Club 80-90 Forums

hi all just taken my 1985 1.9 watercooled camper for a spin prior to my 6 hour plus trip to newquay in two weeks time..

trouble is it seems to have developed a strange "ticking" type sound coming from the engine bay that wasn't there before. this noise definately wasn't there the last time i drove it. it doesn't make this noise from idle but starts when i reach about 25mph + and gets louder the faster i go.
then "winds" down when i decrease speed.

it's more annoying than anything, but i hope it's nothing serious
any help much appreciated.

cheers andy

It's very difficault to diagnose on a forum but ticking noises are obviously mechanical and this one is connected to engine speed various things tick in the engine bay the most notorious would be a tappet.
Hydraulic tappets will empty of oil with infrequent use. but a good run will recharge it/them.
I'm sure others wil contribute

thanks kev, i understand it's difficult for anyone to know what a problem is without actually seeing, hearing it.

i think in my limited mechanical knowledge it could be a tappet. if this is the case what would be the best way of going about fixing it?

would i be able to attempt my long drive to newquay with this noise?

tappet quietening can be acheived by an oil change. Pre-trip over sensitivity can lead to all sorts of problems. I have a memento moret of a spark plug on my grab handle in the cab to remind me of the time I killed the engine in my bay rather than leaving it till I got back from hols and fixing it properly. Ended up getting a shagged replacement engine fitted whilst on holiday. leave it alone, ticking I'd say is not the end of the world, wait til it starts THUNKING or GRINDING!

t25heaven wrote:would i be able to attempt my long drive to newquay with this noise?

I think a long drive might just cure it

Listen to the sound file in the wiki of my engine when it was poorly....

I thought it was a tappet, and did several hundred miles without any problem. When I finally got round to getting it fixed, it wasn't a tappet after all but something else in the valve train.

Anyway, what I learned is that noises do need looking at, but these magic VW engines will wait patiently for you to get round to it. Relax.

I get the impression from your post that you don't run the engine regularly? If that's the case, it almost certainly will be a tappet that has gone dry. Take the van for a nice gentle run about for 45 mins or so. Once warm and 'exercised' I'm sure she'll purr like a kitten!

hi thanks for the fast respose from everyones a ever

yes dan you are correct i don't use my van regularly, my comanys' sprinter and their fuel card being the main reason ( if only my t25 was a diesel )

i really need to give her an oil change as she was stood for nearly 2 years when i bought her, trouble is she's been draining my holiday money every week since i bought her. just gave her some fresh g12+ antifreeze, which stung my pocket too!

i guess i'll have my well deserved first trip in her and take it from there.

cheers andy

just check the all the exhaust joints as well when it nice and hot , some times a ticking sound can be mistaken for air leaks in the system, not offen but ometimes

It could be a nail or screw in a tyre.

Finding the source of noises like this isn't tooooo difficult. Old mechanics trick is to use a long screwdriver. Put the end of the handle to your ear and touch various parts of engine (avoiding belts etc) and you should locate it very quickly - or at least the rough area its coming from

hi again,

just been out in the camper again to see if this noise is still there, and it is.

i thought i'd try rolling in neutral to see if this ticking type sound is still present and it is. i'm assuming this noise is now coming from one of the rear wheels.

is it possibly a wheel bearing? if so how easy are these to fix?

regards andy

Could well be a CV joint. There's four of them to choose from. For starters take off the driveshaft you're suspicious of and swap it around and see if that makes any difference to the clicking. When it's off you can inspect the joints to see how dry or not they are (the grease dries up over a long time). Replenish the grease if needs be.

i've now established this noise is coming from the o/s/r hub, i've raised the rear of the van and taken the wheel off. i span the hub round and could hear a rattling sound in there.

is this the wheel bearings making this noise or something else?? and how difficult/pricey is this to fix?

thanks in advance

andy

retaining spring on one of the pads? They rust out those things.

I've not experienced a wheel bearing go on my van but have on other vehicles. The sound when running is a continuous, middle pitch, gentle grinding. With the wheel off the ground it will just sound quietly rough (and may feel rough as well) as you spin it, but I've not encountered a rattling sound from a wheel bearing. Also with a bearing gone or going you would feel side play on the wheel if you grip it on opposite sides and try to "rock" it.

A rattling sound might be something loose in the brakes, spring, adjuster clip perhaps.

Hope you sort it
Jim