Calling all car whisperers.....whats this tapping?

[Robin_O_Connor]

@maroonv12

Is there a knack to prevent the oil sat around the guides (low side) from spilling down the head when the cam cover is removed?

No just plenty of rags. You might be able to do the stake down with the cam in place but probably better to remove it/them.

[davidsxj6 (David)]

Yes, you will have to hit the guide straight on - and for the kit, tapping is much easier without the camshaft. I didn’t do a nice job, broke the tap (first time… cheap tap…) so I used self tapping screws. Some swarf is going to disappbut if you use lots of grease and wipe the swarf off the mess is small. And nothing happens if you drill too deep, as you will simply end up in the oil return gallery.
And it will be quite obvious because the cam makes dents into the guide where it hits. The guide is relatively soft - the cam will not show any damage at all. It could be moving up and down so you’re looking for telltales more than for tappet guide height.

[John_Walker (69 FHC. . . $ via PayPal)]

@maroonv12

Is there a knack to prevent the oil sat around the guides (low side) from spilling down the head when the cam cover is removed?

Outside of parking sideways on a steep hill, no.

As Robin wrote. Plenty of rags tucked under where the oil will flow.

I’ve used a large syringe to suck up the oil that’s pooled and squirted it down the oil return slots when I’ve had the cam covers off. It just makes the mess a little more manageable.

[Nick_53_XK120_OTS]

if you can…push the car in neutral to where you need it to be. Less it is run the better. It is the guide edge, not the tappet, that will have dents. I if you observe that, then I’d set the engine up…(turn by hand or slowly) to the cam timing position. Cam notch aligned, (just always a procedure I do…so it is in the correct place for whatever comes next) take photo…and remove cam. Good time to inspect cam bearing surfaces tappet surfaces and check timing chain etc.
Nick

[Wiggles (Paul Wigton)]

If you use a brass drift, and tap it down slowly, side to side, it can be done w/o removing the cam.

[davidxk (David Langley)]

@maroonv12

which is the culprit?

This thread includes some photos of the sort of damage to be expected in the Georgiajag article by Dick Maury.

[E-Type] Valve Tappet Guide Hold Down Kit

The valve train noise in my 3.8 recently increased noticeably and I have determined that the tappet guide on #5 exhaust had lifted and the top edge of the tappet guide was being kit by the cam lobe. I haven’t yet pulled the valve covers to check all of the other tappet guides, but intend to do so. The damage to the guide does not appear to be too severe and I have another cam if that should be needed. Assuming that the damage to the tappet guide is not too severe, it would seem that the ta…

[Paul_M_Novak]

Philip,
I purchased a large inexpensive turkey baster and use it to suck up the oil after removing the camshaft covers in my Jaguars. If the engine oil is still hot, the turkey baster will quickly suck up 90%+ of the oil making it easy to wipe up the rest with rags. This is best done while the oil is still hot, but in your case I recommend that you not run the engine until you sort out the source of the noise. When the engine oil is cold the turkey baster takes a bit longer, but is worth it.
I consider the stakedown kits as cheap insurance against lifting tappet collars. I have installed a few of these kits on my XK engines over the years or have had machine shops install them when they were rebuilding heads that I had in sitting on the shelf in my shop for a while.
BTW, I never used the turkey baster from our kitchen in my shop and it is just coincidental that a new turkey baster magically appeared in our kitchen. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Paul