306 Gti6 engine sounds

[son of a beesting]

Hello

So I have been running my 306 for about a year and the engine has always sounded a bit 'rough'. I had the cambelt, water pump and aux belt replaced when I purchased the vehicle.

The car had a large bill for engine work which is suspect was for rectification work after a snapped belt.

Before I spend anymore money on the car I would appreciate some experts have a listen to the engine.

It has no other problems (mayo under the cap, blue smoke) it pulls cleanly  through the rev range. The car was cold when I took the video.

Thanks in advance

[PartyJas]

Unfortunately i cant view the video bit if its tapping then that's an inherent problem of a snapped cambelt repair and the only resolve is a new cylinder head. I don't think it affects performance, just doesn't sound great.

[Piggy]

Holy moly that sounds poorly.

You can pinpoint noises using a long metal pipe/pole and place it on different areas of the engine and the other end to your ear.

[7057sam]

Remember the 6 engine are nt very quite had 3/4 different engine all had abit of a different noise to them

check for potential oil leaks,loose spark plugs can make them run on 3 cylinders and sound god awful.

Also see how it sounds when you rev it's if it clears could be somthing simple if it s taps then it may be a hg issue

[luke306rallye]

Try taking the aux belt off to see if it sounds different?

[Dum-Dum]

Get it dyno'd and see if it makes the right power.

[allanallen]

Gti6s never make the right power!

Too difficult to pinpoint on a video but it sounds shit. Hydraulic lifters can be noisy if you've got the wrong oil in, the rear cam carrier exhaust shield can also make awful noises if the bolts come loose.

Has it always done it or just since you had the belt changed? You have to be very careful when doing the belts as there's very little room for error in timing these engines, the valve stems are made from liquorice I believe! lots get fooked up this way.

[DemonDriverDan]

Sounds like it's got no oil in it! Chances are it's a tapper but it doesn't sound exactly like one to me.

[adam b]

Check plugs first.

[RetroPug]

Does the tapping sound increase in frequency with the revs?
Check oil level with dipstick.

[Toms306]

Fit a Magnex, cant hear the engine over that...

[cully]

idlers sound rough as said remove the aux belt and start it again
if it stops ist the aux idlers if not maybe the cambelt idelers

[Paul_13]

Are you based in Maidenhead?

[Niall]

There's a few nasty noises there. Sounds like there's a bad pulley for a start somewhere or maybe a slightly too tight Cambelt. To start with I'd do as above and run it without the auxbelt and see if it disappears.
Also sounds like some really noisy tappets. It's not a tapper though. That's a very distinctive noise!

[doski]

as above does the noise get faster when you rev?

[son of a beesting]

Hi guys thanks for the comments.

I was planning to have a look at removing the aux belt at the weekend but I got given some free tickets to the Autosport show so I was away instead. :-)

I did have a mate who is into 205's come over and have a look and he pinpointed a noisy alternator (by using the screwdriver method). The ticking noise was interesting. As soon as you rev it goes away completely then returns at idle.

Thankfully he said my head was quiet and not a 'tapper' as Niall correctly identified!

[j-n-88]

Is there any way to rectify a tapper without a new head?? Glad you identified what was causing your noise. Mine had a noisy aircon pump pulley. Only found this after my mechanic changed every other pulley one by one and the only one left is the aircon. If I'd knew that in the beginning I'd of just bought a delete kit plus side is everything there looks nice and new now!!

[Chr1sch]

Interestingly enough I started an identical thread on the gti6 website, mine sounds similarly nasty, has done for ages but like yours, goes well, doesnt smoke, use oil etc.

I discovered i had a loose airbox intake tube thing which caused the rattle at the end of my clip (the one that sounds like bottom end), other than that mine is equally noisy at the head end, see what you think:

As a note, i run (and its always been run, on 5w40 fully synthetic, seems like there is no definitive answer to that question...)

[son of a beesting]

Have you tried to 'screwdriver' method of sound locating? That's how my mate identified the noisy alternator bearings.

Saying that your sounds better than mine and I dont think I have anything particularly to worry about!

[PUGNUT_XS]

Like the others said run it without the aux belt on. That tapping on idle sounds like the injectors. The 6 does have quite loud injectors. When the timing belt was done did you replace the bottom pully at all. The rubber inside them deteriorates and the timing mark shifts. 

From your video it also sounds like you have a vacuum leak somewhere too.  

[Paul_13]

Where are you based mate? Maidenhead?
I'm in Twyford can always pop over, I've got a bit more experience with 6 engines so should be able to give a better diagnosis /help out

[son of a beesting]

Hi Paul_13

Thanks for the offer, I think we may have a friend in common (Justin Buck) and he was talking about doing a little mini meet. He was the guy that diagnosed the alternator bearing noise.