Hi everyone,
This is my first post here, please be kind!
My girlfriend bought a 2002 1.2 (1199cc) Vauxhall Corsa. We collected it today and when we got home, noticed a loud rattle from the engine. I know these are chain driven and therefore slightly noisier than a belt driven engine but this seems excessively noisey. We spoke to a workmate of my girlfriend tonight and she mentioned hers made a loud rattle for a few days before timing chain failure. Obviously, we are keen for this not to happen to ours and would like some advice on how best to approach the garage. The salesman seemed genuine and reassured us that the car is covered by a 3 month/3000 mile warranty but are they likely to refused to investigate/rectify a fault with the timing chain?
Thanks in advance,
Rob
Edited by Pugugly on 09/09/2009 at 00:54
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Google Corsa and camshaft failure, though not sure which model year is affected most.
It's makes for shocking reading.
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If you have a car you will need an honest mechanic anyway. If you already have one, get them to listen to the car and say what they think.
If you don't have one you need to set about finding one. Don't sell your soul to some hustler. It's an easy thing to do, promising to pay X quid to some glib but useless and criminal monkey. Work on it. Ask knowledgeable friends and neighbours.
If you want the seller to do something under warranty it's a good idea to know what needs to be done. That's why an honest and competent mechanic or garage is a priority for secondhand car owners.
Good luck.
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Thanks for the responses so far. I have an honest mechanic - I'm have a slight fetish for older citroens and spend a lot of time at the local specialist. I'll pop it down to him for a listen. Having spent a good part of the evening looking at various corsa forums (unfortunately, mainly populated by young lads trying to wring an extra 2 bhp out of their cars). I have noticed that corsa timing chain problems are by no means uncommon.
I guess my plan will be to get the car looked at by my mechanic and then call the garage. Al this couldn't have happened at a worse time - we're getting married in 4 days!
Finally, can anybody tell me whether the normal warranties you get with used cars are any use in this sort of sitution?
Thanks and best wishes,
Rob
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I don't think the 2003 models are affected by the camshaft models but I may be wrong. However all the chain driven Ecotec engines suffer from small oil wells to the chain. If the car has had infrequent oil changes these can get blocked starving the chain of oil which causes tensioner and chain problems. If you do need a new chain then the problem si due to blocked oil wells the problem often soon comes back.
I am not sure which Corsa site you have looked but the one I am a member of has a very knowledgable chap who knows a lot about Vauxhalls. That site is as much about telling people to make sure they have legal insurance and not to spead etc (we can use language on there which would be would get us banned on here!) .Our resident expert on here is probably Bellboy who has sold a lot so knows what to look out for. He will tell you some hints which might shut your noise up.
Try using metal bar and place it on the rocker cover from the left (near the battery) to the right (near the alternator belt) if it gets noiser nearer to the belt then it may well be the chain. If it stays the same it may just be the hydraulic tappets all Vauxhalls seem to suffer from this they get a bit noisy with age but it dosn't seem to cause problems.
Despite their problems if well looked after these engines can do 150k+ with nothing more than oil changes.
My theory with these engines is if it sounds a bit tappety its probably all it is if it sounds like its a diesel then you have serious problems.
Edit make the sure the oil has been changed recently, old oil can make this engines sound noisy.
Edited by Rattle on 09/09/2009 at 01:12
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Thanks for another useful answer. It had an oil change about 6.5k ago but I was shocked to see that the service intervals are 20k! I guess an oil change is in order. I read somewhere that fully synthetic oil is recommended. Is this the case?
Thanks,
Rob
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Check the handbook, Rob, it should tell you in that.
Also if your mechanic isn't sure then you could try getting a check done by the AA/RAC?
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You say you've a 3 month 3000 mile warranty but (depending on how it's worded) that'll probably only come into play if something actually breaks.
If it were me, I'd book the car into my local Vauxhall main dealer, get him to have a listen, and see what he says.
If he tells you the timing chain is on the way out and how much it will cost to fix, at least you'll have something to say to the bloke who sold you the car.
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Thanks everyone - I really appreciate the advice. I'm going to book it in to the local vauxhall dealer for a listen and go from there. Not sure I will have a chance to do anything until after our wedding and looks like we'll be going on honeymoon in my £200 BX (my secret preference anyway!).
Thanks again,
rob
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I read somewhere that fully synthetic oil is recommended. Is this the case?
Yes.
tinyurl.com/mur93c (links to Vauxhall's website)
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