MY MPV HAS LOW 20,'S MILEAGE AND THE TAPPING
SOLUTION IS DRIVING ME CRAZY. ONE MAZDA TECH TOLD ME
I WONT GET RID OF THE TAPS BY TAKING OUT + REPLACING/
CLEANING THE OIL LIFTERS IT COMES BACK .HE SAID TO
PUT IN A LITTLE TRANS FLUID FOR A WEEK THEN CHANGE THE
OIL THIS CLEANS THE LIFTERS. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT
THIS, IT WAS APRIL FOOLS DAY WHEN HE SAID THIS.HE ALSO
SAID THE TAP ISNT HURTING ANYTHING IN THE ENGINE. ANYWAY, MY TAP IS SPORATIC NOT JUST ON COLD MORNINGS ALSO WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT.AND OF COURSE DIDNT TAP WHEN TECH LOOKED AT IT.
ANOTHER MAZDA TECH TOLD ME TO HAVE IT SERVICED RIGHT AWAY THAT THE OIL WILL LEAK DOWN + DAMAGE THE ENGINE.
NOW IM SCARED MY WARRANTY RAN OUT IN JAN 2002. THE
DEALER HAS BEEN DOING REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND I TOLD
THEM ABOUT THIS NOISE IN JAN 2000 BUT =THEY SAID IT WAS
NORMAL SO I BELEIVED THEM, NOW IM SCREWED??ALSO I LIKE THE MPV BUT SHOULD I DUMP IT??
PLEASE RESPOND AS IM STARTING TO FEEL SICK ABOUT THIS
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK,SERVICE OR NOT>>

The tap tap tap tick tick or clink noise is the lifters a known problem in pre 1998 mpv's two causes are the one which you have been told and not enough oil comes on the rocker arm both cause the NOISE I just recently sold my 94 lx with the same problem it had 220 000 kms on it (180 000 miles roughly) it even had the bigger oil cooler and finaly we decided to sell it. Mazda can for 1000 flush the entire engine out with oil cleaning everything witch prevents the knocking for about 6000 miles but there are only two solutions 1 get rid of the van 2 put a new engine in it. Like I said before we sold our 94 with 180 000 miles for 4000 to a honda dealer on a trade in they in turn sold it for close to 8000 so work it out an engine costs somewhere in the top 4000 area maybe more Its just one of those things....

I have a ford probe with the mx6 engine which has the same problem it usually gets quieter when you have the oil changed. It is caused by dirt and deposits on the HLA's, or lifters, try using a bosch oil filter next time you have the oil changed because the ordinary fram filters let oil back in the engine and also try using Valvoline synpower oil it's expensive but works well. The oil is high in detergents which help keep the lifters clean therefore suppressing the tapping noise. Also check out this website- http://www.bradbury.cwc.net/probemx/index.htm

On my 1989, i just shut the engine off for a second or two, and turn it back on. Thats all it takes.

I obtained a maintenance manual on EBay for a 1988 929 which I bought a month ago. It started tapping about 2 weeks after I had it. It took a trip to the dealer to get a new one (about $30.00CDN), and replacement was nothing more than removing the valve cover, then the rail with the bad rocker/HLA (8 bolts), removing the HLA with a pair of pliers, popping in the new one, and reinstalling the rail. Whole job was about 3 hours, and that was for an amateur, me.

The other Chris is bang on....it's the HLA's (hydraulic lash adjusters). Best solution is to move to synthetic oil, however must also use good quality oil filter. Oil filters don't get the recognition they deserve. You need one that holds high amount of sludge/varnish. If it only holds minimal amount, backwash pushes back into motor, however high volume filter holds more contaminants.

Amsoil has the best quality filter on the market...

If you can't afford this, have regular normal quality oil changes done every 1500 miles for approx. 3-5 changes. This will help eliminate excess deposits.

The other Chris is bang on....it's the HLA's (hydraulic lash adjusters). Best solution is to move to synthetic oil, however must also use good quality oil filter. Oil filters don't get the recognition they deserve. You need one that holds high amount of sludge/varnish. If it only holds minimal amount, backwash pushes back into motor, however high volume filter holds more contaminants.

Amsoil has the best quality filter on the market...

If you can't afford this, have regular normal quality oil changes done every 1500 miles for approx. 3-5 changes. This will help eliminate excess deposits.

Hey i have a 1990 mpv with 240,000 miles on it and i have also owned 2 929's with the same engine and same problem.Everyone is Bang on just have to take note of one thing,Mazda released a new HLA "hydraulic lash adjuster" that prevents the deposit buildup problem if you do replace the HLA's Make sure that you have the updated units not the stock ones that you may find in some autoparts,I replaced them in my 929 only to have the problem happen again within a few thousand miles.
Just wanted to help out

My 89 929 developed it at 30,000 miles. That bang is a pain. Come visit me at www.my-mazda-stinks.com and see my page on this.

Well, your HLA is the source of the tapping. Yes you ARE doing some damage if you do not correct it. There is some slack in the "valve train" between the camshaft and the valve stem itself. You are pounding the components. Like a hammer swinging only a tiny space (a few thousands) .... but it eventually takes a toll.

As I understand it .. if you change your oil OFTEN you avoid the problem. So far it seems to be working O.K. for me. I change my oil on my 626 every 1800 miles (or so). The car gets nothing but ABUSE in my hands and with 150 K miles it is still purring.

You CAN and SHOULD do the job yourself. It is not that hard.

I am having a time with tap tap too, I was adviced to put 2 cans of cd2 in the oil, fill gas tank with chevron gas add 1 can of texron to gas tank ,at around 200 miles to have the oil changed useing moble 1 synthetic oil, after doing all the above still hear a slite tap tap, had the oil changed to day and plan tp take a 300 mile trip tomorrow, hoping this will solve my problem. what else can I do//

...you may still have a broken 'O' ring in one of your HLA's, and no amount of liquid mechanic is going to fix it. It's really not a big deal to locate the offending little bugger(s) and replace. I followed the manual procedure and did mine in a couple of hours.