My car has just developed a rattling which sounds like it is coming from the top section of the engine. It is hard to describe the noise but it sounds a bit like a diesel. I have checked all the fluids and oil and all are spot on as my first thought was I need to top up the oil. Anyone know if these are easy to change? I think the best thing would be to change the oil as I have not changed it since I have had the car so who knows when it was last done.
What sort of noise it is? Is it a tapping noise or more of a loud rattle? If its a tapping, then change the oil and filter and stick a litre of ATF (auto transmission fluid) in with the oil, run it for around 500miles then change the oil and filter again If its more of a loud rattle then pop the v belts off and see if its still there, if it is then check the cambelt tensioner hasnt started to break up, i recently had this problem with mine and the bearings in the tensioner had broken up
It really is a loud noise. It sounds like a diesel engine. I will go round to my brothers tonight and see if he can have a look at it. He is able to fix anything on a car just hope this one is not a big one.
Just returned from my brothers who has been a mechanic for as long as I can remember. He suspected the tappets as soon as he heard it. It is definately coming from under the rocker cover. He took the rocker cover off and we checked the cam. The car has a kent cam on it. The odd thing is that the cams had hardly any oil on them at all. We changed the oil and it was almost like water it had deteriated that much. I have only recently purchased the car but the car had a new engine only a few thousand miles ago so you would think the oil would be better than this. Anyway this has not cured the problem. Also checked the tensioner and timing belt and all seem fine. Any other suggestions regarding the oil starvation?
clogged oil pump pick up? bad pump?! i would be getting a pressure gauge on that asap! If oils is not reaching the head sufficiently you could be in trouble
Sounds like you have an oil pressure problem... if you take the cam cover off, and turn the engine over on the starter, then you should see the oil splashing about and flowing into the head. Any I wonder if the previous owner primed the oil pump when they fitted the new engine? Do you have any sort of receipt / guarantee for the work, or was it a home-build? The oil pump is inside the sump. You can take the sump off with the engine in the car, and have a look. I wonder what sort of main bearings they used... the ones with the built-in thrust washers have a nasty habit of failing - could be that.
Yes it was a home fit and not a very good one at that. I will have a look at taking the sump off at the weekend. What sort of price do the pumps cost???
Can't remember - the cheap option will be GSF - have a look on their site. When you get the sump off, have a look and see if there are any metal fragments in the bottom (don't forget to drain the oil first ) Are you getting any oil pressure warnings, and have you checked to see if the senders are connected (the one on the end of the head is connected to the warning light on the dash, and the big one on the oil filter mounting block is for the buzzer). There's a test in the Haynes for oil pump wear, once you've got it off.
Took the sump and the pump off and the whole baffle plate had broken up into a million pieces and covered the gauze. Once this was all cleaned the car was running better than before. Thanks for your help.
I'm in a similar prdicament, my car sounds like a tank whenever i touch the accelarator. Could this be the tappets or something else???
Not too sure if it is the same flipper. Mine was whenever you would turn the engine on that it would sound like a diesel. Hope you get it fixed though.
