I wasn't sure whether to post this here, or in the Fabia section so I apologise in advance if I screwed up!

Lately, within the last 2 months, I've been hearing an odd sound during low revs. It's intermittent and not always guaranteed to happen everyday, which is irritating because I'm finding it hard to locate and with my lack of knowledge on the "under the bonnet" stuff, it's getting quite worrying.

It's hard to explain, but when sat at idle I can hear an extremely faint chatter/rattle noise. It's not high pitched, but a very deep rattle. If I just blip the throttle it becomes even more evident and it'll increase in "speed" of rattle and it's loudness. I have recorded a very poor video of the noise, mainly because it just happened to happen tonight and I really would like to get to the bottom of it.

Video

Oil is fine, nothing appears to be loose inside and I can't see anything visually vibrating against anything when the engine is running.

Fabia vRS, 55 Plate, 30k miles.

If anyone can shed some light on this then it would be greatly appreciated.

Hard to tell from the video, as the sounds is fairly muffled. Does the chatter change if you depress the clutch? If so, it could be Dual Mass Flywheel chatter (normal unless it gets really loud.)

If the chatter stops when clutch depressed, it could be the gearbox input shaft bearings.

Worth checking the engine mountings as well.

It's less obvious if you push on the clutch pedal. The sound also goes away under acceleration and then appears again when you ease off the accelerator. The engine mountings are fine too, from a visual point of view anyway. My dad seems to think it's the clutch/thrust bearing, which after doing a search around on here it might be that from what I've read?

I'd expect a clutch release bearing to get worse when you push the pedal. I'd say DMF noise is most likely.

Definitely seems to suggest a DMF issue. The DMF has end stops, and they can chatter if the idle isn't really smooth. If the engine seems to be idling a bit rough, with some vibration, that would suggest a fueling problem. Is the air filter clean? The service interval of 40K for the air filter is a joke, and they should be changed at 10K.

Well I've spoken to my local garage who are an ex-Skoda dealer and they had a look over it.

They reckon the sound is definitely coming from the DMF. I've just spoken to Skoda UK and they have advised me to book it into a garage for diagnostics and to see where we go from there with regards to any financial support.

It has a full service history, but the 3rd service was carried out by the place I got it from, they have unfortunately not stamped the service book but they have records available that it was indeed serviced (on their computer).

If I have to go down the route of getting the DMF replaced with myself paying the cost, what would you folks suggest? DMF and clutch? Just the DMF? Or get an uprated system? I got rid of my old car because of the problems and now it just seems to be repeating itself.

EDIT: Well, I've just spoken to Sarah@Awesome-GTI and listening to her uber confidence in the product, chances are I'll be getting the Helix kit fit.

Thanks for the help with regards to this!

Edited 3 June, 200917 yr by john-w

If I have to go down the route of getting the DMF replaced with myself paying the cost, what would you folks suggest? DMF and clutch? Just the DMF? Or get an uprated system? I got rid of my old car because of the problems and now it just seems to be repeating itself.

I would fit new OEM Full Clutch/Release Bearing and DMF. About £500 to £550 inc labour.

SUK are usually reluctant to do clutches under warranty, but if the DMF has failed at 30K and the car isn't mapped, I would push HARD for a good will payment towards at least the cost of the DMF.

Since the clutch has to come out, I'd replace it. If the car is mapped, consider an uprated clutch & DMF.

Hi John

Yes it was great to chat to you , even thoughit went on to over time always a pleasure to speak to fellow Skoda owners

I used to do warranty at dealers , so I know how awkward they can be when it comes to warranty and customer care claims

The dealers will ask you to pay for removing the gearbox to see if they will do anything for you

If the clutch has worn , then that is wear and tear , if the DMF has a manufacturing defec , then you could be lucky

The main thing that you have to think about is the labour rate for your dealership

The likes of us , our labour rate is £49.50 + VAT

If the dealers rate is £99 + VAT , then it is double ours

So if they offer you 90% off the price of a DMF , and the DMF is £550.00 + VAT , then that would be a saving of £450 + VAT

If the job is approx 6 hours , then that would be an extra £297 + VAT

So then the saving is £153 + VAT

Then there is the possibility of the warranty not being honour`d

The clutch does wear quite a bit when accelerating in 6th gear

So with that in mind , then maybe it could be worth getting a standard clutch put in and nurse it making sure that you look after it so make the clutch last longer

The sachs clutch that we was talking about is £490 + VAT and that is for the clutch plate and pressure plate

The release bearing is approx £38 + VAT

Then you would need the DMF

These are available from the dealers , but as I have mentioned before , these are now available from the likes of GSF and euro car parts at a fraction of the cost of dealers

It is a hard desision to make and one that can be costly as if you put standard in , and it only lasts another 30k , then it could be another job to do later

But we are here to help you if we can and will advise where possible

Helix clutches , we have fitted quite a few of these , and can remember fitting them way back when I did not work here , and have not had any issues so far with gearbox failings

But then , there could always be one......

I have posted this here , just in case this helps anyone else

Sarah

The clutch does wear quite a bit when accelerating in 6th gear

So with that in mind , then maybe it could be worth getting a standard clutch put in and nurse it making sure that you look after it so make the clutch last longer

Sarah

Why would a clutch wear when accelerating in 6th gear? It would have to be slipping for that to happen. Any clutch wear that takes places can only be due to moments of clutch activation, such as pulling away from standstill, and even less wear when changing gear.

Do you mean DMF wear in 6th gear due to the extra torque load?