michael1

Hi, Where is the car? Has the timing belt been done for the second time? What was resprayed and can it be seen in any way?

You need quite a bit of leaverage to get them undone iirc they're not stupidly deep so I'm sure 160 will be fine. I used a T-headed Allen key. Don't overdo it on the sealant. Better to have it weap a bit of oil than to get sealant in the sump and block the pickup.

Yeah, I would tend to agree. It could well be the tensioner. It sounds quite dull (or deep in the engine) which is what made me think flywheel. The engine really isn't known for anything else. As long as it is distinct from the rocker assembly noise and the charcoal canister tick, next bet would be the timing belt tensioner. It might get worse when the engine is warm because the belt softens a little.

Make any difference if you engage/disengage the clutch? Might even be flywheel related?

Is this gone?

Don't know if you'd be interested but I have moved over to the UK recently and in my new job i am doing over 20k miles a year so I have decided to get a different car. I have booked a ferry back for my black magic 2002 vRS on the 14th November and I was going to give it to my girlfriend but she isn't that keen on it because it is a little bit big and powerful for her for just driving around Dublin city. it has just run out of tax and NCT as I have had it in the UK. The car is on coilovers but I have all the original suspension. It has a 3" decat (again, I have the original), a forge turbo inlet pipe and cold air intake. It has a rear anti roll bar and It is polybushed all round including dogbone. new grooved and dimpled discs and pads about 12k miles ago. Tyres are new on front (firestones) and rears (rainsport 3s) have about 4mm to the marker. The interior is good apart from a rip in the drivers seat bolster. It will have done 140k miles by the time it is back in Dublin. Bad bits are the drivers sill is damaged were previous owner drove it off a high kerb and the drivers side wing mirror got knocked off on the ferry over here. I am super picky about the car and know it inside out, the only other thing it will need is drop links for the front anti roll bar. Maybe this might suit you as it has a few goodies that are worth quite a bit individually. If you're interested, give me a shout on here.

Sent a PM Dara.

most cars have sound deadening material on the underside of the bonnet but these don't (well mine doesn't) so that would make the bonnet heat up a lot more too.

Harpoon, If the car was stone cold when the blue smoke came out it is unlikely that it was due to an oil leak. Maybe more likely to be an electrical shorting issue. (check the engine bay fuses and leads from the battery) Any idea how the smoke smelled? (Plastic/oil) and was it from the drivers or passengers side wing? A few photos of the engine bay might help too.

Internal braces in the boot behind rear seats in a vrs. The front anti-roll bar is different too.

its the SAI pump, its to preheat the catalytic converter. shouldnt be coming on when warm though

If I drove it like a 1.4 I'm sure they would last a lot longer. The rears are barely worn at that. So if I rotate them now I should get around 12k before all 4 are gone. Also I hate driving with tyres that I know are past their best so I always change them early. The dunlops (front only) only lasted 7 months. Mine are also 16s

I'm impressed with mine too but they do seem to be wearing quite fast on the front. I've covered maybe 4000 miles and already half way. So I'm thinking of switching them to the back soon as they haven't really worn at all. Out and out grip in the dry is less than my last dunlop Sportmaxx RTs but the RS3s give you fantastic confidence for standing water even at motorway speed. They are good value for money even if they do wear out in 10k miles though.

I got it in by lifting the scuttle panel and there was a little boot that I got it pushed through and sealed again. This came out above the pedals and then i brought up the side of the dash to the pillar. It ain't easy!

Most likely a cracked dipstick tube or part of crankcase ventilation sytem. Can't really see where exactly it relates to in the engine bay but I'm guessing it is over the top of the aux belt area which would fling oil up there if there was a leak onto it.