my car is making a tapping noise when i start it up an then the sound goes after 5 mins when its warmed up?

Question

some one told me i need a oil change
it runs perfect but im worried about the tapping sound

thanks for all your advice
my car is a MX5
just bought it last week

Answer 1

It sounds like you have a tight or stuck valve lifter. They oten will stick when the engine is cold then release as the engine warms up. Look for a lubricant or additive designed specifically to free stuck lifters....

Answer 2

The most likely cause is a tappet especially as it disappears after a few minutes, it may be a U/S hyd tappet or a wide gap if buckets and shims, it may also indicate wear on a cam lobe, conversely it could be piston slap on start up, these noises will come from the upper part of the engine, if it's lower down it's the bottom end which may be due to low oil level, or pressure as suggested, or even cheap oil or the wrong grade, a short piece of wood like a hammer handle or a piece of broom handle placed against the ear and applied to various parts of the engine will act as a stethoscope to identify the exact region if the noise is a rhythmic growl or rumble this is normal engine sounds, you'll hear the tapping on top of this, move it about until you achieve the loudest volume of the tapping and you've pinpointed the cause!

Answer 3

When you car is warm, turn off the engine and open the hood. Pull the dip stick and wipe it off.
Re-insert it and then pull it out again to read it. The end where it goes into the car has two marks on it. If the oil level is below the first mark closest to the engine you need oil. If the oil is frothy you have water leaking into the oil (need seal) and probably blue smoke with water out of your exhaust. If the oil is very sluggy and black, you need to get it changed.
With that sound it's probably a good idea to spend the money to have an additive to clean your crankcase before you add new oil.
Also, depending on the make and year of the car and where you live, you might ask the mechanic if you need to change the grade of oil you use.

Answer 4

you dont say what make,,,i,ll guess a Ford,,,the sympton you describe sounds like (what the trade call ) The Black Death...
you were well advised about the oil change,,but it will need flushing as well...when the oil is working it collects (black sooty)carbon deposits which travels around the engine absorbed in the the oil.the oil travels thru narrow holes up thru the engine to the overhead camshaft to lubricate the tappets,,the holes fill up with the soot and the result is "dry" tappets no oil,,hence the tapping noise,when you accelerate the oil is forced a pressure thru the holes,and the noise goes away,,,it will not continue to do so for ever the holes will fill and block up ,the overhead tappets will be running without oil and rapid wear will result in an expensive repair,,if you use cheap oil and do a lot of stop,start driving oil should be changed every 6 months to prevent this

Answer 5

if the noise goes away, i doubt that the lack of an oil change is the problem but start with this, shut the engine off. pop the hood, check the oil level, if the oil level is low (not to the upper line on the dipstick) correct the problem, WARNING:if the vehicle is a FORD, the dipstick is incorrectly stamped and has been most of the time since 1983, aside from the mazda power plants.... aside from that, back to the tapping i would look into getting the valves adjusted perhaps.

Answer 6

When was your last oil and filter change?This should be done rgularly at every 3000 miles.It is possible that you may have low oil pressure from the pump.You should get a test done for oil pressure.The tapping noise is coming from your rocker arms that in turn move the valves.There is a 'clearance' (a gap) in between them to assure that the valve seats properly.The engine oil gets into the clearance space and helps reduce the noise as well as lubricate that area.

Answer 7

As suggested probably a sticky/worn tappet. Possibly other cause "Piston Slap", caused by a slightly worn piston that needs to warm up and expand a bit to move smoothly. A service with oil and filter change is suggested. If it's the tappet there might be a small performance hit while it's noisy, if it's the piston then it can get a lot worse before you have to fix it.

Answer 8

It's the oil. If you check your oil level in your car it will most likely be low. You should change your oil every 3000 - 3500 miles, and if it is an older car, then you should check your oil level pretty much weekly and add oil if it gets lower than the fill line on your oil dipstick. If you don't keep the oil full, that knocking sound will continue and eventually lead to you having to rebuild the engine.

Answer 9

The tapping sound is probably from the tappetts at the top of the engine, is it a VW?

With VWs only use VW oil filters and synthetic oil, these are needed, and its not bad advice on any car to keep to the manufacturers oil filters

Answer 10

the noise you're listening to is the lifters tapping, happens once you get some miles on the motor vehicle. i does not issue approximately it sounds like your motor vehicle is working positive. It only takes a couple of minutes to get the oil tension up.