Any mechanics able to identify engine issues by sound?

[Crabby]

Morning all

Been about a week now and I'm not able to take it in to get looked at currently.

Trying to determine if driving is a good idea or if I'm going to blow up on the road.

 

[WAslayer]

Sounds like your lifters are completely done for.. how is your oil level..? A top up may help, if on the low side..

 

[Binary_Bark]

Opel, enough said

 

[TheMightyQuin]

Sounds like your lifters are completely done for.. how is your oil level..? A top up may help, if on the low side..

Could be pin slap if there's one or 2 worn gudgeon pins.

Does it go away after a while or run like that permanently?

 

[Grouter]

It's a diesel, yes?

 

[Crabby]

Oil was ok last time I checked, I'll confirm again, WA.
MQ, noise is now permanent, mostly when I'm low rev, so slowing down etc
Grouter - petrol but it's now sounding like a diesel.

 

[Grouter]

As WAslayer said, your lifters are shot. Not too big a deal - just requires replacing them. No need for the head to come off (AFAIK). I am actually a retired mechanic, but I'm not familiar with the ecotec engine.

 

[Gtx Gaming]

Sounds like diesel

 

[marbro]

when last did you change your oil? what oil did you use?

I wasnt able to use thinner oil when I had my corsa, as the lifters made a noise

 

[Tabac]

That's how a tappit must sound. Just hook up a plough and start farming.

 

[chrisc]

A (very dodgy) used car place in Maitland used to jam bananas into the oil filler cap to quieten tappet noise

However, he would peel them first

 

[Grouter]

A (very dodgy) used car place in Maitland used to jam bananas into the oil filler cap to quieten tappet noise

However, he would peel them first

Haha! True - it works. Back in 1984 a mate of mine sold an old 1965 Holden with a noisy diff stuffed with bananas. It stayed quiet enough for the buyer's test drive, but I hate to think what it must have looked like inside a couple of days later. He just peeled them and fed them in through the filler plug one by one. Very dodgy.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

my opel use to sound like that and thats when i knew it was time to do an oil change, sound would go away then

 

[Crabby]

It's a 2008 Opel Astra 1.8 OPC Sport so it is getting on in years.

Oil would have been changed at the last service which was just before lockdown. Haven't used the car much since then.

I hit 200 000kms a week or 2 ago, so it's telling me it needs a service, but the noise is new.

I'll have a look at a full oil change and see what happens.

Thanks all for the feedback

 

[Crabby]

If I need the lifters replaced, is it a major and expensive job?

 

[Rickster]

Slap in Liqui Molly 5w-30

 

[Grouter]

When I did my old bantam bakkie, I seem to remember the set of lifters being pretty cheap - couple of hundred bucks. Job took a few hours. Tappet cover off, remove bits and pieces, slide out old tappets, slide in new ones, tighten everything up. I've never paid a mechanic to do anything on a car in my life, so I can't speak for labour rates.

 

[Grouter]

Slap in Liqui Molly 5w-30

5 second fix. Won't work.

 

[WAslayer]

If I need the lifters replaced, is it a major and expensive job?

Two hours worth of labour, if that.. my local workshop charges 655 an hour for labour..

Not sure on the price of lifters though..

 

[ArmatageShanks]

Yeah just sounds like your lifters have gone bad, although they tend to get worse over time not all of a sudden, but they are cheap, replacing them not so much, cams need to be lifted.