tappet ticking when cold

Hi Everyone,
Thanks in advance for reading my inquiry! My 77 450SL has a ticking noise when I first start it in the mornings. After several minutes, it goes away and then idles quiet. This also happens when it sits for a number of hours. Is there an adjustment on the valves that can be done? Have the manual, but it doesn't say anything about adjustments. Is this a serious problem, or do I just live with it? The car has 130,000 miles. Neatest car I've ever owned..Thanks again Ted

[JDUB]

I believe there is a valve adjustmenton the 450SL. I hang around my clients import repair shop that specializes in Mercedes Benz. He did a valve adjustment on a 450SL one day when I was there. I don't remember what year the SL was, I think it was a 75. The car had the cams replaced and a valve job. I remember what fun they had reinstalling the exhaust manifolds. It is something that is learned from experience. Bert said SL stands for SUPER LOUSY to work on.

I was searching through the archives and came across this post If you haven't fixed the problem yet. I also have a 77 450SL it has hydraulic(self adjusting)lifters. Take off the valve cover and check the rocker arms and camshaft lobes for wear. I had one of my rockers and camshaft replaced 30,000 miles ago which was 140,000 miles then. Sound like a coincidence?

[savagetom]

Checking your cam shafts is a good idea. If they are good then there is a better than even chance that synthetic oil will reduce or eliminate the noise. That is if you aren't using synthetic now.

[E2.3]

Hello Ted.
I experience the same thing on my 190e. It only happens when I switch to 20w-50, and it's a cool morning. When I have 10w-30 or 10w-40, no problem, might be the viscosity. What weight are you using?