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Went for a drive in the country today; roughly a hundred miles of here and there in the bushes.

At roughly 40 miles, I started getting nasty tappet noise from what I think was one tappet. At the first opportunity (about 5-10 MILES) stopped for gas and added oil to overfill, at least a pint over, although oil was pretty much full.

Noise went away for five to ten miles or so, then returned like a bad dream, so we turned around and headed home on a 25-35 mph road. At one point got up to a sustained 55 and the noise disappeared, so I slipped over to the tollway and zipped home for some 25 miles or so. Noise came back towards the end of this segment, so I went on home and parked it.

If I let my oil get down at all, I hear many hungry tappets; this time I just heard one which faded in and out.

Oil is frsh; has perhaps 100 miles on it. Rotella 10-40 plus ZDP additive. New filter. No visible pressure guage problems...according to the guages pressure varied from 11 to 1 oclok, depending on speed. Oil pump is not original, it has been fixed/upgraded to what it should be.

In the past I have occasionally had a nois tappet which usually quiets up in a few miles. I have been told that typically this means crud in the tappet which works its way out....FWIW.

What would you do next?

It's now several hours later. I went out to put it in the garage. Started very ladylike with no noise for that 50 foot trip.

Borrow or buy an accurate mechanical oil pressure gauge. Use it to check hot idling oil pressure at the location of the sensor for your dash gauge, and then check the pressure at the feed to the oil filter (front of driver's side cylinder head) at hot idle. If either of these are suspicious, I might be tempted to drop the oil pan and plastigage some bearing journals. While the pan is down, check it for metallic sludge, and make sure the pump intake screen is clean.

Remind me, is this a 55 or a 56? If the former, I'd buy and install the upgraded cam retainer/spacer kit unless you know it's already been done.

Go ahead an measure the oil pressure, but I've heard this story a hundred times. Buy the Olds HV pump and adapter from Jack Vines and fix it permanently.

Does have a ring to it, doesn't it?

What would you expect this to cost for parts, and about how much time for a competent mechanic? Is this as simple as putting the car on a rack, pulling the pan, unbolt and bolt. with a bit of cleaning?

As I understand it, this car has the PI rebuilt pump....

Since the olds pump lacks a vacuum component, do you still have wipers? As it is, even with a Fichter (did I get that right) rebuilt window wipwer motor, action is decidedly lethargic......

The PI pump fix has no vacuum section either and may be part of your wiper issue. I noticed on a picture Dwight Heinmuller posted earlier that his (??) V8 has a dual action fuel pump installed. That might be an option if we can get the number he used. A previous poster had listed some Ford pumps as possibilities also.

Another option, since you are going to change to an alternator with your AC is do the same thing one of our Australian friends did and add a combination alternator/vacuum pump.

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If oil pressure and/or the oil pump were the problem, I'd expect noise from a lot more than one lifter. I strongly recommend against throwing ANY parts at such a condition without proper diagnosis.

Yet, it's quite possible for gum/varnish to form in an engine that has seen little use, which could affect less than all lifters.

So, until you have opportunity to check oil pressure and inspect the pan, pickup and bearings, ans sicne oil is so fresh, you could try a dose of STP. That cured lifter noise in one of my '56 Patricians, where the previous owner had alleged the pump was replace with a PI unit (in a allegdly-rebuilt, used motor, after catastrophic, oil-related failure of the original engine).

High volume oil pumps are nothing new. In 1947, Packard announced a high-volume pump kit for Super Eights with hydraulic tappet noise caused by low oil pressure that had resulted from the normal opening up of bearing clearances. However, neither that nor the modern adaption for the V8 would provide long-lasting relief if bearings are excessively worn.

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Ask Jack Vines. email: packardv8@comcast.net

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Yes.

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Here's the solution I used:

1956packardpanther.com/Panther/wipers.html

if i ever heard tappet noise in my old 83 cordoba i would put some marvel mystery oil in it....cleared it up. i never did anything to that motor and it had 163k miles on it (318")

and if you are sure it is just one lifter.....could just be a "going bad" one.

Hank

Most likely it's a worn pump. But always slite chance it's something else tho. Install the mechanical gauge as Owen Dyneto advises above for a test to determine the diagnosis.

NOT an electric gauge. A MECHANICAL oil pressure gauge.

We'll go from there once the oil pressure is verified.

Did u notice a faint lifter nosise occuring at speeds above 65 mph after about 5 miles of running at that speed???

BEWARE that mechanical gauges with NYLON or other plactic type tube are just fine for INTERIM diagnosis. Say 5K to mybe 10K miles of operation. NOGOOD for permanant installation. Use a steel tube with good quality flex line at the firewall for permanat operation.