1.9 watercooled - clanking!

[TonyS99]

I've had my 1989 Komet for about a year. I bought it with 105,000 on the clock and have added about another 5,000. The 1.9 petrol engine has always run smoothly. Until yesterday when I took it out for a spin.

There's an ominous clanking noise from somewhere in the engine. Sounds like someone's tapping the engine block with a spanner at every revolution.

It isn't the water pump - that's fairly new. I'm taking it to the garage on Wednesday to let them have a look. In the meantime, I'd be interested in any ideas anyone might have. Is it time to raid the piggy back for a new (recon) engine? Hope not.

[Ian Hulley]

If you don't use the van very often a tappet can drain and sound rough, the usual cure is to drive around for 15 minutes and they recharge and go quiet. Lesson is use them

Hope this is what's wrong with yours

Ian

[TonyS99]

Thanks, Ian. I use it every couple of weeks, and I drove it for about 10 minutes yesterday. Maybe I'll take it for a bit longer spin this evening & see if that does the trick.

Update: nipped home at lunch and drove around for half an hour. No improvement. D'oh! Maybe a tappet or valve??

[DevonAid]

Sometimes an oil/filter change helps if it hasn't had one for a while, then take it for a run.

[TonyS99]

I checked the oil level - just over MIN. So I bunged in a litre of 15W40 and cruised round the block for five minutes.

Clanking gone! Spoke to a mate who knows more about engines than me (buggerall) who says it was probably a tappet or valve spring. I'll have to make sure I keep the oil well topped up in future.

Hallelujah, and thanks to Ian and DevonAid for their advice which pointed me in the right direction.

[Ian Hulley]

You may need to be keeping an eye on that oil level. Peeps get used to modern cars and don't realise that they should still check the levels each day, at least till you get a feel for what's being used.

Ian.