I am considering purchasing a 1990 pearl white Z. However, it has a tapping constantly which the owner says is the lifters and he will have fixed.Could this mean other things could be damaged by driving the car with bad lifters?

 

i would be a little wary here, personally.

 

why hasn't he had them fixed before, if they are that bad ?

 

if the lifters are worn or not operating correctly hydraulically, then in extreme cases, the cams could be damaged too

 

i wouldn't pay a deposit on the car if i were you. wait until it has been fixed, and look at the paperwork.

If he has nothing to hide, ask where he will get the work done, and go and see them too.

 

Otherwise, there are plenty of Z's around to go look at...

 

just my personal opinion..

 

It's expensive to fix. And personally, I don't think I'd like to buy that unless it's a very recient thing or it's occasional (and he gets it fixed).

 

One of mine has stuck on very rare occasions after a cold start, but goes away after a quick blip on the throttle. People in the US fix this by running something through the engine to free them up. But in your case I'd want it fixed the proper way!

 

I think there are few of us out there with Higher Millage cars that dont have noisey lifters every now and again.

 

The Bad Side to this is that it could mean that the the car has not had regular Oil changes, The most common cause of noisey lifter syndrome on the Z is Gunk(knacked oil) clogging up around them and causing them not to operate within the desired tollerances. You would be OK, if the owner will Replace the lifter ( about 1800 Quid parts and labour at least) and provide a compression / leak down test. Also while the lifter at being replaced, ask the mechanic if they can do a runout test on the cams to see if there has been any damage to them.

 

It might just be that all the car needs is a full system flush and replacement oil and filter. This might clear the problem and it might be a great car on the other had you could have a knackered block which = POS.

The Americans use marvel mystery oil, which does less of fix the problems, just covers up the noise.

 

I would keep and eye on the car and see how he replies to the above. Dont buy without a Compression test tho plz. Im sure you can find better cars around without this problem.(if it is severe) unless you are on a very tight budget.

 

Z ya

 

Nico91TT