hello everyone,

wondering if any of you can help,
i have a 97 a4 1.8 20v, the engine sounds really bad. when i start that car from cold, it sounds as though a bag of spanners are smashing around inside the engine, then as it heats up, there is a constant, not too loud clatter, as though its the tappets, when i rev the car past 2k rpms i cant really hear it....
the sound is like a fast ticking, but more like a clatter....sorry, im just trying my best to describe the noise...
another thing, its seems to be more evident at the rear of the car!!!!
any help will be greatly appreciated.....

 

Exhaust mount? Perhaps a lose heat shield of some type. Does your performance suffer?

 

Its not uncommon for a good running 1.8 to sound like you describe. Especially one with a decent number of miles on it. You may want to try running an engine clean in the oil. The kind you run the engine with for like an hour at idle and then drain out. The 1.8;s can suffer from slugde problems that can cause noise during cold start.

 

perhaps loose exhaust somewhere? valve tick?

 

bent valves.

 

thanks for you help everyone.
its not really the exhaust or sheild, ive held them tight and the noise is still there.
the noise is without doubt from within the engine, most likely from the rear of the engine (the side closest to the firewall/driver). the thing is the noise speeds up with engine revs, but as the engine revs up and gets louder, it becomes difficult to hear the noise....
there are no codes on vag com, the car runs like a brand new car, even though it has approx 105k miles on it. the only problem i can see is after 4k revs the car seems to loose power, the revs climb to redline steadily and evenly but theres no power or very little after 4k revs. ive put plenty of injector cleaner through the petrol tank, and the power problem seems to be getting slightly better!!!
also the car returns like 10mpg!!!

the problem is, ive purchased almost everything i need to make this car into a showcar, i.e. 19" alloys, rs4 kit, lights, exhaust, suspension, etc etc and the car is in a gorgeous kingfisher blue, so i really dont want to sell it and i dont have much money to spare either.....please help.....

 

Hey can you post a sound clip of the problem?