iv been told that too :/ cant find any white marks anywhere.

leaks very very slow though take a week to half empty and i cover some good miles.

had the car on late 43000 miles now its late 46000

thanks for the tappet settings im off to road runner for feeler gauges (Y)

I wonder if putting some radweld in there might help address the coolant loss.

Rather not go the Radweld route until we know there's not a cheap component to replace

ok then tappets are done and nice and quiet, rattling persists and still losing coolant.

whats next? coolant or rattling?

and kenoneill i think it was you said check ignition timing? how do i go about this?

In my experience if timing is out the engine will run less smoothly than usual (these engines aren't the epitome of smooth anyway), and when pushed hard there will be a noticeable sort of kangarooing action. I believe poor timing can also lead to tracking (marks/burning inside the distributor cap). If the distributor hasn't been removed or disturbed the problem is probably not the timing. Although I have read a suggestion that a loose timing chain can help the timing go out.

One problem that occurred with my car is the distributor worked loose (I think something inside it broke) and had lots of play. If you take the distributor cap off and gently try to persuade the rotor arm to move left to right (do not use force) there should be very little or no movement.

But if the engine is running reasonably well I would try address the coolant loss first.

if i am to try and hold a constant speed in any gear from cold only then the car kangaroos and judders, theres a flat spot a bit before 2000 rpm and again at about 2500 rpm then at 3500 theres like a powerband untill 5000 rpm and then it dies out but in that power band theres no problem.

however in gear 5 on the motorway hot or cold the car seems to kangaroo again the same as i explained above..

any help?

I would check the rotor arm in the distributor for play first to rule out that issue.

Wouldn't hurt to replace the distributor cap, rotor arm, ignition leads and spark plugs first (if not replaced for a while) to see if that helps.

To sort out the timing, you need to put the car in 5th handbrake on jack up drivers front wheel. Remove distributor cap, turn drivers side wheel forwards and the rotor arm will rotate. On the crank there is a small blue dot on the bit closest the engine which is difficult to see (if you can't see it you may need to clean it up a little). There are also timing marks on the engine block which no doubt will be covered with grease.

You want to rotate the engine until the blue dot sits at the 0 mark on the engine block and the rotor faces towards the top. There is also a dot on the rim of the distributor near the top where the arm should point to. I was told here that the trailing end of the rotor arm should align with this mark to allow the ignition to advance (hopefully I remember correctly and it's not the leading end).

If it looks like the distributor will need adjusting, in my experience the distributor tube will not rotate easily in the extension tube unless it has just been recently removed along with the extension tube, but give it a try anyway by loosening the clamp bolt. If no luck remove the whole distributor by undoing the 2 bolts at the bottom. Separate the distributor from the extension tube. You will need a new O ring (19x2.5mm I think) and it may take some force. Re-insert distributor into extension tube and check the distributor is free to move to allow you to adjust it, put back in car, adjust so the mark aligns with trailing end of arm.

thanks, i have a week off work next week so i will try it then. but this wont help the rattling im assuming?

I imagine it will help the kangarooing - the rattling I'm not so sure. I wonder if the rattling is the timing chain loose and the kangarooing and rattle are both connected.

well i said timing chain, then i was told on here that if i can hear the tappets then the timing chain isnt loose? i dont see personally how that is though

i can get a chain and sprocket for £25 how long will it take to fit? bearing in mind i havnt ever seen a chain but i am quite mechanically minded

You need some other parts to do the chain. Not sure if this is a complete list or not.

Oil filter

Oil

Sump gasket

Timing cover gasket

Timing cover oil seal

It's not a job I've done myself yet, but I'd probably try to set aside an entire day if I was going to attempt it.

If the timing is out, it can make a noice called "pinking" (because some people think it sounds like someone sitting in the engine bay saying "pink pink pink..."), which is a similar volume to tappet rattle.

If the timing chain is loose, it is noisy!!

ok, if i was to try and record the sound the engine makes and post it on here does anyone think they could tell me what the hell the rattling is??

I believe you can get something called a mechanics stethoscope which you place on the engine block to determine the source of noises. My guess is the noise would be more evident from the timing cover if it is the timing chain - or more evident from the top of the cylinder head if it's valve related.

as your looking down the left hand side of the engine bay where the fan belt is thats where the rattle is from, i have been told now that it could be bearings, timing chain, it could be valve related and something else i cant remember what

i think i will just take my chances at changing the timing chain