Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

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01-10-2007, 08:03 PM

bakertime

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Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

Alright, so not a Civic question, but my girlfriend's Elantra has what I think is a valve tap. It only taps in cold weather though (30 or below), and I wasn't sure if a valve tap would change with temperature or if it's probabaly something else.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Baker

01-10-2007, 08:06 PM

Misha

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RE: Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

Probably something else, unless it appears only on cold motor and disappeares as the motor warms up.

01-10-2007, 11:30 PM

bakertime

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RE: Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

Yeah it generally goes away as the motor gets heated up.

01-10-2007, 11:45 PM

Misha

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RE: Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

Well, than it probably is what you suspect.

01-11-2007, 06:42 AM

pimpciv98

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RE: Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

If it only taps in cold weather on startup, is that necessarily a bad thing.Mine does when I first start it in the morning.

01-11-2007, 07:54 AM

Red Hot Rider

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RE: Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

When it gets cold out, the oil thickens and it's harder for it to circulate around the engine quickly. Try running a thinner grade of oil, or switching to synthetic. In my Jeep I normally run 10w40 in the summer, and 10w30 in the winter. I'm still trying to figure out how to keep the squirrels in this thing happy. Not use to running on 4 cylinders...yet.

01-11-2007, 10:23 AM

bakertime

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RE: Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

Haha...She's actually running 10w30 Mobil 1 sythetic already...

01-11-2007, 10:44 AM

Red Hot Rider

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RE: Valve Tap affected by cold weather?

http://www.epinions.com/content_40125042308

Quote:

COLD ENGINE RATTLE

The biggest and most troubling unsolved mystery pertains to a VERY annoying "frog-in-the-throat" or "rocks-on-the-block" sound that occurs when accelerating in REVERSE or DRIVE in cold/damp temps. When the car warms up, the noise fades away. In the AM the rattle fades fairly quickâ€”in five minutes normal engine noise resumes. In the PM, it can take as long as 20 minutes for the noise to stop. The problem started in late 2001 and continues to this day. When I drive with a Hyundai tech (only 2x) the tech acknowledges that the sound is abnormal. Every time THEY drive the car without me during an AM test drive, they say that all sounds are normal. The only test they did was to measure valve clearances, which are apparently within spec. As a result, I took the car to an independent mechanic whoâ€”you guessed itâ€”suspects valve problems! If true, THIS IS BAD NEWS. Any valve sound that lasts more than two minutes will destroy an engine. Fortunately, everyone else who has heard it does not agree that it is a classic valve tapping sound. I did some digging online and found TWO cases that resembled my own. Both cases involved a faulty spring inside a tensioner that apparently controls the slack in the belt that drives the second cam chain. Until the engine heats up and the spring expands, there is some slack and the noise is the contact of the cam chain and the engine housing and/or sprockets. I'm getting nowhere convincing the dealer to replace tensioner, unfortunately. Unless Hyundai dealers can prove an obvious defect, they don't get reimbursed for labor or parts. Thank you, Hyundai USA, for making warranty work such a hassle.