Rattling on start-up from cold
Discussion
Evening,
Could do with some advice on the wife's car, a 2004 Saab 9-3 1.8i Linear Sport.
When starting the engine from cold, there is a metallic rattling sound coming from the engine bay which seems to disappear after a minute or so, and does not recur until the engine has been started from cold again.
Bit concerned as to what this might be - it sounds a bit like a rattling heat shield or something but I can't seem to find anything loose.
One thing that did occur to me was that it could be the timing belt tensioner or similar, which has led me to look on the internet to double check that the 72k interval in the manual is correct. It appears that a lot of Vauxhalls with the same sort of engine are needing the belt done as low as 40k as there have been some failures.
With an apparent lack of Saab sites on the net, any ideas regarding these two issues would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Could do with some advice on the wife's car, a 2004 Saab 9-3 1.8i Linear Sport.
When starting the engine from cold, there is a metallic rattling sound coming from the engine bay which seems to disappear after a minute or so, and does not recur until the engine has been started from cold again.
Bit concerned as to what this might be - it sounds a bit like a rattling heat shield or something but I can't seem to find anything loose.
One thing that did occur to me was that it could be the timing belt tensioner or similar, which has led me to look on the internet to double check that the 72k interval in the manual is correct. It appears that a lot of Vauxhalls with the same sort of engine are needing the belt done as low as 40k as there have been some failures.
With an apparent lack of Saab sites on the net, any ideas regarding these two issues would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Cheers, I had another listen today. It has only done 34k so I hope it's not sludge build up. You can hear the tappets slightly but only if you put your ear really close to the engine. Today it didn't seem to make the rattling noise, which was odd.
One thing I did notice is that the oil filter is a Mann filter rather than a genuine one. I am sure I read somewhere that these don't have a valve in them which prevents the oil draining back when the engine is off, though with the filter being mounted horizontally I didn't think it draining would be an issue.
According to the book the timing belt is due at 72k but there are postings on the net about it needing doing at half this so we are going to get it done ASAP along with the tensioners etc. in case that is the problem.
One thing I did notice is that the oil filter is a Mann filter rather than a genuine one. I am sure I read somewhere that these don't have a valve in them which prevents the oil draining back when the engine is off, though with the filter being mounted horizontally I didn't think it draining would be an issue.
According to the book the timing belt is due at 72k but there are postings on the net about it needing doing at half this so we are going to get it done ASAP along with the tensioners etc. in case that is the problem.
Quick update. Picked the car up, timing belt fitted. The dealer said that there is a heat shield fitted by 2 spot welds, one of which had failed. "New exhaust to fix it, but we are aware that a lot of customers just remove the heat shield."
Hopefully that is the cause. It'll be off the car tomorrow morning.
Hopefully that is the cause. It'll be off the car tomorrow morning.
Gassing Station | Engines & Drivetrain | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff