VR6 Rattle

[Storm Monkey 0]

After a lay-up of about 2 years I finally have time and a pressing need to get the Corrado up and running again. I started her up the other day and all sounded ok as far as I remember (I may be wrong). I decided to start with the 288mm and mk4 brakes upgrades as I know it needs brake work to pass an MOT, following which I could look at what else needs done. When I came to move the car to the workshop I got an almighty rattling from the engine. It sounds worse than our tractor and was definitely a damn sight quieter when it went into storage. I've tried to link a video with the sound at tickover.

 

http://vid336.photobucket.com/albums/n341/mulrain/20161011_213829_zpssdvn70ow.mp4

 

Ignore the clunk every few seconds.... the alarm sounder is shot and does that whenever the battery is connected (replacement is on my job list). From other youtube videos I'm guessing its timing chain slack but have a few questions:-

 

Does this sound like loose chain rattle?

Is there any way of checking the tension without dismantling the engine bay?

What is the fix? New tensioner bolt, new guides, new chain and all bits?

Is a lengthy lay-up likely to lead to this sort of noise?

Could it just go away as oil re-circulates or do I need it looked at?

Can I drive it? The garage i'd get to do the work is about a mile away. I have no time to do it myself.

Anything else I should get sorted if the timing chain gets done? Water Pump?

 

I didn't check the oil level since re-starting but it was ok when put away and didn't leak anywhere. I'll check this evening. The engine is a VR6 with about 70k on the clock.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

[Jim 1]

It's pretty hard to say, but I'm going to say I reckon it's just one of your tappets stuck... the car has been sat for some time as you say. I'd be really surprised if it's a tensioner issue and doesn't sound like the normal noise of timing chains at all.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Yeah could just be a lifter drained of oil. When fitting new ones it tells you to hold the revs at 3-4k for a while and then let idle and repeat until noise goes away.

[Storm Monkey 0]

Ok, thanks. I'll give that a go. It makes sense that the chain shouldn't loose tension by doing nothing.

 

Next challenge is the rear carrier bolts whose heads are buggered and skin the cat who has used my open bonnet as a slide.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

[Jim 1]

Ok, thanks. I'll give that a go. It makes sense that the chain shouldn't loose tension by doing nothing.

 

Next challenge is the rear carrier bolts whose heads are buggered and skin the cat who has used my open bonnet as a slide.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

 

Well the tensioner bolt is oil fed / pressurised by the oil system... so I suppose in theory it could suffer from lack of oil in the same way that a tappet could and take some time to fully re-fill... or may need bleeding? But it just seems unlikely. It just doesn't sound like noisy chains to me. People say they're more like a scratchy / marbles clicking sort of noise which this definitely isn't.

[robrado974 1]

Mine was the same after seven months off the road .It sounded awful. After checking the oil , I drove it for half a mile and it was just as bad . I left it running , then went out again and the rattle disappeared.

[fla 9]

I would remove the spark plugs and fuel pump relay and just crank the engine for a few minutes to build up pressure in the tensioner, tappets and to circulatevit without any load. Once the noise dies down then pop the spark plugs back in.

[Storm Monkey 0]

Well, next time I fired her up all was much quieter again. Still a bit tappety but as it always was. I git the brake swap finished, fixed the door handle, minded the mirror switch and took her for an MOT. She needed a new steering rod boot but passed with no other issues. My fears the exhaust was shot were unjustified. 22 years on the first exhaust isn't bad. All was good for a few days then I noticed an engine whine. It sounds like driving with straight cut gears, but isn't transmission. I dropped in to see my mechanic and he gave the auxiliary belt a quick squirt of WD which made no difference. He thought it sounded like it was coming from the top end, although the alternator was very hot so he was puzzled. Any body had anything similar? It is only just in service after a long layup. It's going in on Tuesday and they are going to start by removing the aux belt to see if the sound goes. Also going to drain and flush the oil system then take a look at the top end. I'm gutted as shes never put a foot wrong before this. Any ideas in the mean time would be helpful though......

 

Phil

[coullstar 0]

Try Plusgas over WD40, its like night and day for freeing things off.

 

Sounds like just things seizing up due to lack of use, I wouldn't expect much else after being sat for that long if it hadn't been started in that time.

 

You get some oil additive to help free tappets so run that for a while then change out the oil.

[Roger Blassberg 0]

The whining could be the serpentine belt tensioner bearing. Easily checked: relax the tension by screwing a long M8 bolt into the thread on the top, then spin the pulley by hand to check for rumbling or end float.

Could also be alternator or water pump bearings.

 

best wishes

 

RB

[Jim 1]

Yeah just get the serp belt off which is a doddle then try spinning all pulleys for alternator, pas pump, tensioner... see if any are loose on their shaft or extremely stiff. Should be pretty easy to find your culprit.

[knightrider 0]

Couldn't got your link to load but John Mitchell said knackered chains sounds like running a spoon over a corrugated iron roof.

[Storm Monkey 0]

It's in at the garage this week. The belt has been off and the noise was still there, so we can rule out alt, pumps etc. It's much more a whine than a clatter. They were going to change the oil this morning and add an additive of some sort with the hope that it circulates and reaches parts that perhaps have been left a little dry following its long layup. If that doesn't work, I'm at a loss.

 

Phil

[Roger Blassberg 0]

Does the whine go away , or indeed does it get louder, if you depress the clutch pedal? If the release bearing is dry or worn it will be noisy under load. If the release bearing fork is bent or cracked, the bearing may be contacting the pressure plate and spinning all the time and therefore be worn and noisy.

 

If the whine goes away when you depress the clutch pedal, it indicates worn bearings in the gearbox.

 

Obviously need to get the gearbox off to rectify these faults.

 

Best wishes

 

RB