Tappets or pinking? (a question from a non-mechanic)

Can anyone help?

For sometime (12 + )months my H reg Clipper has been making a quite loud tappety noise which I thought was down to age of engine and 120K miles. Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it doesn't.

 I finally remembered to change the air filter at the weekend and discovered it was double filthy (black and gungy).

 Now this has been replaced the "tappets" noise seems to have disappeared. Do you think the noise I heard previously could have been pinking or is it a co-incidence the noise disappeared after replacing my air filter?

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers

Willy.

Oddly, I have the same issue with my Clipper, the tappets appear to be very loud on some days, then disappear the next.
Although, I have a brand new air filter on mine so for me, that's not the problem. AFAIK the tappets are hydraulic, so I just assumed they were worn and needed adjusting.
If anyone else has a solution I would be glad to hear it too lol 8)

Pinking will happen when driving the vehicle, usually in a high gear and applying some throttle or driving up a hill and is irregular tinking that can get louder- the precursor to detonation.

The tappets will do it when stationary, usually at startup and somethimes cycle in and out of noise production.
Might be worth changing the engine oil and filter first and see if that helps to quieten them down.
If theyre noisy all the time then theyre due for replacement unfortunately.