Horrible rattling, any clues? VR6, PROBLEM FOUND, NOT

[mr_fusion 0]

Had a quote from partsgateway.co.uk for that "shaft with gear" for £28.20 all in which is 1/4 of the price from VAG, so I will defo be buying that one if it turns out to be the culprit..

[Toad 0]

Only downside is that I would have to keep the engine at my parents in shropshire and go up there and strip the bits I need and bring them back to london in a box as I live in a flat on the 2nd floor with NOWHERE to keep an engine.

 

That's a bit of a bugger.

 

Parts gateway are quite handy for stuff like that.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah I'd get that shaft set anyway mate.

 

Probably easier if you seperate the front pipe and manifolds mate, give yourself as much room as possible.

 

If the socket inside the gear has rounded out, you then need to find out what caused the sudden jolt to shear off the shaft.

 

If it were me, I'd replace the pump, shaft and the gear, even if from a donor car.....just to take everything out of the equation, chuck the sump back on and forget about it!

 

VR6s are tough, it will survive this easily.... the head components will go first, but as you only ran it briefly, it should be OK.

[mr_fusion 0]

Well pump and shaft are both new now, so only that gear left to swap.

 

As long as the intermediate shaft isn't busted then all is well.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Ah I thought you were reusing the old pump, I must have misread your posts....

 

Then yeah, replacing the gear is the last part in the chain! Thinking about it, if the shaft is only allowed to spin enough to generate 20psi, that would explain why the noise is constant when you rev the engine ?

[mr_fusion 0]

Well I have ordered the gear, will be here tomorrow

 

Sanburn Autos in Coventry, very friendly and helpful. Will defo use them again I think.

 

However, the guy I spoke to said that 20psi was really good oil pressure for that engine at idle.... maybe he thought that was a warm reading.

[mr_fusion 0]

Ok, exhaust manifold came off pretty easily. Nuts were not too tight at all.

 

After much swearing and knuckle scraping I managed to retrieve the shaft with gear from the engine.

 

There is some wear to the teeth of the gear (helical?) and the 90 degree gear that is on the intermediate shaft in the block is showing a small amount of wear too. See pics.

 

The shiny edges you can see should be flat, but have been worn almost to a point, so maybe the other gear is slipping of this gear?

 

Not sure if this amount of wear would cause the noise though, although it could be due to it not meshing recently, will see what the part i receive tomorrow looks like.

 

Second pic is for reference and shows how it connects down the drive shaft into the sump to drive the oil pump.

 

Main thing is that the hexagonal hole is NOT worn / rounded out.

 

Thoughts?

[mr_fusion 0]

Here is a close up pic of the teeth. You can see how half of the surface tapers off to a point, whereas it is flat where there is no wear.

[mr_fusion 0]

Just been looking through this again:

 

http://www.the-corrado.net/wiki/index.p ... ent_Part_1

 

Was wondering how easy it would be to access the intermediate shaft if it is this that is fecked.. nightmare of it is, defo out of my league :-(

[mr_fusion 0]

Got the new shaft with gear....

 

No sign of similar wear on this one, so current gear is defo contributing to my problem.

 

New gear teeth are of a slightly different design with a slight bevel on the ends of each tooth. See attached pic.

 

I was also pleasantly suprised to see that they had thrown in the cover and drive shaft for the oil pump as well! (at least I have spares now then :-) )

[mr_fusion 0]

Looking at this page http://www.schimmelperformance.com/Onli ... ngKit.html the intermediate shaft bearings are very simple metal sleeves, so I can't see much having gone wrong with them.

 

I am wondering if a piece of something has got inbetween the two gears and caused them to jam / unmesh at some point, hence the wear to the gear.

[mr_fusion 0]

Bad news then...

 

Changed the gear, greased it well and put the exhaust back on along with everything else and...

 

absolutley no difference with the noise, still clattering away.

 

So it's either the intermediate shaft (possibly bearings) or something situated around that area. Could even be valve related, I just don't know.

 

Looks like I will have to take it somewhere now as it's reached the limit of what I can do with it without pulling the gearbox etc..

 

:-( :-( :-(

[Lippy 0]

:( gutted mate

 

Think of it this way - atleast you didn't pay someone to do all that work and still get nowwhere...

[mr_fusion 0]

Well, here is whats happening..

 

I have bought an intermediate shaft for £40.

 

Place that did the work last time is fitting it and doing the bottom end for £250! (as long as they don't have to remove the engine).

 

Just need to get the car up to shropshire (140miles), so either:

 

a) get the AA to take it as I have Relay cover (not sure if they will do this yet though)

 

b) cheapest other quote I have had is for £175 + vat to take it on a trailer.

 

Anyone got any other suggestions to get it there?

[steve @ 0]

Hire a trailer if you have someone who can tow it. There about £35 a day. I ve trailed two cars back from london (60+) miles before. By far the cheapest.

[mr_fusion 0]

Some good news (of a sort)

 

The AA came out today to assess the situation. Turns out the AA guy drives past me quite often and has seen me working on the car.

 

He said that he thought "that guy looks like he knows what he is doing" as the C is invariably in bits and then back together again when he has driven past again.

 

Anyway, he basically then radioed back and explained the situation. They told him to find somewhere local for repair, but he told them "no, he needs the car transporting to shropshire". So, to cut a long story short, they are sending a transporter first thing tomorrow and are taking it straight up to the garage free of charge!

 

Now that's service for you!

 

Saved myself a lot of hassle and money there I think.

 

Along with the £250 I have been quoted to sort the problem and do the big end bearings etc, this still might have a happy ending... fingers crossed!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Well done mate..... there's a ray of sunlight at the end of the tunnel it seems!

 

The AA are brilliant. They've rescued me from a few self inflicted catastrophes. Once you mod a VR6, AA or RAC cover is a must, LOL!!

[Lippy 0]

great news! in your face RAC! :D

[mr_fusion 0]

Right then...

 

Car is now in Shropshire, garage can't start work till monday though.

 

Ordered ARP rod bolts for them to chuck on while there at it... pricey!

 

So, hopefully I will know what the problem is early next week and even more hopefully have it back again for next weekend!

 

Then the charging saga can continue.......... lots of shiny bits to fit..

[Lippy 0]

mr_fusion, shiny bits will make you feel better mate :)

[mr_fusion 0]

ok then....

 

car still ISN'T FIXED!

 

Bottom end bearings etc have all been done, car put back together , 85psi oil pressure when cold.. (2 weeks ago)

 

next day car started up, oil pressure good for a short time, then dropped back down and rattling started again. (1 week ago)

 

mechanic suspected the oil squirters... engine has been pulled, crank removed, squirters replaced, car reassembled... same as before... low oil pressure and top end rattling....

 

bugger...

 

is it possible that it is the cam bearings (failed because of oil starvation) and now contrbuting to rattling and low oil pressure?

 

Haven't had a bill yet and car has been at the garage for a month. stumped...

[mr_fusion 0]

any thoughts on the cam bearings as I will ask the mechanic to check them if this could be an issue?

[Toad 0]

Could it be something that is moving when the engine gets hot? hence the pressure dropping? like a crack opening up? Did it have a new oil pump? I'd try the cam bearings as this is the next logical place the pressure could be being lost at... Then i'd try a(nother) new oil pump... the relief valve could be knackered....

[mr_fusion 0]

yup, brand new oil pump

 

hoping its not a crack in the block though!

 

will enquire about the cam bearings then...

[Toad 0]

Doesn't sound too good. :( How close are the pressurised oilways in the vr head to the return? It wouldn't be impossible for the head gasket to leak oil back into the sump.... Very unlikely I suppose.

 

Try borrowing an oil pump to try... I'm sure that someone has a servicable unit that they have changed (maybe as part of a rebuild) that you could use to rule the new pump out. Also very unlikely, but you never know.