car surgery....

[bella]

help.

my car is making a dodgy noise. apart from the suspension creaking every time someone gets in the car, and missing a cylinder in the mornings.

when it's cold, and sometimes when it's warm, it's making the loudest ticking noise you'll ever hear. sometimes i can get rid of it by revving right up to about 5000, sometimes it'll come back, and usually it just disappears randomly when it warms up a bit.

i know bmw's have problems with tappits, but isn't that more of a continuous problem rather than an 'i'm cold, thrash me down the motorway for a while' ailment.

of course, if i go down to the garage, it's not doing it. little sod.

anyone got any idea what it is?

(car has a 4 cylinder 1.6l engine. is 12 years old, 130,500 km on the clock. has just had a service, engine is in reasonable nick. needs a hoover.)

[Ray Bell]

Check sway bar rubbers for the creaking.

[woodyracing]

cam shafts usually make a tapping noise, i think the wrong type of oil can sometimes cause this. ???

[Ray Bell]

What car is it?

If it has a timing chain with the Renolds type tensioner, which is loaded by oil pressure, then it could be this. I have had two of them that have made a noise you would swear was a big end bearing gone, but it goes away again.

Of course, if it has a cam belt, forget that.

[bella]

it's a 1989 bmw 316i old body shape.

could it be the timing belt? (think that's what it's called) not sure if it's been replaced during the service or not..

at first i thought it was not having any oil. checked oil. plenty of it. doesn't drink much oil, doesn't drink much petrol to be honest.

hmm....

[Ray Bell]

I'm not altogether sure, but I think your car has a timing belt rather than a chain.

Timing Belts must be changed within the stipulated period in the owner's manual. They can and do break and leave you stranded, often with bent valves that make a major repair job of it rather than routine maintenance. A tatty one could conceivably make some noise, however. And the noise could go away as pieces broke off.

One problem is, of course, that you are not very specific about the noise.

[bella]

it's a metallic ticking noise, that sounds like it's from one cylinder. it speeds up when i rev the engine, and slows down when i rev the engine.

and i think it's got a belt rather than a chain.