Engine sounds bad when cold

[pettaw]

Yup I would say tappets, and I can hear them from the moment it starts up. With the engine running at idle, open the cap on the cam cover where you would pour the oil...there should be loads of oil sploshing about there, if it looks a bit dry then there's an oil feed problem and you'll need a flush and redrain/refill.

If it all checks out OK, then you need to check the valve clearances themselves, the Haynes is pretty clear on the methods.

[Chris_C]

Anyone here with a very high mileage 1.7 know if they sound like that? I guess there's no way to prove it without taking the engine apart, or perhaps finding a load of swarf on the drain plug.

Fake's vavle clearances are out, and don't sound that bad from cold, and can't be heard after...

If we think it is that buddy, we can have a mini meet and do mine and Fake's at the same time, I have the Volvo special tool to lock the cam and get the shims out. Good luck.

[pettaw]

How do you know they're out? Unless you've checked them since last time I spoke to you (unlikely) Fake also doesn't have oil in it. It has a special mixture of tar and black hydrocarbons

[Chris_C]

It makes rattly noises from cold, and shakes But it's always done that....

Oil... yeah... erm... well... I have had a new batch of oil for 6 months or so under the cupboard... As long as thats not what Rich the housemate used to do the oil change on the bimmer over the weekend... hmmm, best look! He's already nicked all me tools...

[germ]

Anyone here with a very high mileage 1.7 know if they sound like that? I guess there's no way to prove it without taking the engine apart, or perhaps finding a load of swarf on the drain plug.

Fake's vavle clearances are out, and don't sound that bad from cold, and can't be heard after...

If we think it is that buddy, we can have a mini meet and do mine and Fake's at the same time, I have the Volvo special tool to lock the cam and get the shims out. Good luck.

same for me

take it back to the volvo place and say it sounds like crap.... bit of a coinsedence imo

[MJ]

Yes, I agree it didn't sound quite so bad in that video. In person, I'm not sure. Possibly a tiny bit better than the other day, but not really. It's very difficult to convey over the video, you really need to be there in person.

You can hear something from, the beginning Andy? It sounds normal to me until about a minute in. Maybe the tappets were a bit out before, as at the beginning it sounds normal to me.

I have no idea what it should look like under the oil fill cap, so I guess I'll have to try and do another vid for your views. Maybe I can try tomorrow morning before I leave. The plan is to set off early so the car has plenty of time to cool at the dealers and start from cold.

Is it ok to open the oil fill cap when the engine is running when warmed up, or only when cold, I don't want to get splashed with hot oil, but it'd be interesting to compare

Anyway, I wonder what the dealers will say. Thanks for all the suggestions I can fire at them

[MJ]

Right, took the car in to the the dealers early yesterday and left it to cool all morning. Got a call from mum later saying that the invoice had finally arrived and it said the oil was Castrol Magnatec A3 PR, not Castrol Magnatec 10w as it normally states.

Anyway, we went back early in the afternoon hoping she would have cooled enough and saw one of the experienced mechanics. He's been there for years, and we know him fairly well.

Started her up, and the noise came, although less than normal, probably still a bit warm. He reckoned it was the tappets, but didn't seem to concerned. He didn't think they really needed anything doing to them.

I asked about the oil and he said there'd been a change in naming, and thought that Castrol had changed their formulation a bit, although said it was still 10w-40. Looking at the Castrol website it calls the product "Castrol Magnatec 10W-40 A3/B3" It seems that A3 is some kind of European standard, but what is PR?

So he thinks it's nothing to worry about, so I guess I was just getting paranoid.

Oh, I opened the oil filler cap with the engine ticking over Andy, and there was a nice coating on the cam, and several bits of oil flicked out. Not quite sure if there was loads splashing about. How much should splash out?

And finally the invoice had a gasket listed, but there shouldn't have been any gaskets replaced, unless one was leaking. Anyone know what gasket V00011998 is?

And very finally the car rolled past 33,333 miles yesterday

Thanks again for all the help and advice guys. V3M Rocks!

[Nick C]

And very finally the car rolled past 33,333 miles yesterday

Well there's your problem then - it needs running in still

Give it another 50,000 miles and it'll probably be fine...

[Chris_C]

Lol... worryingly MJ's car has more mileage on it than mums when she sold it

MJ, drive your car...

[pettaw]

I reckon its the tappets as I say. And with the new oil not being so gunked up, it will have revealed the noise more clearly possibly. There should be quite a bit of oil splashing about in there, quite a good mist and spray out, if you're not careful it sprays out quite nicely. It sounds as though it is so that all seems fine.

The only slightly worrying thing was the way the oil pressure light went out quite so quickly. I would think it would go out just as the engine fires up rather than almost as soon as the starter turns over, so I would say possible oil flow problem. If you want the techies to hear the engine from cold, you'll probably want to leave the car with them to cool off completely.

The part number 11998 is the sump plug washer, so that's nothing to worry about. I have to say I would be doing an engine flush and a new filter and refill. And then I would see about checking the tappet clearances.

[jtbo]

Put Mobil 10w-40 in and it will be far worse rattling, I use Castrol 10w-60 Motorsport and that stops all rattles, but costs you lung and liver. Only best for my track car

My daily rider gets Delphi full synthetic 10w-40, it does cost next to nothing, that is just good as I need change oils every month and it is 7.5 litres
It does it's job, but really doubt that it is stopping any noises.

[srtames]

The clutch release bearing can sound rattley if the tickover is too low . I an assistant lies on the ground level with the bellhousing,you can hear it. Otherwise the garage has wrecked your cam followers by not piming the oil pump !

Good luck ,Steve

[MJ]

It wasn't the clutch, the clutch (well I assume that's what it is, could be the gearbox) always makes a funny rattly noise at tickover. Push the clutch in and voilà, that noise goes.

Anyway, never really got anywhere with it, although I haven't noticed it much since. Partly car hasn't been left idling so long before driving off, and also, I think maybe now the oils been used a bit, maybe it's thickened a tad. Anyhoo, cars been alright since bar a minor oil leak.

I noticed a tiny whiff of steam come from under the bonnet when investigating the rattle, and it came from the hot air intake cover over the exhaust manifold. I assumed it was condensation evaporating, but a few weeks later noticed a smoking oil smell. Well, I think some oil was escaping from around the fuel pump area, so I tightened that up a bit and it seems to have stopped. There was a fair bit of oil in pools on the top of the engine head, I ought to go and check if any more has arrived tommorow... Anyway, I was weary of tightening them much as the bolts go into the alloy head, but it seems to have worked.

Anyone know how tight such bolts can go, as I've heard threads in alloy heads can easily be damaged (without aid of a torque wrench, I must get one some time)

[jtbo]

I snapped 6mm bolt when screwing it into alloy manifold (used small key, too big muscles, lol), so I think you have to use quite lot of force to actually destroy threads. Good rule is to turn it as much as it goes easily and then 1/8th turn, but no more, with spark plugs it is 1/4th turn but those have thicker thread and seal that compresses when tightened, so 1/8th of turn to other bolts should be ok, imo.

[classicswede]

one thing I have had wth these engines sbut will not be MJ problem is the valve buckets refitted into the wrong locations.

When I stripped and rebuilt a head I managed to mix up two of the buckets and that caused a realy bad knocking noise as if there was a huge gap on one of teh tappets. After rechecking the clearances I sussed it out when the all were ok swapping the buckets eventualy sorted it.