Page 2 of 2

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 3:31 pm
by Nacho
Ok so I've been able to negotiate a price of $1 USD per screw so I ordered 50 pieces coz I have two engines to do. Shipping with DHL was $25 USD. I paid via Paypal so if there's any issues with the seller then I'll be able to get a refund.

The cheapest I can find on amayama was $3.71 AUD per screw which takes me up to about $90 AUD just for a set of 24 and not including shipping from the UAE. Once these screws arrive I'll have a look at the quality but at the end of the day.....it a piece of plastic and a shim. If they fit well I'll post this item in the aftermarket parts thread.

So if anyone else is keen on a set of collets/shims at a reasonable price then at least we'll have a supplier.

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 11:57 am
by Rob Furniss
Good work Nacho

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 6:49 pm
by spetz
I think quality is important...
Imagine in a year's time the plastic disintegrates due to heat cycling, vibration etc and all these little plastic pieces go to the sump and block the oil pick up.

If the tolerances are set correctly there will be no additional ticking to give you a warning

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 10:55 pm
by Vectose
To be completely honest, all plastic will deteriorate inside an engine. Best option would be to have some made out of PTFE.

I believe the stock ones (and the aftermarket ones) are made of nylon, which will last a fair while but eventually go brittle.

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 12:32 am
by spetz
I recently had my cams and cam trays out and all of them were intact (to my surprise) but yes it seems like a less than ideal design but probably needed due to weight in the valve system

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 2:03 pm
by getonit
Nice work Nacho, let us know what you think when they arrive. Looking at some myself now.

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 5:59 pm
by spetz
I read that someone use heatshrink and it worked well for him to replace those plastic bits 8O

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:12 pm
by Nacho
I pasted this in the aftermarket parts section but I'll paste it here too:

Valve Adjustment Screw - Collet and Shim ONLY!

Part number: MD180514

You can't use the screw due to incorrect length and thread since it's from the 4D series engine. But if you are looking for replacement plastic collets or lost shims which are prone to getting brittle and breaking I found a supplier at a good price:

http://www.kowze.com is their website but they are a trader on alibaba.com

The company is happy to trade outside of alibaba if you add Dias on Whatsapp +86 186 4530 9333. They will issue you a pro-forma invoice and you can pay via Paypal. The price will depend on the quantity you are buying......remember there's 24 of these in a MIVEC engine. I paid $1 USD per item and shipping cost $25 USD. They landed roughly 1 week after I made the payment.

They are a Mitsubishi parts supplier so I'm curious what else they may have.

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:15 pm
by Nacho
I had two engines to do so I ended up buying 50 pieces.

The engine I'm working on had all 24 of the f*ckers missing. Now I've most likely gotta pull the sump so see all the dropped ones in there

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:21 pm
by Nacho
getonit wrote:Nice work Nacho, let us know what you think when they arrive. Looking at some myself now.
They look pretty good to me.....at the end of the day it's plastic and it looks and feels the same as the FTO collet. But I did notice that the thinnest part of the collet on the 4D set is about 2-3mm taller than the FTO collet which suggests that it will be less likely to break because of the extra plastic. All of the broken collets I've seen in an FTO were from the thinnest part of the collet.

Re: Loud Tapping Sound Near Valve Cover

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:30 am
by spetz
Great work Nacho.

I'd say these things break because people do not get them adjusted and hence the collet has strain on it to keep that little metal shim piece in place. Obviously over time the stress cracks it.
If the clearances were adjusted regularly then these collets wouldn't have to work to keep the shims in place and should hence last a long time.
As mentioned before all 24 of those plastic collets on my engine were intact, I did however break one myself accidentally.