Hello there everybody, I have come across a rattling sound in the engine bay of my Skoda Fabia 1.4 MPI recently, and while being assured it's nothing bad by a local garage, it is rather irritating. I have heard this rattle (which sounds like something's rubbing/hitting within the engine bay) on a few other Skodas locally which are the same as mine, same model and everything, which leads me to believe that it is a common fault with these cars. Can anybody give me any pointers as to what it could be? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Most likely timing chain rattle. True, its not a critical issue. It will most likely run fine for a long time in spite of the rattle. But its one of those thing that is still a very good idea to fix or have fixed. My neighbours Fabia has done 180k with the original timing chain. Sounds like a tractor being raped, but still runs fine. But still, if it snaps, however unlikely, you're probably looking at a new engine.

 

How many miles has your fabia done? I think the recommended mileage for a timing chain swap was 120k miles. Mine's done 125k and purrs like a kitten with the original chain. No rattle, no noise, no nothing.

Had mine changed about 1k ago, it reached around 108-109k and was rattling quite a bit. Took it to a garage who specialise in the VAG group and when he changed it he said it was quite stretched. Now it's got a fresh chain on its pritty quiet now. Would also advise on getting your water pump changed at the same time.