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A classic Rolls Royce I'm considering buying has a noise from the hydraulic tappet - will an oil change solve this?

I'm looking at buying a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 2. The car is excellent with a new MoT by a trusted specialist but the engine has a tap from a hydraulic tappet. It has had little recent use and it is suggested that an oil change and use will correct the noise. Is this likely?

Asked on 6 December 2018 by Hugh Mayes

Answered by Keith Moody
You don't mention how many miles the engine has covered or if it's had any work done so it's hard to say. Yes, use and fresh (correct grade) engine oil could cure this problem. But you may also need to replace the tappet if the car has frequently missed oil changes or had the wrong grade of oil used. Worst case scenario is that oil starvation could have also damaged the camshaft.
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