I have an R reg bravo s 1.4 12v and when it is idling there is a loud clicking sound coming from the engine. it sounds as though it is coming from around about the air intake. The clicking speeds up on acceleration, also as i was pulling up to my house yesterday the engine just cut out without any warning. Has anyone got any idea what might be causing this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

clicking is probably a dry tappet, the 1.4 often suffers from oil circulation problems in the head. the oil pickup pipe gets blocked (clean it) and the oil flinger bar also gets blocked (clean it) preventing oil from circulating around the head. as well as tapping, dry tappets cant adjust the valve clearances so you lose fuel economy and performance. make sure the oil is filled to the correct level as low oil can also cause this.


its difficult to say why the engine cut out. more info would help. was the temperature ok? did the orange key code light come on when it cut out? does it happen regularly and only when the engine is warmed up?

I am having a similar problem with my 1.9 TD brava.
Unfortunately I let it get very low on oil (probably about empty) and it started to make very nasty noises.
I filled with oil straight away and although it has been running okay, there has still been a knocking noise when accelerating, especially in low gear. Just set off in car and it has started making a loud clicking noise when idling and louder when accelerating.
Appears to be coming from the rocker cover??

Could this be the same dry tappet problem or something more serious.

the tappets sit under the rocker cover so i would think it is indeed a dry tappet, which could mean you have an oil leak and it has gotten low again. it could also mean you have a damaged tappet due to running on low oil previously, although that usually takes a lot of dry use. also consider possibiltiy of damage to the oil pump from using it with very low oil, meaning you now have poor oil circulaiton even when you have enough oil in.

I've had a clicking come from myn from the airbox area. I removed the filter and cleaned the plugs on the pink sensor at the bottom, Seems to have sold it. Do you need an air filter change?

Hi jug. When my engine cut out the orange key light did come on. Also if i sit in the car with the ignition on but the engine not running the orange key light comes on and stays on after around 2 mins. Any ideas?

Dskelly1001 said:

Hi jug. When my engine cut out the orange key light did come on. Also if i sit in the car with the ignition on but the engine not running the orange key light comes on and stays on after around 2 mins. Any ideas?

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that shows there is a fault in the immob circuit. could be a simple wiring fault or a loose connector, or there could be a faulty component. have it diagnosed at a fiat dealer, but first check that the connector for the aerial around the ignition switch is secure.

I removed the rocker cover and noticed the flinger bar wasn't spraying from all holes so i put an engine flush in and ran the car for around 30 mins. I changed the oil and it seems to have worked because the clicking has stopped.

Hi Jug

Re Brava Turbo deisel clicking

I have tried doing an engine flush and changing oil before looking under rocker cover. Unfortunately the noise is now a lot worse and seems to be more that just clicking. very worried that it may be very serious.
Any ideas?
Also, if I still need to look at flicker bar and oil pipe can you confirm how difficult this is on sx100TD as there seems to be quite a lot of other parts in the way. Would also appreciate assiatance with the actual location of oil pipe.

andys said:

Hi Jug

Re Brava Turbo deisel clicking

I have tried doing an engine flush and changing oil before looking under rocker cover. Unfortunately the noise is now a lot worse and seems to be more that just clicking. very worried that it may be very serious.
Any ideas?
Also, if I still need to look at flicker bar and oil pipe can you confirm how difficult this is on sx100TD as there seems to be quite a lot of other parts in the way. Would also appreciate assiatance with the actual location of oil pipe.

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Sorry, Forgot to say that the noise seems to more from the bottom of the engine than from under the rocker cover!!
Any assistance will be greatly appreciated

Hi Andy - not really helping with the problem but I can tell you that only the 1.4 has this spray bar and as such, the only car that has an issue with it. Yours must be something else.

knocking bottom end

thats usually an expensive problem.

My brother in law has spoken with his mechanic friend and has informed me that it could be a new engine. I suppose this is what you mean by an expensive problem!!!

The clicking is back and just the same as before. Do i have to take the spray bar off to clean it? what do i clean it with? How do i clean it? Also i would appreciate some advice as to where the pick up pipe is located. Thanks.

Dskelly1001 said:

The clicking is back and just the same as before. Do i have to take the spray bar off to clean it? what do i clean it with? How do i clean it? Also i would appreciate some advice as to where the pick up pipe is located. Thanks.

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i havent done this myself so i cant really say exactly where the parts are or how to remove them. however i would remove the flinger bar and bathe it in parrafin or petrol or white spirit or similar overnight. same with the pick up pipe. it takes time to dissolve the deposits, they are very much like tar.

I have removed the rocker cover again and i have noticed one of the tappets is completely snapped in half. Also i read somewhere that all the 1.4s have got hydraulic tappets but the tappets on my car are spring loaded. Is it an expensive job to replace the broken tappet?

its very easy, and a single tappet does not cost much. get a haynes manual if you're unsure about what to do.

they are definately hydraulic tappets, all tappets require a spring, the only difference is hydraulic tappets adjust the valve clearance automatically using oil.