Strange noise

[haz_bo]

When I start my (1998 S) 1.8 Bravo HLX in the morning or when it has been sat all day I get a clatter from the engine for about 3 seconds. The engine then sounds perfectly normal, and will only repeat this when it has been sat for a while. The car itself has no other signs of a problem (running, performance or noise wise). If anybody has suffered the same problem and could shed any light on the subject it would be appreciated.

P.S My car has done 29000 miles and had its last service 3 months ago.


Cheers
Harry

 

[Paul Keeble]

A possible answer

Hi,

The tappets on the 1.8 are hydraulic and use iol pressure to set themselves. When the car has been siting unused for a while (even overnight) the oil drains away from the cylinder head to the sump. On cold start-up, it usually takes a couple of seconds for the oil pump to cirulate enough oil around the engine (especially to the cylinder head). Hence the tappets take a few seconds to pressurize and maintain their gap. Hence the ticking noise. This is common not only on Fiat engines but VW's as well.

If the ticking continues after a few seconds, then the problem is more likely to be low oil pressure (kanckered oil pump although unlikely on a car of your age) or low oil level (again unlikely).

I hope this puts your mind at rest

Paul

 

[Phil Lee]

another answer

Hi there

This clatter - if it only happens in the cold, and is emabrassingly loud, could also be because of a dirty starter motor. I had the same problem and it screeched and clatterd horribly for a couple of seconds (only when cold), and worked as normal afterwards. Someone on the forum further back suggested the solution. I have a mate as a Fiat mechanic and he confirmed it and fixed it for me. My car is an HGT, therefore a nightmare to do anything under the bonnet. You may be able to squeeze it out (i'm not sure). Refer back and folow the cleaning instructions of some of the forum members

Phil