Scirocco Register

Try A.V.S here http://www.vwspares.co.uk/scirocco_other.php

Had a set of theirs in my roc for the last 4 years,with no probs

Nice one - I'll give them a shot if the ATF doesn't do the trick.

Quick update on this...
Changed the oil last night for 10w/40 Magnatec after about 150 miles with a litre of ATF added.

Net result: Still bastard noisy on warmup, and occasional tappet noise when warm.

Not a lot of difference then. I think it's just one tappet that's making the racket, so I reckon a replacement set will be the easiest way out of this.

Does anyone else find that they have irregular tappet noise when warm even with decent tappets? Will replacements fix the issue?

I replaced my tappets and it did make a considerable amount of difference, but I still occasionally get a little bit of noise.
Even if you replace the tappets your camshaft may be worn, allowing for a little bit of play between the followers and the lobes. This may cause some tapping.
You might therefore have to replace the cam if you were wanting to completely eradicate this

Replacing the tappets is a fairly easy job as long as everything is properly torqued and lined up when you are finished. If you set your timing marks at TDC first you shouldn't have a problem.

scirocogtx wrote:I replaced my tappets and it did make a considerable amount of difference, but I still occasionally get a little bit of noise.
Even if you replace the tappets your camshaft may be worn, allowing for a little bit of play between the followers and the lobes. This may cause some tapping.
You might therefore have to replace the cam if you were wanting to completely eradicate this

Replacing the tappets is a fairly easy job as long as everything is properly torqued and lined up when you are finished. If you set your timing marks at TDC first you shouldn't have a problem.

Hydraulic tappets self adjust, so that shouldn't be an issue.

What he said. I think it's probably a single dodgy tappet, but with no way to identify which one, I'll just replace the lot. On the plus side, changing from 20w/50 to 10w/40 has made my engine nicely revvy... Time to take it for a proper spin I think!

Provided that all of the cam lobes are evenly worn and not scored, the tappets take up any play.
I would inspect the cam to check for signs of wear or damage. Worn camshaft lobe(s) can speed up damage to followers.