Technical HELP.....big problem i fear

[philipb82]

Hello

I was driving earlier and i could hear what sounded like rapid tapping coming from the engine. Anyway just a few minutes ago it got alot worse and louder, then the 'engine fault' light and message. It sounds quite bad at the moment. I consulted the manual and it says that the injection system isn't working perfectly. Can anyone give me some info and is it going to be a costly fix? Or is this the end of my stilo! By the way its a JTD.

Yesterday i was on the M62 and there was a rake or something like a gardening tool laying in my lane. By the time i approached it, it was too late to avoid it and it went under the car. Is this just coincidence or could this object have caused damage?

Phil

 

[Clivvy]

Did you hit the rake? If so, almost certainly, maybe you have damaged the belts or some other component. Can't comment on injectors being the issue, but could well be timing that's damaged or similar.....

 

[philipb82]

Yeah i did, it hit the underside of the car. When you say timing, would that be possible as the cambelt is near the top of the engine and is in a casing. However the auxillary belt is lower. Although saying that, the object was stationery when i went over it i doubt it could have hit any vital engine parts, well i hope not anyway!

Phil

 

[rattystilo]

have you got an undertray though as the rake would have hit this, and are there any signs of damage under the car?

 

[Dcthebear]

Any fluid leaks? Any vibration through steering wheel? Does it make noise when in neutral under revs or idling? Does it make noise in reverse? Has an exhaust bracket or the exhaust itself been damaged? Lots of places to start. Keep a close eye on the fluid levels including the brake fluid.

 

[Clivvy]

yh i think the timing belt will be ok BUT, if it has damaged the crank sensor, oil sump etc etc, then that could affect the timing, which in turn may have caused the error and engine noise....have you checked the oil? just give that a quick check, because if it has gone very low, that would explain the tappety noises...

 

[Clivvy]

also, i think we need to know the engine fault code. My worry is oil, and lack thereof! please check it before you drive again.

 

[philipb82]

I'm getting the car looked at during the week by my mechanic friend. I don't think i've got an undertray when looking down from the engine i can see the floor so i presume not? There are no leaks that ive noticed so far, oil level seems to be fine. I can't see any damage when i had a look underneath. Also it makes a noise when its stood on my drive in neutrel, didn't try reverse and didn't notice any vibration through steering wheel. I'll check fluids tomorrow and report any changes. I'll let u know what happens when it gets looked at.

Phil

 

[Clivvy]

curious. No undertray leaves all your belts, air con pipes etc open, so, maybe its damaged the air con pulley, auxilary pulley and thats causing some sort of issue? anyway, your mechanic friend will reveal all, hopefully its nothing bad

 

[philipb82]

I hope its nothing bad either Clivvy. I would be sad to see the car go if it ends up being a big expense I've spent a fair bit on the car sorting faults, replacing parts and generally getting it running better.

Phil

 

[vladof]

If it's still running than it won't be that bad. I'm sure it's fixable.

Just consider it as a next investment to get some undertrays for the car. You don't need to get OEM ones, just put something to protect you from all the debry. Dirt, water, etc, is not at all good for any of the engine parts.

If you had an undertray to begin with, none if this would have happened so it's a worthy investment.

 

[Dcthebear]

Making a noise in neutral points to things that move when the car isn't. With that your looking at the alternator, the radiator or a/c fan if fitted, or the engine itself. Really gonna be a case of hunting round for it. However its not something silly like a bumper mount snapped off causing vibration is it? Again a good wiggle of various parts to identify.

 

[philipb82]

If you had an undertray to begin with, none if this would have happened so it's a worthy investment.

I'll definately get one fitted! However it might not be anything to do with hitting this object. It could be something that has just failed, i don't know. Since then anyway i've done about 50 miles with no problems. I'll get it checked out.

Phil

 

[philipb82]

My mechanic friend popped round earlier and after listening to the engine hes almost certain its the cambelt. He removed the cover and the belt is very slack and disrupted the timing. Anyway the car is now at his house and he is looking into it. He reckons Fiat haven't fitted it properly so the plan was to recover the car down to my local fiat. However due to costs of uqgrading our membership at a one off payment, diagnostics at fiat if its not the belt and recovery back, it just wasn't worth it. So its gone down the street to my mates! Fingers crossed! Oh and by the way he plugged in a code reader and it picked up 2 faults but he was unable to read them. Something to do with OBD?

Phil

 

[Clivvy]

that was one of my thoughts, regardless of being in a cover, the cover is only plastic, must have got just enough of a jolt to slaken off-Fiat cant have fitted it properly, perhaps the tensioner is loose...!

 

[philipb82]

that was one of my thoughts, regardless of being in a cover, the cover is only plastic, must have got just enough of a jolt to slaken off-Fiat cant have fitted it properly, perhaps the tensioner is loose...!

He did actually mention the tensioner. I just hope there is no damage done.

Phil

 

[Clivvy]

hopefully its just slipped a tooth, will send your timing out, but no damage to pistons. Best thing is to find out for sure what has happened, then send Fiat the bill.

 

[philipb82]

All done! Its had a new cambelt kit fitted however i'm still getting the engine fault message, i'll get that checked out tomorrow. The only thing is the crankshaft has a bit of play in it and my mechanic told me its an expensive job to replace. So eventually when that packs up the car might have to go

Phil

 

[philipb82]

Without starting a new thread, does anybody know roughly how much a crankshaft costs? Its the whole system not just the pulleys. I'm just curious to know how much they are. I probably won't be able to afford the labour to get it replaced and maybe it won't be worth it on a car its age (52 reg). I've tried to find them but can only find pulleys and sensors.

Phil

 

[heraldsteve]

If it's the actual crankshaft then that's just about the most single major component in the engine, but I find it hard to believe this is what your mechanic is referring to. If it has gone then it's a major piece of work as it involves a rebuild of the engine. When a crankshaft goes it usually results in knocking or rumbling, especially under load.

I'm more inclined to think you have either misunderstood his diagnosis or that he means the pulley is somehow knackered and might have caused damage to the shaft (which is the end of the crankshaft), but if this is the case then I'm sure it can be 'bodged' with a new pulley to an acceptable standard. I've never used it but I have heard great things about 'liquid metal' which is designed to repair this type of shaft damage.

First thing is to get your mechanic to accurately describe what he thinks is wrong, then maybe someone here can advise further if necessary.