1.9 Petrol Metallic Knocking, Tapping Sound

[discostu117]

I started my van today and noticed a new and alarming sound from the engine. It is a metallic knocking or tapping sound which increases speed with higher revs.

I regularly leave the van for up to a week between trips and have never experienced this problem since I purchased it in October last year.

The only change to how I use the vehicle has been that I recently started using 15W40 Semi Synthetic to top up the oil. I have driven about 500 miles since starting to use this oil and used approx 2 litres over this time just to top up. The weather has also been noticeably warmer this week if that makes any difference.

Please see the video I have taken which should highlight the sound the engine is making. I have only driven about a mile in it since noticing the sound today for fear of damaging the engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z79tRCn--7I

Any ideas of what this could be and is it safe to drive at least as far as a local garage?

Thanks, Stu

[Mocki]

Firstly drop your rocker covers off and check the nuts holding the rockergear havent come off of loose.

then

change the oil and filter, and put proper mineral oil in.

you cannot mix mineral oil and sympathetic.

its tappet rattle, it should go away within 20 miles or so , dont over rev.

you really need to see to the oil useage, you appear to be loosing, or using half a sump full every 500 miles.

[discostu117]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply. Not being the most mechanically minded I will get it sorted at a local garage.

A mechanic friend said it wouldn't matter mixing part synthetic with mineral oil but he's not used to working on T25's specifically.

I have been surprised with how much oil the van gets through but there are never any signs of oil leaks so I assume the engine is just using that much oil.

Will it be alright driving the van for a bit before getting the oil changed etc?

Thanks very much!

[Mocki]

you cannot mix mineral and sympathetic oil in anything!

You need to go to halfords (or simular) and purchase 5l of 15x40 mineral oil and change the oil asap.

the noise you have is the hydrolic lifters not filling with oil and therefore rattling. gentle driving shouldnt be a problem but please remeber we can only go on what you are telling us, we cannot see and hear what you can, even with the video clip.

if its burning that much oil you do need to look at it.

[NicBeeee]

And dont forget to change the oil filter to

[CovKid]

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=84010" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Next to "whats the right oil for my van?" its the most frequently asked question on here.

[discostu117]

Thanks,
Really appreciate your help. I'm going to get it booked in with a local garage who deals with VW's as I need a few other things checking out so might as well get the oil and oil filtered changed at the same time. I think I might get a full service as well just to be safe as not sure when it last had one. So I'll just be driving it a short distance to the garage while in its current noisy condition so hopefully shouldn't cause too much damage.

Cheers

[kevtherev]

...Specifically ask for mineral 15w 40 at the garage.
You won't do any damage.. this is quite normal in flat four engines that have stood for a while.
As said a 20 minute drive will fill the lifters back up and they will be quiet

[yorkierob]

aah! thank god for this forum as I've had mine stood for the last few weeks whilst doing prep work on him I noticed the very same noise upon starting last night. Was thinking in my limited knowledge that it was a big end bearing or something major
relieved for the time being now back to the sander

[discostu117]

So I have got the oil changed to 15W40 Mineral and the oil filter changed. I've took it for a run for about 10/15 minutes and its still quite noisey. Hopefully another drive tomorrow should sort it out as I'm planning a 200 mile trip to the south coast on Friday along with lots of traffic I expect.

If the noise doesn't stop with a bit more driving would I be silly to drive it this far without getting it properly looked at?

I may not ended doing the journey anyway as I've noticed the accelerator sticking where it keeps revving after the pedal has been released and raised back.

Oh the joys of an old van

[kevtherev]

Not enough driving to stop it
it needs a good drive...30 mins.

[Ian Hulley]

Tappet noise is a classic sound of the VW WBXer engine ... as a daily driver I can tell by it's tone when it's time to change the oil

* I hope all the 3 month veteran experts have read this.

Ian

[kevtherev]

Do you think our resident 3 month expert new that?

[discostu117]

Great, thanks for putting my mind at ease.

Helpful as always. Bring on the weekend road trip and a tonne of other cars on the road.