1.6 GTI Xu5ja noises :(

[Chadney 0]

Hi all, 

 

I have a 1989 1.6 GTI that I went for a little run in over the weekend. Half way home a rattle/knocking sound started to come from the engine. It came in in a instant, with no loss of power or change in running at all so I pulled the rocker cover off and took a few pictures and a audio clip. What are the possible issues? I have been told possible oil starvation could have caused it. Whats the best way to narrow down what the issue could be? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

AUD-20210308-WA0007.mp3

Edited March 8, 2021 by Chadney
Audio file not working

[Chadney 0]

Just a bit more information about the car, I have owned it for 20 years it was my first car, it was sat in a garage for the last 14 years until my dad caught Covid right at the start of this craziness, and spent a few weeks in hospital when he got out he needed something to keep him busy a so he decided to get a start or the 205, engine wise not much was done just the usual new spark plugs, oil filter, timing belt and tensioner, starter motor, water pump, fuel lines and the new oil I used is Liqui Moly Top Tec 4100 5w40 Fully Synthetic Oil. other than that it has also had new suspension all round and a new rear axel.

I'm sure there is some stuff I've missed

its quite high milage at about 140,000. it sounded as smooth as butter before this noise came on, although I remember a slight knocking before I took it off the road and garaged it many moons ago, its all stock nothing custom as I want to keep it as original as possible.

Thanks,
Gary.

 

[DamirGTI 342]

Sounds more like ticking sound .. exhaust manifold , manifold-to-downpipe mesh ring , valve clearances , top timing belt metal covers .

 

Unlikely to be the oil problem , internal spinning metal parts (cams , cranks , conrods ..) turn blue colored if there's lubrication problem .

Might just take off the cam oil spray bar and see if there's any metal shavings bits of the RTV sealant and similar inside .

 

Check around the exhaust manifold for cracks as that's very common , and leakage around the base/mating surface manifold-to head especially on the corners left and right .. inspection mirror helps .

Downpipe mesh ring can be checked with an piece of tissue paper (exhaust manifold to head seal as well) , tear an piece of tissue paper , start up the engine and either with hands (but best to wear gloves) or tape the tissue paper on a stick piece of copper wire or similar and run it all the way around the downpipe joint (exhaust manifold gaskets too) - if it's leaking the paper will start flopping around the leak spot . Can feel for the leak spot even with bare hands , but must be careful cause the heat of the exhaust .

 

If that's all good , id proceed by checking the valve clearances ... and top metal part of the timing belt cover , this one tends to make all kind of noises if bent or loose fit on the head .

 

D

[PhilNW 44]

Does it change/go away with changes in RPM?

[Chadney 0]

2 hours ago, PhilNW said:

Does it change/go away with changes in RPM?

it seems to me to just get faster as the revs go up, ill grab a sound clip with a  change in revs and upload it.

 

 

3 hours ago, DamirGTI said:

Sounds more like ticking sound .. exhaust manifold , manifold-to-downpipe mesh ring , valve clearances , top timing belt metal covers .

 

Unlikely to be the oil problem , internal spinning metal parts (cams , cranks , conrods ..) turn blue colored if there's lubrication problem .

Might just take off the cam oil spray bar and see if there's any metal shavings bits of the RTV sealant and similar inside .

 

Check around the exhaust manifold for cracks as that's very common , and leakage around the base/mating surface manifold-to head especially on the corners left and right .. inspection mirror helps .

Downpipe mesh ring can be checked with an piece of tissue paper (exhaust manifold to head seal as well) , tear an piece of tissue paper , start up the engine and either with hands (but best to wear gloves) or tape the tissue paper on a stick piece of copper wire or similar and run it all the way around the downpipe joint (exhaust manifold gaskets too) - if it's leaking the paper will start flopping around the leak spot . Can feel for the leak spot even with bare hands , but must be careful cause the heat of the exhaust .

 

If that's all good , id proceed by checking the valve clearances ... and top metal part of the timing belt cover , this one tends to make all kind of noises if bent or loose fit on the head .

 

D

actually, it did come on on quite a bumpy road, ill go through everything you have mentioned and report back.

and a massive thank you to both of you for taking the time to reply, hopefully, I can be a useful member of the forum once I have had to figure out more issues in the future which is inevitable and part of the fun of having a classic 

I'll upload some pictures to the Drivers Cars section of the rebuild so far, it's far from pretty atm but I'm working on it

Thanks,
Gary
 

[Chadney 0]

Right sorry for the delay, lifes been a bit crazy for a couple of weeks .

 

It seems to have gone which is a bit strange back to normal with no rattle, I'm assuming whatever was causing the noise has fell off, hopefully not obviously. Now I have a bit of a squeak on the near side front I assume from the bearings on the front so I have that to look into now too. Again thanks for the replys