New owner paranoia...

[aaronjb]

I've been sitting here this afternoon going through lots of old posts in this section (mainly, and the performance section), and have read the references to belt tensioner noise, timing chain tensioner noise and precats-falling-apart-and-mangling-your-engine noise..

And now I'm worried  s:) s:)

When I test drove my car (before buying), I'm sure I didn't notice any rattles etc - and the car was nicely warm by the time we'd finished a nice long drive - but then, how much attention was I paying to the noises in the car? Probably not much, I was spending my time trying to get used to an airy-fairy clutch again  s:) s:)

Now I've started to notice (over the last couple of weeks and 600 miles or so) a rattling sound from the engine bay.. It's quite light, and only seems to be there when the car is warm, and it's there at idle or just above idle.. Sounds exactly like you'd imagine a loose heatshield to sound..

Bets on timing chain tensioner vs. precat failure?

If it's the timing chain, is it going to get progressively worse before mullering my engine, or is it just one of those things thats going to be annoying, perhaps causing a little extra wear on the chain/chain guides, but nothing catastrophic? (This is the first car I've owned with a timing chain, so while I know all about the problems of timing belt failure, I'm not hot when it comes to chains  s:) s:) ) (Whips and handcuffs, well.. that's another story..   s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  )

Thanks  s:) s:)

Aaron

[Slacey]

I'm assuming it's a new car - if it is, there have been very few '02 models reported with engine problems (mine has certainly been OK, and as some of the others will testify, it's not babied) and I don't know of ANY '03's having a problem.

My advice is not to worry about it, and if there is a problem, that's what the warranty is for   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[aaronjb]

It's nearly new.. April 2002 registered, although it does have 28k on the clock now (27k when I bought it, give or take)..

And that's true - 18 months or so of warranty left.. Of course, I'd rather avoid the hassle of having a dead car  s:) s:)  (Note to self: Fix your other car!  s:) s:) )..

Thanks,
Aaron

[Slacey]

April 2002 registered, although it does have 28k on the clock

Most of the reported self-destructs were around the 20k mark, so hopefully you are past the potential problem mileage - but, as it's an '02 like mine, we should (fingers crossed) be OK...

[aaronjb]

I'll just keep my fingers crossed then, thanks  s:) s:)  (And possibly poke around looking for loose heatshields), and I'll save the parts-replacing antics until after the warranty has run out..

Cheers,
Aaron

[Tem]

Most of the reported self-destructs were around the 20k mark

I remember counting the average from SC and it was about 35k miles. Some had over 60k miles...and I don't think many have even driven much more than that. So it kinda seems like it has nothing to do with miles.


But then again, there's only one blown 2002 reported on SC (and it might've been a 2001 registered on 2002)...and no 2003's. So seems this is just a problem for 2000/2001's...

[Anonymous]

dont worry about it till it happens.mines a y reg with 37.000 on and i have had no problems whatsoever but i still get it checked and serviced regular to make sure.
only warranty work i have had done was a roof replacement,seat covers to be replaced and the top strut mounting but no probs with the engine.  s:D s:D

[aaronjb]

I'll try to stop worrying so much then  s:) s:)

Couldn't hear the noise that much last night either - maybe I'm just going mad!

Paranoia was obviously creeping in because my last car was so unreliable  s;) s;)

Thanks,
Aaron