vauxhall cavalier m-reg rattling noise

elly_2

just got the car through its mot a couple of months ago and now there is a rattling noise under the bonnet. it seems like its coming from near the belt but cannot see anything loose. my dad said it could be tappets but dont no. the oil needs changing badly, could this make the engine run noisely. my hubby is hopeless with cars as long as its got petrol in hes not bothered with maintenance at all. we need to take it to a garage but cant really afford to.

skiddy2k

if you think that the oil may need to be changed soon, one thing i would look at is the oil level at the moment.
if there is low oil in the engine, this means that theres less oil in the engine to lubricate all of the metal components such as your pistons in the engine. this results in low friction between each component in the engine and theres more metal to metal grinding as supposed to metal with lubrication between metal via the oil.

this makes the car rattle aswell!
Worth checking the oil level via your dipstick in your car!
Skiddy

vansboy

Probably camshaft - inside the top of the engine, if the rattle is this area.Is the noise more obvious from cold?
If you're low on oil, it won't help & also will have encoureged it, if infrequent changes, throughout it's life. Not worth rectification.

If it's at the front of engine, could be loose cambelt - you can't realy see, if the cover is fitted, get this sorted QUICK!!!

Or loose fan(alternator) belt, you'll be able to push this more than half an inch, if it's too loose. Cheap fix - to prevent flat battery!

Loose, or failing alternator - is it possible to move the entire unit - shouldn't be able too, if you can, easily tightened. Or is the pully, where the belt runs loose? You'll need another alternator, if it is.

Is it the water pump - in the centre of the engine, the bit that sticks out, where the fan belt runs around? You cant fix it, it'll need to be replaced, even if it's not loosing water, 'cos it could break up inside & do nasties to the cooling system.

Best thing is get one of the FastFit tyre places that do £10 - £15 oil n filter changes, to deal with the oil & maybe ask their opinion.

VB

03022242

mine was rattling, turned out to be a few loose bolts on the engine mounts?

elly_2

thankyou all for your replies, vansboy you were right. the car broke down when hubby was driving to work yesterday he managed to get it to the works carpark mostly in 1st gear. had a mechanic out to it and hesaid its the cambelt and the water pump quoted us £300 &vat (the car is prob not worth that much) Anyway he left the car at work last night and phoned a friend who said he can do it for about £185. Cant really afford that but need the car for work. Its surprising how things come to a standstill when you are without a car hubby had to pay £17 for a taxi home from work yesterday and i work evenings so had to catch the bus what a pain! Regarding the oil change hubby put some more oil in on tuesday mechanic said it didnt need it so yesterday there was too much oil in and he also said with it only just gone through its mot there might have been a fault already and when they revved the engine for the tests it prob made it worse.