Hi guys!
I have recently adjusted the valve lash and since drove over 250km without any problems.
The car has been stationary for almost 3 weeks after that and upon startup last week I got some ticking from the engine which I can only describe as “sounding like lifter tick, I think?”.
Now the engine does not sound healthy to my ears, there is some weird knocking/inbalance.
I’m definitely not a mechanic so hoping someone on here can help me out and diagnose the sound (best heard around ± 00:20) in the video below.
Kind regards,
Ruud
P.S. This is my first post on the forum so let me know if the title isn’t descriptive enough or if I posted in the wrong thread.
Agreed - doesn’t sound right.
Try using a long screwdriver as a stethoscope - put handle to your ear and the blade on parts of the engine.
It should help you to locate the noise more accurately.
Thanks for the tip. Will report back if I’m able to pinpoint the source.
Update: I have managed to recreate the sound mentioned in the original post.
Once the engine has fully warmed up it creates a very high pitch tick that seems to come above 1300 rpm and dissapears anywhere above 1800 rpm.
It is most noticable around 1600 rpm and very much sounds like a cam smacking something to me (as far as I can tell anyway).
I have uploaded yet another video, my phone has a really hard time recording the sound even though it is very audible in real life.
It’s best heard around 00:07.
Extra info: I’m running Mobil 1 Super 3000 X1 5W-30 (have been for a while now)
Car was parked after a 80km trip home, sat for 3 weeks, started up fine but sounds like it does now.
Could it be an injector making … interesting noises? Any way to check?
Using a screwdriver as a stethoscope is a cool trick!
I wasn’t able to narrow it down very much apart from the fuel rail ticking excessively loud when I held the screwdriver against it.
Could this just be the injectors activating?
Injector on cylinder 4 sounded a little different from the rest…
Perhaps something connected to cylinder 4 that resonated through to that injector.
I’m watching this with interest. My '95 Mk1 has just developed a very similar noise, shortly after a cam belt change. I shall be investigating later in the week, and will report back.
You can buy an automotive stethoscope for very little money.
They are great for finding some noises in the engine.
@CBRDEANO I took your advise and ordered a stethoscope. Received it yesterday and just started the engine to try and locate some of the sounds.
The steady “thumping” that can be heard in the first video seems to be coming from the timing belt, see attached picture. When I held the probe around the timing belt tensioner location a similar steady “wobble” (not the best word to describe it) was clearly audible.
I’m going to be taking of the valve cover next week and inspect the conditions (and re-check valve lash while i’m at it).
Extra side info: when I replaced the head gasket a little over a year ago the crankshaft pulley did NOT want to come off, the single crankshaft bolt didn’t move the slightest either. So I didn’t replace the waterpump and timing belt at that time. Looks like I’m in for a treat soon 
@ruud_scheenen I removed the cam cover and had a good look, it turned out to be the belt tensioner was set too loose, despite using a new pulley and spring. I re-set it a bit tighter, and the noise has gone.
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Fantastic to hear that your problem has been solved!
I ended up opening my cam cover last weekend too, I wouldn’t necessarily describe my timing belt as being too loose but I loosened the tensioner pulley anyway. Checked the timing and did the prescribed “1 and 5/6th turn” to tighten it back up. I’m going to check the flex (should be between 9 and 11mm according to the Haynes manual). Bolt her back together and report back here.
Thanks for chipping in!
Hello again 
Here comes a lengthy update with my findings of the past week.
It will be a 3 part post as I can not post more than 2 links per post as a new user…
I took the valve cover and timing belt covers off and checked the tension of the timing belt (which seemed a little loose to me).
See this video for the timing belt play right after opening up the engine: 20230712_204302 on Vimeo
After re-tensioning the timing belt by following the whole 1 and 5/6th turn procedure described in the Haynes manual I checked the play on the timing belt (which should be between 9 and 11mm). This seemed even more loose than before, and in my opinion way too loose. But if that is what the manual prescribes i’m trying it anyway.
See video for the play on the timing belt after adjusting: 20230712_204516 on Vimeo
End of part 1/3
Part 2/3
I then bolted everything back together and started her up to see if it made any difference.
Short answer: yes, I think it did make a difference. But not in the right way…
The thumping sound seems even more pronounced than it already was at the beginning of this thread.
See this video for the current state after adjusting the timing belt tension: 20230712_214459 on Vimeo
Since probing around with the stethoscope before seemed to indicate that the sound was located around the timing belt tensioner (or at least something with the timing belt) I decided to take off the valve cover once more, take off the upper and middle timing belt covers, and then put the valve cover back on.
Just so that I could see the timing belt while running the engine. Perhaps it was slapping around because it was so loose (even though it is set at the exact prescribed play)?
Here is yet another video, this time with the timing belt visible: 20230719_181050 on Vimeo
The timing belt does not appear to be slapping around the covers or anything, so I got out the stethoscope again.
End of part 2/3
Part 3/3
(This post was delayed a little as all my posts were automatically flagged for spam due to the links to the videos.)
With better access to both timing belt bearings I was able to pinpoint the source of the sound more closely (I think). When putting the tip of the stethoscope right on the cover in front of the timing belt idler pulley it sounded as if someone was firing a machine gun inside my ear.
I put one of the earpieces right on the microphone of my phone while putting the probe on the described spot so you guys could hear the same thing through the video.
Here is the last video for this post, I can no longer post links to vimeo so please paste the URL together (I included spaces so the post could go through): https:// vimeo .com/847558407
Conclusion for now:
I think the timing belt idler bearing is at the end of it’s life. Combined with the fact that the timing belt does not feel all that healthy to me (given the excessive play while still being “in spec). I have decided to replace both the tensioner and idler pulley, and the timing belt itself.
This leads us to the next adventure: taking off the crank pulley and crankshaft bolt (which are rusted together as mentioned before in this thread). I have ordered a 1/2” 600mm breaker bar which just came in today !
End of part 3/3
To all of the people helping out and making it to the end of this post: thank you so much, it really helps to have other people give their opinion and/or expertise!
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Post 1/2
It’s been a while but I’m back with a little update!
(For the sake of someone finding this thread in the future and having similar problems)
I have managed to make some progress. 
This one is going to be split up in 2 posts again because I can only put 1 picture per post… thanks forum rules.
The harmonic damper has finally broken loose, the solution for me was to attach a 150mm (6 inch) pulley puller on it (note that this does require you to grab onto the timing wheel which in turn absolutely bends and ruins it).
I drilled a very shallow hole in the middle of my crank bolt, as this was going to get replaced anyway. To prevent the puller from slipping away, it was going to put a LOT of force on everything so best to be a little precautious.
After putting tension on the puller a loud “snap” was audible which seemed like it was coming loose, or something broke catastrophically 
The puller then needed about 2 turns more on the pin for the entire assembly came loose with a loud bang and everything dropped to the floor. Including the harmonic balancer!!
End of part 1/2
Part 2/2
I then fabricated a crank locking bar in order to get the crank bolt off (as mentioned in a post above here somewhere it seemed to be welded shut it required so much power to break loose.
Either the locking bar worked WAY better than I expected or the bolt wasn’t that stuck anymore after the harmonic balancer came off. Because I was able to pull it loose with a 24 inch breaker bar with one hand this time… No cheater pipes needed.
The bolt then unscrewed very easily by hand and I could dissasemble everything. Believe it or not, but the little crank gear had absolutely 0 rust, I was able to remove it by hand! Guess my karma cancelled out after this whole harmonic balancer adventure
Now back to the original topic of weird knocking/ticking noises:
I removed the timing belt and timing belt guide bearings. As expected (and determined by listening with a stethoscope thanks to the great tip of @CBRDEANO) the idler bearing is at the end of it’s life. It rattles when you shake it in your hand, which is less than ideal for bearings…
New parts have been ordered and should be in next week, let’s get her on the road again!
End of part 2/2
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