Hello peeps!

I'm new here so apologies if this has been covered previously...

'M' reg Favorit. Noisy engine, but NOT tappets. A sort of scraping / grinding noise from the timing cover end of the engine. (I've heard a few other Favorits that sound like this so I'm guessing it's a common problem). Sound familiar?

Anyway, not having any previous experience with Skodas I decided the noise was possibly the timing chain having stretched and rubbing on the inside if the timing cover. I acquried a new chain and sprockets and set about pulling the engine in bits. Anyway, to cut a long story short there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the timing chain. However, the oil pump gears seem a bit 'rough' and it doesn't take much imagination to figure out that if the 'rough' noise was amplified a bit it would sound like the noise I'm trying to sort out. Again, does this sound familiar to anyone? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Any help would be appreciated as would some pointers to good sources for Skoda parts in West Yorkshire.

TIA

shytot

if the oil pump is sounding rough i expect it isn't pumping enough pressure, in which case the grinding sound is probably your nice steel camshaft grinding it's way through the soft aluminium because of lack of oil

Is that a common fault?

I thought about something like that but there doesn't seem to be any 'lift' at the chain end of the cam shaft.

shytot

well it would be if it had no oil pumping round it!

there are lots of common faults with cars that old, without hearing it it's hand to say really..... clutch thrust bearing is another common scrapey scrapey sound

Scrapey scrapey is a good description! It's defo at the timing cover end, though. And it's been like it since I bought the car 8 months ago.

Gotta admit that I was quite gobsmacked not to find the timing chain eating it's way through the timing cover as I expected. The only other thing at that end seems to be the oil pump... Or the distributor. Which would be a bit of a downer if it turned out to be that as it was the first thing I took off... LOL!

shytot

Scrapey scrapey is a good description! It's defo at the timing cover end, though. And it's been like it since I bought the car 8 months ago.

Gotta admit that I was quite gobsmacked not to find the timing chain eating it's way through the timing cover as I expected. The only other thing at that end seems to be the oil pump... Or the distributor. Which would be a bit of a downer if it turned out to be that as it was the first thing I took off... LOL!

shytot

Try spinning the water pump and alternator pulleys. It might not be as bad as you think. Before you stripped it was the oil light coming on whilst the engine was running?

Thanks, Dave.

No, there was no oil light or anything. I took the engine apart because I got this idea in my head that the timing chain was knackered. (It needed new brake pads, anyway... LOL!)

The alternator seems OK, I remember giving it an exploratory 'twiddle' when I took it off. The water pump might be worth investigating, though.

The story will be continued on monday when the timing cover gasket arrives...

shytot