I don't know if this might be related to another problem I've been having here:- http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/engine-temperature-sensor-not-moving/102500/

But I've recently noticed that when starting the car up I can hear this noise which I can only describe as sounding a bit like a diesel engine. It's intermittent and seems to disappear when I go above 3k revs and can sometimes be heard again if the revs drop down again. Like I say, it seems to come and go randomly (maybe once or twice a minute). It also seems more prominent when the car is cold. Any ideas?

It’s a Fabia ’02 with 95k on the clock. I don’t know if these are just noises that start creeping in when a car gets old and it’s nothing to worry about..?

P.S. This car seems to know that I'm going travelling round the world and that I *really* don't want to spend any money on it!! :(

The only source of noise from the MPi unit that I can think of is if the short timing chain wears and stretches. I think someone on here posted some sound files from their Felicia pre- and post-change (virtually the same engine), but I wouldn't necessarily say it sounded diesel-y? I gather they can wear out in 30k miles or less if driven hard, so it could well be that on your 95k car.

As far as the not-spending-money things goes, however, I think you can run reasonably OK on a worn timing chain - the main problem is that the noise gets worse and worse rather than any risk of serious engine damage like you'd have for a belt-cam engine...