Club 80-90 Forums

Hello people,

I am looking for some help from people who aren’t as tin eared as I am. My 1989 1.9 petrol recently started making a very odd noise under load on a lovely trip to Eilean Donan Castle through snow covered mountains. No real change in power I noticed but very ‘rattly’.

When I looked underneath the bracket which holds the front exhaust section had lost the bolt and clamp section and the exhaust pipe had split. I repaired this and the fix is looking good but with my head now under the van the engine does not sound happy.

It is rattly, appears to lurch every few strokes and is clattering. I cant feel any particular play in the engine and the exhaust looks well restrained - the whole lump is juddering.

Other fun symptoms - she really doesn’t like to start from cold or if a few days have passed. There was white exhaust on start up for a few mins (but she’s sat unrun for three weeks) and that appeared to dissipate) and she’s now going through coolant - I have topped up a litre in the last two trips. It may just be a radiator or coolant hose leak but the ground in Scotland is never dry to see puddles.

I am very afraid that someone is going to say head gasket but I can’t explain the noise with just a leak. I do have a coolant gas test kit so I’ll need to find somewhere to stick this in. Oil seemed fine and I don’t seem to be loosing any.

Can lovely people please have a listen and see if I’m just being an idiot - I’m too used to my 2002 three pot diesel so am a bit numb to noisy engines. Does this sound right?

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ouch

I would remove the rocker covers and make sure one of your Rocker shafts hasn't come loose.

has it got enough oil ?

when was it last changed as it sounds like lifters are clattering to me.

Regards
Rick

Thanks nick.

Oil changed 12 months ago. It’s still middle of the dipstick.

It previously was really tappety but I think it was 10/40 I put in... done about 800 miles since.

Should be changed twice a year, or every 3500 miles, whichever is first
Using 15w/50 or 20w/50 mineral.
Your engine is telling you it needs changing.

Then take it for a 20 min drive and give it some pedal.
The lifters need to refil with proper oil

Just checked - it was Morris 15w/40. I used the wiki recommendation

You reckon it could be just overly thin oil?

For the record,
Can you share the diagnosis of your noise please ?

Good afternoon. Sorry, rude of me not to return here

The van went to a Camper VW garage in Glasgow and his finding was that the engine was lovely and there were no untoward noises at all ‘you could sell that for a grand’ was the verdict. On driving home the noise wasn’t evident.

I believe that I have determined the source of the noise however...

The noise developed after I had repaired the section of exhaust and the holding bracket. I’m a slow worker so the van had been sitting on ramps at the rear for about three weeks. I think you see where I’m going here... it was steeply nose down for a long period and I ran it still up on the ramps. The noise went away when the van drove off the ramps for a few minutes.

I presume I stupidly didn’t realise that all the engine oil would have moved and so lubrication was limited for the time I ran the van to notice the noise and then record it.

All good now and the exhaust repair has made a huge difference to the general sound and also idle.




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People always presume the worst, until it is the worst, then they deny it.

kevtherev wrote:People always presume the worst, until it is the worst, then they deny it.

Yup! Worry about the worst, hope for the best, deny the obvious.


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