- My model of MX-5 is: MK3 NC 2.0 Option pack4. __
- I’m based near: Hull__
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Top end hydraulic valve lifter treatment, for a brief second when starting from cold there is a rattle from the top of the engine, i assume this is before the oil reaches the lifters, i see you can by hydraulic valve lifter treatment to add to your oil, will this improve things or at least clean and project the lifters etc.
Cheers__
I would be unsure of the effects of this as the 2.0 MZR engine doesn’t have hydraulic lifters . I am sure someone better than I will be along soon with some ideas.
Kev
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Sometime ago I read a thread on MZR 2.0 engines, on a Miata forum, that determined the lifters are solid and at 70,000 miles need a listening test. The suggestion was that if noisy the lifters should be replaced with ones of the correct dimensions. Apparently there are no shims for this adjustment as in some older OHC engines. Hope that helps. Personally I would not use any oil treatment product to dampen engine noise unless it was to tide me over until I was ready to take it to the scrap heap.
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Ok thanks for the info, it’s due an oil and filter change next month so was going to do engine flush before that and then the top end treatment but I’ll give that a miss, the rattle is very brief, barely a second.
Thanks again.
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The lifters on the MZR 1.8 and 2.0 are not hydraulic - they are shim buckets.
I have just reconditioned my 2.0 at 83k miles. It needed 6 shims changing to bring all 16 valves in to spec. There was no tapping to indicate it needed doing.
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Shim buckets, that would explain a lot of the confusion on the forum I mentioned earlier between shims and solid lifters. So one can get shim lifters in different sizes not solid lifters 
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Yes - the cam follower is a shim bucket - it has the shim built in to it.
To adjust the valve clearance - you need to change the shim bucket.
Unfortunately - you can’t see the shim size until you get the bucket out.
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I cleaned the MAF sensor and changed the spark plugs yesterday, when it came to removing the plugs 3 of them weren’t even finger tight and the 4th one if anything was overtightened, it also transpires that the old NGK plugs weren’t the correct ones, they were for the 1.8 engine not the 2.0, so I’ve now put the correct NGK plugs in, finger tight plus half a turn,put everything back together, started the engine and no rattle.
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You’ll probably find it runs a bit better now 
yeah just a bit, the cars 17 years old done less than 56k, I’ve had it five years so thought I’d change the plugs, couldn’t believe it when i took the old ones out, new ones have made a difference definitely.
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