Hi all, just been to my friends garage for a natter. He said his 2000SC rattle has got worse over the course of last year. We did the bearings last year when we had the sump off. They looked OK but replaced anyway. Good oil pressure. Had the head off to do broken valve springs and the normal head seal oil leak last year and the cam looked good. No top end noise at all. Do these things have problem with piston 'slap' ? Seems to improve as it gets hotter, which would suggest that may be the issue. No noise when on idle, only when revved. No smoke from the back end and doesn't seem to use oil. Showing 70k with old history. Any ideas welcome. Cheers.
2000 engine rattle
- Thread starter jasper53
- Start date
Both chains and tensioners were done last year as they were rattling. Did them while we had the top and bottom off the motor for other jobs. Engine has to be at normal temp before it gets any better. Oil light stops on for three or four seconds when starting from stone cold, assume while it fills the oil filter. Once hot it goes straight out on startup. Bottom end would get worse as the oil got thinner I would think? Pistons would get a bit bigger with heat? Might try retarding the ignition right back while its running and see if a bit less compression helps. Might answer a question or two? If you stick a pipe in your ear the noise is certainly midships on the motor not the top or bottom. Noise is only apparent when revving the engine, or on power acceleration etc., quiet on idle and overrun. Our car does it a little bit but goes off completely when hot. Strange engines.
The behaviour of the oil light sounds usual, and if all your chains and tensioners have been done, it's probably not there. What sort of rattle is it? Not the same as the timing chains, I assume? A clicking-clacking or more of a knock-knock. Have you taken the cam cover off? If could be an excessive valve gap, or something else broken/loose.
This happened to me years ago...
This happened to me years ago...
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The pump does stay primed when the engine is switched off thanks to a small rectangular reservoir/header above the pump itself. So it's not pulling on air on start-up. But I would agree, a non-return filter would help. Although it doesn't sound like that's related to the symptoms Jasper is experiencing.
Thanks for all your replies. Oil is apparently due for it's yearly change. I'll make sure he gets a correct filter, though I'm sure the one that is on is correct. The noise is certainly a regular loud tap, probably more than one cylinder if not them all. Seems odd it is only under load. When on idle everything is quiet. Cam clearances were done while in bits and are quiet. All the valve springs were replaced as two were broken. Crank bearings were also replaced. Mains were done as well as we had the gearbox out to replace the rear main seal. Shaft was measured up and was in great condition and as mentioned the old bearings looked as good as new when taken out. He has only really noticed the noise more since we did the timing chains and tensioners as they were totally knackered and making a good racket, drowning out any other noises! We'll be taking it to our workshop shortly to sort a sticky front caliper, so we can have another play. Thanks again for all your thoughts.
Just swapped the oil and filter for Mark. Housing has a stand pipe and the old and new filters have non return and anti drain valves. The automatic side was fine last year when we had the box out. Harvey gave us the info on what to check and how. Checked the bolts today, all secure. The sound is definitely in tune with the cylinders. Had an old boy in today who worked on them as a lad and he reckons piston wear 'slap' was a common fault. To such a degree that the sump could end up full of piston 'skirt' fragments, but the car keeps going. This car has no bits in the sump, but the noise could be the start of the process? He did suggest running the engine at around 2000rpm and retarding the ignition which will reduce the compression. This would relieve any stress on the pistons and bearings. See if the noise is better or the same? We'll keep looking.