Did you also get your kit from Coventry West?

 

Also do I need a special drill for this? I have this kinda crappy cordless one that isn't very powerful or fast. I was intending on buying a new high quality drill bit, but am unsure of whether or not I needed a good drill?

 

Its the drill bit that is more important, it needs to be nice and sharp. You are drilling into cast aluminium which is quite soft, (compared to steel), so it should be pretty easy.

 

Any idea on what sort of drill bit (brand and/or model/line) I should buy? I don't know much about drill bits.

 

I agree, I wouldn't worry about the machine, it may be an advantage being a little underpowered if you are not used to drilling.
Any good quality HSS drill should work, the head is fairly soft.

 

What is HSS, and how do I determine what is "good quality" and what isn't. Sorry for being such a NOOB.

 

High Speed Steel, if you can buy a set for $5 they are probably not much good, price is probably a good guide with drill bits, you don't need any kind of exotic alloys for your purpose.

 

Yes, my kit was from CW. Just make sure your battery on the cordless is nice and charged up. As for the bit, I just went to the hardware store and picked a decent bit that's for aluminum...it was very easy. I was like you before I did the job, trust me, it was hard at all...again...you will probably spend more time cleaning the valve cover surfaces and sealing the new gasket rather than the stakedown kit itself. I recommend new copper washers when replacing the valve cover back into place...copper is soft and will seal up nicely so oil doesn't leak out of the holes.

 

Well, I successfully installed the kit. Tip, there is no way in heck you are going to tighten the machine screws down using a screwdriver. You will just ruin the bolt heads that way and they won't go all the way down. Don't be a doofus like me--use a socket!

Bad news, the tappet stakedown kit didn't fix my tapping/ticking sound. Now that I've listened more carefully to the noise using my extra long screwdriver as a stethoscope, it appears the noise is coming from the fuel injectors. I put a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in the fuel tank(s). Are the injectors easy to replace, or is there a place that I can mail the injectors to for them to be refurbished?

 

Well, the injectors should tick, they did on mine, but it wasn't all that big a noise. All six injectors fire together. Is any one of them noisier than the others ? Worth an inspect and clean, I'd say, maybe some new parts. AFAIK these injectors can be dismantled and the wearing parts replaced. This may not apply for modern replacements, of course.

 

It seems the ones closer to the middle of the engine (sorry, I don't know the cylinder numbers) are the ones making the most noise.

 

On the XK engine, cylinders are numbered beginning with the one closest to the bulkhead (firewall) as number one.

Use a stethescope or long-bladed screwdriver and listen to the area you feel the 'ticking' noise is coming from so you can narrow the area down for closer inspection.

NBCat

 

OK, I did that. It doesn't appear to be coming from the injectors. Rather, it is coming from near cylinders 3 and 4 underneath the intake valve cover. Is it possible that a tappet guide has come loose on the intake side? Why would one come loose, given that none were loose on the exhaust side?

I guess I'm going to take a peek in there. Probably means I will need to order yet another valve cover gasket and half moon seal, as the one that came off the exhaust side was completely destroyed!

 

Well of course the tappets could have worked loose on the inlet side, but it could be tappet clearance is excessive on one or two of the valves. Normally it is the other way around; the tappet clearances get smaller, not larger. If not loose tappets, there could be a slightly bent valve or two there. The inlet valves on Series 3s are bigger than on the Series 1 & 2, and more prone to being hit by a piston as there is less room for error. You only need a lazy valve return to cause an impact, especially if the car has stood a long time, and the inlet valve guides are dry.

A check of the cylinder pressures will tell you one way or the other, and of course it could be loose tappets, so take off the cover to have a quick look-see as soon as you can.

 

I must agree with Fraser's suggestion on testing the compression as I have also seen heavy carbonisation of the inlet valves on an some engines become so thick that the valves could no longer fully close, which can also give you excessive clearances. The carbon deposits are sometimes caused by worn valve guides or seals allowing excessive amounts of engine oil to get to the lower part of the valve and solidify.

Should the compression test prove inconclusive, a leak test may also be needed to test valve sealing.

NBCat

 

Hmmm... I don't have a compression tester. Do you know approximately how much that would cost?

Also is there any quick fix I can try first? Such as Seafoam or something like that? The strange thing about all of this is that there is absolutely no oil/smoke coming out of the exhaust.

I guess the worst thing that could happen is I have to buy a new head.

 

I believe you can rent a compression tester from some of the parts houses after leaving a deposit, which they return to you once you return the tester. If you decide to purchase one, they typically are found on eBay for less than 50$US.

You can try some of the fuel injector cleaners on the market to see if that helps, but the compression or leak test will provide a quicker answer.

NBCat

 

Hmmm... I did put some injector cleaner in there two nights ago. Then yesterday morning when I started it up, the ticking sound seemed extremely faint such that when I had the hood closed, it was barely noticeable at all. However, through the course of the day, it got louder and louder and was eventually at its normal volume.

Is fuel injector cleaner really going to help with built up carbon on the valves? And/or a lazy lifter spring?

 

No, not if it has a heavy build up of carbon.

To save yourself time, money and additional frustration, perform the compression or leak tests and post the results.

NBCat

 

I'd be very interested to know the final outcome on this one?.....