Would anyone like to hazard a guess at the engine noise that started yesterday? Sod’s law that it has started while my wife is away in Cornwall with the car!

I've had similar calls!

Simple things to start.

Check the oil level  (give it 15 mins to settle into sump after running)

Is the noise constant or does it vary with revs.

Does turning air-con off/on make a difference

 

I can't see any coolant flow into the header (it appears to be at the max level for cold) so is the video from a cold engine?

 

There are no warning lamps or messages on the maxidot?

The engine looks very unhappy at idle given the amount it is bouncing around.

Any chance it might have petrol in the diesel?

No it’s running fine other than the noise drives ok and seems no different other than clearly the bad sound. Now you mention the header tank I see what you mean. Failed water pump then? Are they known to go? Car is only on 72000!

They can, the engine temp dial should give notice of something amiss.

Usually it's recommended to change pumps at the same time as the cambelt & tensioners as a precaution. If the cambelt hasn't been done yet then I'd recommend a professional takes a look.

 

I'm not trying to be alarmist, but given the vibration & noise the engine is showing at tick over I'd be reluctant to drive it. (my ancient TDI has 160k and there's no visible movement at tickover)

Do you have breakdown recovery ?
 

Oh yeah its not going to be driven. The wife has arrange recovery back to the garage we use and trust for our servicing and repairs so not to cause any damage to the engine. Has been on the button up to now so think it was more a surprise for her that something did go wrong. These things happen just annoying when it is during a holiday etc. Never break down when just round the corner. Thanks for all the advise

Just my two pence, but my engine always wobbled like that. It was never smooth in the engine mounts, much worse when it was cold outside and the engine was cold. It was doing that at 80k and lasted to 150k.

 

Some of those PD engines are a bit rough idling at times.  

 

As for the noise though, really not sure on that. That doesn't sound too bad mechanical wise, more air leaky. Take a look at the EGR valve.

 

 

 

Best to be safe I think.

Funny you should mention the EGR, I've been trying to identify what's causing the warning light to appear on mine. when I've finished checking the rats nest of vacuum tubes I'll probably post a new thread.

I’ve seen the posts on here now regarding the water pumps now. With mention of 4 years and 75k is almost identical to ours. Plus with the cam belt due I’m just glad that it didn’t go bang. I haven’t had any problems with the egr valve as of yet as always has a good mix of urban and motorway blasts. And I always give it a good rev up through the gears to try and help lower carbon crap etc. I get the age related guide for the cam belt (5 years and the car is just that). But the 130k mileage guide seems high if the water pumps fail before then. 

Could it be the tensioner that’s ticking/squealing? Maybe under the cam belt cover the belt is only just hanging on or very loose!

The tensioner failure I've seen sounded like a washing machine full of bricks and it got to that position very quickly from onset.

All we know is that there's a new & unpleasent sound from the engine and it need investigating and that on these diesel motors a cambelt related failure can totally lunch the engine in the few seconds it takes to stop turning.

Even if the manfacturer says a cam belt can go 130k, they'll just blame driving style if it goes early, I'll stick to doing mine at 5yr/55-60k regardless of how good they appear on inspection or earlier if I think needed. My first Octavia had a cambelt on every 3rd 20k service, about roughly 2 years.

On the up side if all the fluids (including gearbox) are changed every couple of years these engine can go on for starship mileage.

 

Yeah I’ve heard the horror stories. I was going on Skoda guidelines and advise. Maybe that was incorrect but I’ve always made a point of servicing it more often than needed and had the gearbox oil changed sooner than recommended so it should last much much longer

To update, cambelt and water pump done. Engine noise/chatter was still there. Mechanic has isolated the noise to be coming from the gearbox, suspecting the flywheel/drive plate within the gearbox itself. I will know more when gearbox has been removed

I also had a strange ticking noise from mine when hot and it was the DMF being worn out.