Why do sum voxhalls sound fooked???

[nisfan]

Ok a bit of an odd one but why do I keep hearing vauxhalls especially corsas sound like they have 80s talbot/ford cvh etc engines? There was a newer corsa D? rattling away and i wondered what causes it.

[beko1987]

Our 54 reg meriva sounds like a bag of spanners on startup, Im just ignoring it until it explodes in a pile of shit

[Pillock]

I dunno, my neighbour had an Astra G which sounded like it had never seen an oil change in its life. Really rattly. Last month he swapped it for an 08 Corsa, which sounds equally knackered. Both pezzle models.

 

My Astra diesel is quieter, in fact.

[nisfan]

Always pez models im sure

[saucedoctor]

The Meriva I couldn't get rid of was like that. Someone told me that the hydraulic tappets drain quickly and are slow to refill.

 

Albert Ross will know the answer.

 

[bub2006]

Our 1.8 vectra c has 146k on clock. Ticks for a couple of seconds on startup but that's all. Think it's hydraulic tappets. I know the chain driven 1.0,1.2,1.4 all sound like a skeleton knocking one out in a tool box though.

[Keymaster]

Its simple.

 

All Voxhauls is shit.

[lisbon_road]

The Corsa timing chain engine will make a rattle from the tensioner/chain generally due to poor oil changes exacerbated by poor oil and long Vauxhall service interval (here we go again much discussed).  Ignore at your peril as they will fail spectacularly.

 

Some people who ignore the service interval and change oil more often (pref much more often) report that they do fine.

 

And at least they give you plenty of warning unlike cambelts, which just break.

 

I reckon all cars have their problems.....

[RichardK]

Because General Motors design to the lowest acceptable standard and owners perform the lowest acceptable maintenance, particularly the 'oh god I just want a car that costs X a month and I don't have to think about it' types.

See also - almost every car that doesn't come with status, rarity or unusually generous servicing/fleet packages combined with that rare thing, a garage that actually does the work properly and carefully even on the cheapest of cars.

(I've had one garage do the service perfectly on a new car - Border Cars Mazda, on my RX8. First service, they did the whole thing, oil droppers on the door hinges, the lot - then offered replacement wheels, a discount on a 1:18 MX5 model I was looking at in their cabinet, and reminded me about the oil pipe recall. Then gave me five disposable oil filler spouts and a litre of the oil they used. Service charge was £85... Previous car was a New Beele that Thornwoods, a dealer I knew and had bought from previously, charged £200 then didn't put long-life oil in because I'd asked for an annual service rather than waiting two years, refused to investigate a leak that saturated the footwell, and were miserable cocks the whole time I was in there).

[HillmanImp]

Ecotec engines use a lot of oil. Combine that with poor maintenance and you get a lot of rattly engines.

[Barry Cade]

One Corsa timing chain I saw was so bad,it had sawed through the block, pissing all the oil coming from the pump straight back to the sump. It was still running.... Oil pressure fed chain tensioner, so if the tensioner blocks up, the chain has no tension and flaps about.

[HH-R]

I often hear Corsa C 1.2 petrols that sound like a bag of spanners, but they're always rough looking all round and the owner can't park or drive properly so any sort of maintenance will have gone out of the window 4 owners ago.

[Angrydicky]

Mine doesn't, in fact it burbles like a V8. CLASS

[STUNO]

My Corsa B was very quiet except when angry. 1400 ecotec twin cam, and surprisingly quick!

[twosmoke300]

Tis all the chain driven ones with women owners who think that an mot is a full service and that dust is a good substitute for oil in the sump

[danthecapriman]

I had a BMW E36 316, on 175K that rattled it's tits off when started from cold. It went away after a few minutes and sounded fine after that. It was like a very loud clicking/clattering sound! It wasn't a very well looked after car though so I suspect it had missed a lot of maintenance during its life. That engine was belt driven so wasn't that.

[Albert Ross]

Yup. Simplex chain, weak tensioner that's fed by oil pressure (Optional on most models) and the oil filters collapse is left more than the specified interval. I've seen them fail at 22000 miles  (Outside warranty at 5 years old with NO servicing whatsoever, the customer thinking the MOT meant it was serviced too.. cue argument with Sales department who "told her that when she bought it") Warranty claim rejected. I've also witnessed a rattler go past 130000 miles with regular 6000 mile oil changes. It basically stayed the same, and was caught just in time. I trust nothing made by GM with a chain unless it's RWD.  (Blitz/CIH/OHV) I recently replaced an engine in a 4 year old Corsa, due to total chain failure, and the engine supplied by customer started to rattle 1 month later.... it came back "under warranty" because according to the customer "It's obviously been fitted wrong"... I checked it, it was fine, the on site QC checked it with the Service Manager, it was fine.  We quoted them for a chain replacement. They attempted to involve Trading Standards, who as soon as they learned that the engine was a sealed unit, supplied by the Customer, told them to piss off.

[Hendry]

Mk4 Astra's all sound tappety as fuck because the engines fitted to them, usually the 1.6 16v burns oil at a rapid rate because the piston rings or valve stem seals are away, and the owner doesn't check and top up the oil regularly so they are just about to go BANG! Mine used all its oil within 6 months/9K miles of being serviced once, I admit I didn't check oil levels much on my car until then and assumed it'd be fine as it was less than 6 months/10k miles since it was last changed, I pointed out to the garage the pool pressure light occasionally came on during sharp right hand turns but that it must be fine as it was last done recently and must just be the oil pressure switch (common Vauxhall issue) to be told there wasnt a drop of oil in it and I was lucky I put it in for a service and xaught it in time otherwise I'd have blew the engine up, their advice was don't bother trying to fix it as its a lot of money for an older car, and don't buy a 2nd hand engine as that will likely be the same, if it bothers you that much, sell it, if not check and top up the oil regularly, and this was on a car which had been serviced at least every year/10k from new, so wasn't skimped on maintenance. Its still going 6 years after that even though my uncles missus who I sold it to hasn't a clue about cars and has likely never checked and topped up the oil and its still one of the quietest mk4s ive heard, ever.

[Station]

Early GM engines tapped at startup due to hydraulic lifters. I think they were a poor design, a tiny little hole for lubrication on the bottom. The C20XE only came in the GSi's/Calibras (and Lada 110's), and were usually well looked after, so don't think regular oil changes helped. Early XE heads were designed and manufactured by Cosworth, and then GM in 1993/4 as a cost cutting exercise, and the GM heads suffered from porosity due to casting technique. The C16XE was a Lotus designed engine. Vauxhall also commissioned and funded the Lotus Carlton, the fastest four door at the time.

Vauxhall had some amazing engines in the 80s and 90s, but like everything else, quality has been reduced to compete on a global market with the Chinese etc. Nothing is as well made anymore.

[Split_Pin]

5k/6 month oil changes and it will go on just as long as any other engine. Mine is on 91k now and perfectly quiet. These threads are super as they sort out infantile 'car bore' trollers from those with an informed opinion which is useful when knowing which posts to scroll past in a thread in future.

[twosmoke300]

I had a customer ( woman) with a zafira that the eml would come on with a knock sensor code because it rattled so much when it was low on oil !

[beko1987]

The meriva is a 1.6 8v, and reading this thread now it's had posts I'm going to keep on the twice yearly oil changes for a bit!

 

Thinking about it it does smoke slightly for a while until it warms up...