valve tap

[geezerstiva]

what the heck is it? and what does it do to the car?

[muscle_Car1]

its the mazda add oil indicator.
I think the HLA's getting plugged with engine sludge causes it. Not proper oiling to the lifters.

[Axlander9289]

De-Acronym HLA please.

[monkeyracing]

Hydraulic lash adjuster. If you're old school like me, you just call it a lifter. While it's not located the same way as a lifter, it's essentially doing the same job.

[b3 madness]

Looks like Geezerstiva's Festiva is an 88 therefore no HLAs. It does however have manually adjusted valve tappets.

When is the last time you adjusted your valves Geezerstiva? :dontknow:

[stefan]

its the mazda add oil indicator.
I think the HLA's getting plugged with engine sludge causes it. Not proper oiling to the lifters.

And when they do get plugged...? Anywhere describing how to fix it? Mine taps all the time.

[Dave G]

What I've done in the past with stuck ones is to soak the little suckers in carb cleaner for a few hours, then in a vice (with padded jaws) gently squeezed them until the plunger moves. Then just keep dunking in cleaner and moving the plunger in and out until they move easilly.

[geezerstiva]

i am very confused. i have no idea what you are talking about. :?
the only time i adjusted the valves was when we changed the exhaust valves last year.
what is a HLA?

[Dave G]

"Hydraulic Lash Adjuster". I think maybe you don't have them on your '88, though (especially since you say you adjusted the valves :-)). They are tiny little hydraulic cylinders that fit in the rocker arms where your's have adjusting screws. The problem is that over time they get gunked up and freeze solid, or start leaking badly and no longer hold pressure.

[geezerstiva]

what do they have in them? and when they do get gunked up, what do they do to the engine?