Volkswagen Golf III (1992 - 1997) - 94 1.8 Rattle from head

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Wed 17 Dec 2008 17:43
94 1.8 Rattle from head - Javalin
Hiya me again,

ABS engine. Reasonably high pitched rattle from the engine-head at idle. Regularly serviced by VW - 122k miles, cam belt done at 72k approx. Possibly toward the cylinder 3-4 end (assuming 1 is cambelt end)

Any ideas? Serious?

Cheers,

James

Edited by Javalin on 17/12/2008 at 17:44

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Wed 17 Dec 2008 18:03
94 1.8 Rattle from head - mfarrow
Could be a failing hydraulic tappet. You can pick up new sets quite reasonably.

Edited by mfarrow on 17/12/2008 at 18:05

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Wed 17 Dec 2008 18:07
94 1.8 Rattle from head - Peter D
Yep, failing tappet is it a bit lumpy at tick over. Do you mean a frequency rattle i.e. repetition rate or is it a squeal. Regards Peter
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Wed 17 Dec 2008 18:48
94 1.8 Rattle from head - Javalin
It is lumpy at idle. Its been annoying me for ages.

>Do you mean a frequency rattle i.e. repetition rate or is it a squeal.
its not a squeal - definatly a rattle.

Thanks for the information

How easy are the tappets to fit? Whats involved?

James
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Wed 17 Dec 2008 19:22
94 1.8 Rattle from head - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)
First thing to check is the belt tension, if its slack it will rattle the camshaft. I cant recall from memory if the ABS engine is a twincam but if so the chain driving the inlet cam off the exhaust cam can get slack causing the rattle and upsetting the cam timing slightly.
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Wed 17 Dec 2008 19:27
94 1.8 Rattle from head - Javalin
Hi Andrew,

Its a 8v which I guess makes its a single cam. Its a belt driven engine. Its just been serviced by VW and the belt was checked - so I assume all is ok.

That said - Last time i did check it it felt looser than I would have expected. I assumed though that it was correct as VW did the belt at 72k or so.

I might be able to have a look at the weekend - weather permitting.

Thanks for the help,

James
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Sat 20 Dec 2008 18:54
94 1.8 Rattle from head - tujags
If it's a tappet it is worth adding an engine flush additive to the oil run it for a while then change the oil use a good quality replacement oil semi synthetics seem to work well. this will often cure a noisy hydraulic tappet without having to dismantle.
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Sat 20 Dec 2008 20:47
94 1.8 Rattle from head - Javalin
Hiya

Thanks for that - a job for next year.

I was thinking similar - have read that low oil pressure can cause. Also was going to check & clean the oil strainer in the sump.

James
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