have just checked the tappit clearances onmy diesil n/a 2.5 n/a engine 5 were just out but 3 were way off as you culd put your finger in the gap . so all adjusted to the correct gap and every thing sound ok . should I be worried about the 3 that were way off or just be happy that things seem ok?

what about the other eight? just keep an eye on them and if they go slack again think about replacement adjusters

sorry slob but I ment 5 of the tappets wern,t to far out and three were way out.every thing looks to be ok and all there just gaps were huge. could that mean I have three serious bunt/damaged valves , but engine run ok apart from sounding tappity not now though and still sounds runs fine or could there be problems in the future?

You should keep a wary eye on this, as tappet clearances opening up indicate WEAR somewhere in the valve-gear. Of course, they might just have been badly set long ago, and you just noticed it. People do make mistakes setting clearances.

If it is due to wear and tear, it could be .... (some list!)
worn lobes on cam - but it would be VERY noisy and running a bit off
wear in roller-cam-followers.
Wear on ends of pushrods or bent pushrods
wear in rocker bushes and / or rocker shaft
wear on tips of rockers and / or valve stems

However, LandRover were quite cunning when they built these engines, and you will see that the rockers are NOT equal lengths either side of the shaft.

The pushrod side is a LOT shorter than the valve side, so in effect the lift imparted by the cam lobe is increased at the valve stem. This means that 0.010" ten thou (quarter of a millipede for heathens) clearance at the tip of the valve is a lot less at the camshaft end, and so the system can stand a bit of excess clearance for a fair time, but in principle excess valve clearance isn't good.

Set it spot on at 0.010" each valve by the "Rule of Nines" in these engines, and in six months time if you can't leave it alone you could lift the lid and check it again.

CharlesY

thanks charlsey. don,t have much service history with my landy so now they,re set will leave it till next service to see what happens , taken that nothin goes bang meantime.

timberjock said:

thanks charlsey. don,t have much service history with my landy so now they,re set will leave it till next service to see what happens , taken that nothin goes bang meantime.

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That's the ace plan I think.
LR arranged things well in the valve-train system of these engines, and it all works out to be reliable and stable in most cases. In some old engines valve clearances would change about as often as people changed their socks, but if this happens in a Landy it is time to have a good look WHY?

There is ALWAYS a reason for valve clearances changing. For example, if the gaps get smaller, what could cause that to happen? There is usually only one reason ..... the valve stem tips are coming up higher ..... so how on earth can that happen?

CharlesY

When that happened to me with my 300tdi I was baffled at first why the clearance on two of the valves was .9mm instead of about .2mm. It then turned out the tops had fallen off two valve stem caps, leaving a little ring behind around the top of the valve. Valve stem caps also fall off sometimes, though I haven't had a problem in the last 9 years or so.

cheers guys everything seems to be ok nothing missing.just take it that the clearances havn't been checked for a long time and maybe last time they were done it wasn't done proper.as said before will recheck at the next service if all holds together mean time.