Noisy 1.9 Diesel

[PSbridge]

My Roomster is an '09, so over 4 years old with 13,000 miles on the clock. The engine appears to be getting noisier, this morning I drove up a road with buildings on both sides with just the pathways between them and the road. I was convinced that I was going to see a builder drilling holes somewhere from the racket I heard. It has had all the correct servicing carried out, the last one was in April. No mention of any brewing troubles!

I stopped to have a look around it in a car park and found that giving the throttle a quick blip sounded fine as the revs increased, but sounded a bit like a Touring car as the revs died down, but no backfiring. I'm guessing that this would only appy to the petrol versions anyway.

I'm suspecting maybe a hole in the exhaust system. I've had a few petrol cars when the exhausts have failed, there was no doubt what the problem was in those cases. I've never had a Diesel with an exhaust failure though so wondering if it could be more sinister?

Peter.

 

[softscoop]

Does it sound clattery?

 

Does the noise die down when you dip the clutch?

[PSbridge]

Defintely clattery, that is a very good analogy. It does sound like the Touring cars on the grid waiting for the starting lights to go out. You can hear it accelerating up a hill in a narrow street, sounds like shaking up a bucket full of nuts and bolts. You can also hear it if you rev slightly when stationary, but only as the revs return back down to tickover! It seems quite a narrow band when it does this, then the noise vanishes into the general humdrum of a Diesel on tickover. I have looked under the back, but am quite elderly so struggle a bit to get up again! It has twin outlets from the rear box, there are signs of rust on the underside of this box along the rear seam. I cannot feel any hot air blowing out at this point though.

 

Peter

[PSbridge]

Sorry, forgot your question about depressing the clutch. When trying the rev test, dipping the clutch makes no difference to the clatter as the revs die down.

 

Peter

[bluecar1]

at 4 years old you are due timing belt and tensioner and as a precaution water pump,

 

I have had a belt tensioner make some horrible noises on my deceased roomster

 

13k miles in 4 years I very little for a diesel, not enough really to get it warm or run it in properly

[PSbridge]

I did wonder about that one, the last Fabia I owned, the garage jumped on me at 4 years to replace both. I now use a main dealership in Colchester where I bought the Roomster, but no mention of timing belt or water pump replacement at the 4 year service. I seem to remember that it is a fair old bill for this work, so I didn't query it. I've now got it booked in for Monday pm, for a test run to establish the probable cause!

 

Thanks for reply

 

Peter

[PSbridge]

Good news & not so good news! Nothing visual can be found wrong with my Roomster.

Not so good news - The cam belt change + water pump replacement is overdue ( unfortunately missed at the 4 year service) and ought to be considered sooner rather than later!

It is now booked in for replacement in 2 weeks time, but no guarantee that the clattering noises will disappear altogether.

Thanks for replies

 

Peter

[grafitti]

Would you not have a case against the dealer or Skoda UK for a goodwill gesture at the very least in the event that it turns out damage has been caused to the engine, as you have used a main dealer for servicing and they "missed" those items on the service- from my limited experience they seem quite avid proponents of the 4 year cambelt change

And that's got me thinking too... my car has never had a water pump change. How long are they expected to last on average?

At 85k now and just come back from a minor service, I queried any issues and was told it had a clean bill of health, no advisories. But I depend on the car and so prefer to replace things before they have a chance to break.

[eccleshill]

 

And that's got me thinking too... my car has never had a water pump change. How long are they expected to last on average?

At 85k now and just come back from a minor service, I queried any issues and was told it had a clean bill of health, no advisories. But I depend on the car and so prefer to replace things before they have a chance to break.

Are you still on the original cam belt?  I had a 1.9TDi a couple of cars ago.  The water pump was changed when the cambelt was changed @ 4yrs because it only added about £50 to the bill.  I went ahead and got it changed based on advise from here and recommendation of the dealer. 

[PSbridge]

It had its 4 year service in April, and I thought anything like the cambelt @ 40,000 or 4 years would flag up on the Garage computer system. It didn't, so assumed things had changed since I had a previous Fabia done. Not so, it appears the reception have to work it out in their head, in my case it seems that 2013 - 2009 equalled 3, not 4yrs! Easy done I suppose, but all booked in now for a Cam belt + water pump change only 4 months late, so should be OK?

I heard yesterday about someone who had his Skoda from new 12 years ago, completed 80,000 miles and only just conceeded that he ought to have the belt changed! It was "as good as new"! I find that very difficult to believe, or he was extremely lucky!

I also found a "blow by blow" account on the web from someone who changed the belt / pump themselves, but obviously had access to all the right tools / engine hoist etc. He changed his @ 4 years, 21,000 miles, and was a bit surprised to find signs of cracking on the tooth side of the belt. So, it seems that the 4 years, or 40,000 in under 4 years is a reasonable yardstick, so I'm working to those parameters, whichever comes first.

Hopefully it will run a bit quieter after attention, but at least I will have complied with all maintenance requirements if I have further problems.

Thanks to all who replied.

Peter

[grafitti]

Are you still on the original cam belt?  I had a 1.9TDi a couple of cars ago.  The water pump was changed when the cambelt was changed @ 4yrs because it only added about £50 to the bill.  I went ahead and got it changed based on advise from here and recommendation of the dealer. 

No the belt was changed after 4 years at 45k by the previous owner - no mention in the book or from seller of a pump change. Garage told me belt didn't need changing this time around though i've covered another 40k in 2.5 years. Suppose they are working to the 4 year rule. But if it's such a minor addition to the bill then I'll make sure to get the water pump changed whenever it does come up for a cambelt.

[bluecar1]

pump costs about £35-£40 for the part so £50 inc fitting is not a bad sum, only a few bolts once belt off, but you will lose most of that expensive G12+ coolant which will need replacing

[PSbridge]

Had my Cam belt and water pump changed yesterday so decided to go out and refuel just to test it. Halfway to the filling station I realised that the warning light for "Control System for Exhaust" was on. Whether it was on when I started I'm not sure because my local roads were lined with parked vehicles and I was more occupied in watching out for kids running out between them! Also the car was returned to me yesterday by a Garage employee who I would have thought would have spotted the problem on the 15 mile journey, so I'm guessing that it has developed today.

Considering that it originally went in for rattling which I thought was from the exhaust department seems a bit spooky. I got the impression that the car was not as perky as I'm used to, but didn't get out of the 30mph limit anyway, I considered that I should return home ASAP and consult the Garage for the 3rd time inside 4 weeks! Anyone got any ideas why this light should have come on please?

 

Peter

[grafitti]

I haven't got knowledge of that, but there are quite a few threads in the fabia and octavia sections about this... for example

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/139513-control-system-for-exhaust-gases-warning-light/

[PSbridge]

Thanks for the link, it seems to infer that it is acceptable to use the vehicle, the handbook suggests that you "drive gently to the nearest dealer".

My dealer wouldn't be drawn on whether it was OK to drive essential journeys in the meantime, and even more annoying, couldn't even give me a slot in the workshop to bring it in to get the fault numbers off the diagnostic system. It was definitely a "I'll call you when I sort out a date and the fault is nothing associated with the Cam Belt change", so stuck at present awaiting this call. There are other Skoda dealers not too far away, so plan "b" will follow if I haven't heard by Tuesday, it will have been out of action for a week by then.

 

Thanks again

 

Peter

[bluecar1]

they forgot to reconnect the EGR vacuum pipe?

 

or vacuum system problem

 

would be my guess

[PSbridge]

Hi Bluecar1

Thanks for suggestions. I wiggled everything I can find in the engine compartment, which is pretty well full of engine, but no luck. I have got a fibre optic probe to look around corners, but the batteries went flat after a couple of minutes! There is nowhere within sensible walking distance to buy batteries around here, so will have to try again tomorrow. I'm guessing that the EGR pipe would be behind the block somewhere, ie nearest to the windscreen, but not really sure whether it would be a convuluted hose, or just straight. That would cut down the amount of items to look at.

 

Thanks again

 

Peter

[PSbridge]

News from the Garage quotes 2 x faults! Firstly, a broken sensor, this was replaced with a new one and the car taken out on test. "Not too much life in it considering it is the 1.9 litre Diesel" was the comment, then the Engine Management light came on yet again out on test! A gunged up EGR valve was the verdict, it was removed and found completely jammed up. They advise that although it "might" be cleanable, a safer option would be to fit a new one. They have only ever seen 2 x previous Roomsters with the valve as gunged up as much as mine and as labour is the major part of the job, they believe the better option is to fit a new one! So that's the story here, quite an expensive 2 weeks what with the Cam belt / water pump, now the EGR valve, and 2 x front tyres possibly required before Winter!

 

Peter

[thesquiff]

Sounds like you need to take it for an Italian tuneup every now and again. I can't help but feel that on ~3000 miles a year you'd be better off with a petrol.

[Phil-E]

If it's that bad it sounds like it needs a good thrashing from time to time.

 

Gentle driving all the time causes the EGR to open more and the crud to collect. The EGR is closed under WOT. So drive flat to floor everywhere=no gunked up EGR

 

Also how is the engine sounding? Still noisy or sorted?

 

Phil

[Phil-E]

Sounds like you need to take it for an Italian tuneup every now and again. I can't help but feel that on ~3000 miles a year you'd be better off with a petrol.

 

Yeah I thought we were pushing out luck at 10,000-12,000 miles a year on a diesel... we like the driveability of a diesel and the better economy at higher speeds etc.

 

Phil

[PSbridge]

Yes, quite agree! When I bought it I'd been driving Diesel minibuses etc for a Gatwick Airport, or Dover Port run for a while and never had any problems. Also Diesel was cheaper than petrol at that time. Once I retired and only drove leisure mileage, petrol became cheaper than Diesel, I realised I'd dropped a clanger. The car ran fine until this year, then it caught up with me over the last 2 weeks!

 

Thanks

 

Peter

[Phil-E]

Make sure you just give it a good run every now and then and don't be shy with the throttle... they really do need to have the turbo worked hard now and then to get it all cleared out... they can be prone to sticky turbo vanes if not.

 

A couple of 2nd/3rd gear pulls to the red line at WOT should do the trick!

[PSbridge]

Hi Phil

 

It is still in the garage I'm afraid, they have had to order an EGR valve. As the technician said on the phone, we very rarely have to replace them, so don't hold uneccessary stock. Mostly it is a faulty transducer!  Hopefully this was the start of the trouble described initially, the cambelt / water pump was spotted as due for the 4 year change whilst they were checking it over for the rough running, so nothing to do with this latest glitch.

I'll certainly drive it up the road where I first thought something was amiss when it returns tomorrow or Thursday.

 

Thanks

 

Peter

[PSbridge]

I thought I'd given it an occasional heavy right foot to shake the cobwebs out, but the smoke trail behind would be admired by the Red Arrows! I Seriously thought that Mr Plod might take an interest, so tended to be reasonably careful!

 

Peter