M43 - Chain rattle sound on cold start up

[Alin S]

As the title of the thread says, I am having a bit of difficulty figuring out what causes a metallic chain slapping type rattle on cold start-ups. The engine is an M43 with 66k on the clock.

My immediate thought was timing chain and/or tensioner but due to the low mileage of the car it seems a bit extreme to incurr such a high cost without looking at other possible causes. Maybe oil weight?

Any suggestions would be more than welcome. Hopefully someone else has had this problem in the past.

I am certain it's not the alternator belt or the starter motor solenoid as they have both been replaced recently.

Thank you

 

[t-tony]

Has the oil been changed recently? If you're sure the noise is coming from the chain I would be tempted to run some flush through and change the oil and filter first of all.

Tony.

 

[Alin S]

Has the oil been changed recently? If you're sure the noise is coming from the chain I would be tempted to run some flush through and change the oil and filter first of all.

Tony.

Oil was changed last year in October. Coming up to its oil change soon. No idea what viscosity was used to be honest but could that be a factor?

 

[t-tony]

Oil was changed last year in October. Coming up to its oil change soon. No idea what viscosity was used to be honest but could that be a factor?

Certainly a possibility, could be the filter has partially collapsed, we see it often on Vauxhall cars at work.

Tony.

 

[Synclare]

To support what @t-tony say's here is an oil filter from a low mileage M43 engined Zed I removed three days ago - nearly turned itself inside out and more worryingly there are missing pieces of the filter end cap!

 

[Alin S]

An oil filter change appear on my last oil change invoice, so should be less than a year old. What viscosity oil do you guys use?

Any other ideas? It's driving me crazy. It's a very intermittent fault but most of the time it happens when the car has been sitting for a while, 8-12 hours.

 

[t-tony]

For what it would cost, and if you can do it yourself? Get some oil and a new filter and some flushing oil and change the oil and filter. The filter may only be a year old but what quality was it?

Tony.

 

[colb]

Agree first thing is change the oil and filter but before draining it put a engine flush in it and run it up to temperature, follow the instructions on the flush then drain the oil and refill with Synthetic 5w 40 oil, run mine on that and all is good. Semi Synthetic also ok to use if your on a budget. Opie Oils are usually quite good for prices and delivery, I use their
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-2354-lo...18:0,98436:0,98576:0,119225:0&yearFilter=2000
I use their
Fuchs TITAN SUPERSYN 5W-40 High Performance, Fully Synthetic Engine Oil.
Always check Halfords for offers on their oil, they often have 2 for 1 on their own brand and there is nothing wrong with their Brand, it's made by Comma Oils for them.
You can pick up the engine flush at Halfords as well or any good factors or Opie Oils who sell a number of makes, Valvoline is a good one.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-84460-valvoline-vps-engine-flush-v1.aspx
If you have got 66k on the clock fair bet is that the valve lifters are coated and maybe a bit sticky until warmed up. Best thing I did was use a flushing product when changing the oil, seemed to make it run smoother and quieter post change.

 

[jonco]

.............. Opie Oils are usually quite good for prices and delivery,
I use their Fuchs TITAN SUPERSYN 5W-40 High Performance, Fully Synthetic Engine Oil..........

Agreed - have been using Opie and Fuchs Titan for ~4years now in my M44.