I have an 2002 diesel SDI fabia with 68,000 on clock. For the past few months it has started to make a metallic grinding sound - hard to describe, a bit like ball bearings rolling around in a can

It's me again, responding to my own thread as it seems to be slipping down the order .

Has anyone got any ideas on this?????

I know the SDI is a noisy engine but this sounds very unhealthy and as I am A/ Very poor and B/ Mechanically illiterate, I really don't want to pitch up at the dealers again without some idea what the problem might be.

Someone please, have a guess, you're bound to be better informed than I am

Thanks

Does it happen in different gears? i.e. does it make the same noise in 4th at 70-80 as it does in 5th at the same speed?

Thanks for the response.

Thats a good question. It does seem to mostly occur in 5th but then thats the gear I cruise in and i've never attempted to get the car up to 70 in 4th.

It does sound a bit like gears not quite meshing but the performance and economy don't seem to be effected at all.

I've tried dipping the clutch and freewheeling and the sound lingers for a wee while but as speed drops so does the sound and it is a very noisy engine to begin with so picking up any sound over the usual clatter can be difficult.