't have a loose exhaust manifold bolt do you?

That was the FIRST thing I thought of when I read this. Exhaust leaks often get louder as the car warms up. Prox, is it stock ex manifold, header... or what? Maybe it's cracked. They warp and pop the studs off the end. not to beat dead horse

The stock oil pressure sender is junk. replace with aftermarket gauge or new $tock sending unit

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You can convert to solid lifters onto a P90A hydraulic head. You need the threaded adapters. There are a few threads in here with lots of detail and part numbers needed. I keep my eye on all hydraulic lifter threads because I expect mine to fail pretty soon as well...maybe....maybe not. Good luck.

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found this on Zcar.com from Alex280 thanks for the hard work!

 

Just wanted to report the result of my efforts to find a cheap alternative to convert P90A hydraulic lifter head to solid lifters. It can be easily accomplished for about $35 bucks.

 

Because the hydraulic lifter bosses are already WAY countersunk, you only need to buy 12 20mm Timesert thread inserts for $2.71 each (+shipping) rather than the expensive tool kit (which includes a thread tap, insert countersink tool, and thread locking tool you won't use).

 

When you get the threaded inserts from Timesert:

1. Remove the hydraulic lifters

2. Thread the Timesert inserts into the lifter bosses until they bottom out

3. Install solid lifters.

 

Done!

 

The solid lifters are a LOT shorter than the hydraulic lifters. The hydraulic lifter bosses are pre-countersunk in a way, as the threads are only at the bottom of the lifter boss. So the threaded insert when installed is below the top-deck of the head. The solid lifters aren't as long as the hydraulic lifters, so they only engage the thread inserts in the first 5-6 threads. But seeing as the lifters see only compression forces, not tension forces, 5-6 threads are plenty to hold the lifters into the head.

 

I took lots of pics and will post a short, well illustrated "how-to" article on the net when I find the time. So all those P90A heads out there should now be considered viable and cost-effective alternatives to P79s.

 

 

They're 1.5mm thread, as are the solid lifters. Hydro are 20 x 1.5 x 28 (total lifter length). Solid 18 x 1.5 x ~19mm.

 

http://www.timesert.com

 

The Timesert item number is 18153 (M18x1.5x18.3 INSERT)

 

Time Fastener Co

5301 Longley Lane

Reno, NV 89511

(775) 829-1026

 

Cheers,

Alex

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