graham16v Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Hi all, i bought my 02 Focus 1.8 TDCi Estate in April/May last year. In October i noticed a metallic sound coming from the belt side of the engine. You can only here this sound when the engine is kind of cold but not first thing in the morning, only when its been running for 10 mins or so and its not there when the engine is warm. Also its only there when the engine is idle, if you rev the sound disappears. I done a bit of research and the consensus was a worn Aux belt tension. So i bought the tensioner and a new belt, fitted it all up but it did not cure the sound. Now i'm thinking cam belt and tensioner, it hasn't been changed on the car from what i can see in the history and the car is now on 68k so its time for a new one anyway. Is there any other belt running bearings that can be bought and replaced on the engine? I did notice an idler on the tension belt but couldn't find it listed any where (haven't tried Ford). Any info much appreciated. Thanks Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Hi all, i bought my 02 Focus 1.8 TDCi Estate in April/May last year. In October i noticed a metallic sound coming from the belt side of the engine. You can only here this sound when the engine is kind of cold but not first thing in the morning, only when its been running for 10 mins or so and its not there when the engine is warm. Also its only there when the engine is idle, if you rev the sound disappears. I done a bit of research and the consensus was a worn Aux belt tension. So i bought the tensioner and a new belt, fitted it all up but it did not cure the sound. Now i'm thinking cam belt and tensioner, it hasn't been changed on the car from what i can see in the history and the car is now on 68k so its time for a new one anyway. Is there any other belt running bearings that can be bought and replaced on the engine? I did notice an idler on the tension belt but couldn't find it listed any where (haven't tried Ford). Any info much appreciated. Thanks Graham could even be the pump have ford do the belt and tensioner and mention the noise they will check it all over while its apart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham16v Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 No Ford dealers will be involved in the cam belt and tensioner change. I'll be doing it by myself. Thanks for your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramaniac Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi Graham, It will be interesting to see if you manage to solve this issue. I have a 2009 Focus 1.8 petrol and have a noise that sounds similar to yours. A kind of metallic rattling when cold which disappears after a couple of minutes when the engine is warm, or if you rev the engine. I noticed this morning that when I turned off the buttons for the heated windscreen & rear window, this made the noise go away, turned them on again and the noise started again. Have you tried this? In my case surely it can't be the cam belt, it's only done 12,000 miles! Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham16v Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi Graham, It will be interesting to see if you manage to solve this issue. I have a 2009 Focus 1.8 petrol and have a noise that sounds similar to yours. A kind of metallic rattling when cold which disappears after a couple of minutes when the engine is warm, or if you rev the engine. I noticed this morning that when I turned off the buttons for the heated windscreen & rear window, this made the noise go away, turned them on again and the noise started again. Have you tried this? In my case surely it can't be the cam belt, it's only done 12,000 miles! Alex. Hi Alex, I haven't noticed the sound appearing or disappearing when using the heated rear screen but i'll be sure to keep an ear out for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi Alex, I haven't noticed the sound appearing or disappearing when using the heated rear screen but i'll be sure to keep an ear out for it. all i can say is unless ford do the change the tensioner and the belt are not gauranteed so if they snap or fail youre left with the bill im assuming youve done it before and have the proper locking tools ford also fit new bolts to the pulleys and stuff dont reuse the originals you only have the power steering pump which is unlikely or the water pump or alternator bearings both can be checked for play other than that look for any obvious metal pipoes etc that could be rattling off the engine underneath theres a heatshield around the steering column underneath these can get a bit loose and rattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham16v Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 The cam belt is one of the easiest to do on these engines. The belt only goes round the cam, tensioner and fuel pump. I've always done my own maintenance and I'm not going to give up my right arm for Ford to do my belt, lol. Thanks the info on the heatshield I will check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffg Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 The cam belt is one of the easiest to do on these engines. The belt only goes round the cam, tensioner and fuel pump. I've always done my own maintenance and I'm not going to give up my right arm for Ford to do my belt, lol. Thanks the info on the heatshield I will check that out. had similar noise and on investigation i found the tensioner pulley and the idler pulley both noisy when spun, (belt off obviously), under belt load they would be even worse. pop your belt back off and check the idler out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham16v Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi taffg, Yeah I mentioned the idle pulley in the original post but I couldn't find any where to actually buy it. Did u manage to buy a new one? If so where from??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starfield Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Hi Graham, It will be interesting to see if you manage to solve this issue. I have a 2009 Focus 1.8 petrol and have a noise that sounds similar to yours. A kind of metallic rattling when cold which disappears after a couple of minutes when the engine is warm, or if you rev the engine. I noticed this morning that when I turned off the buttons for the heated windscreen & rear window, this made the noise go away, turned them on again and the noise started again. Have you tried this? In my case surely it can't be the cam belt, it's only done 12,000 miles! Alex. got a 1.8 petrol as well, specs on the left. If you do hear a metallic sound when cold, it is the hydraulic tappets. for them to tap when cold is normal; if the tapping continues when warm, then there is a problem. As for the sound or absence of it when the front/rear demisters are activated, there is a whine on mine (almost inaudible). I put it to the added load on the alternator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramaniac Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 got a 1.8 petrol as well, specs on the left. If you do hear a metallic sound when cold, it is the hydraulic tappets. for them to tap when cold is normal; if the tapping continues when warm, then there is a problem. As for the sound or absence of it when the front/rear demisters are activated, there is a whine on mine (almost inaudible). I put it to the added load on the alternator Ah I see. Yes the sound only happens for maybe a max of 30 seconds then it goes away, presumably because it's warmed up. I also notice that the engine RPM is about 1200 when cold, but I guess that's because there's a lot of electrical draw from various components. I saw this in another post: The Reason the tick over speed is so high when cold is because the heater circuit for the cat (catalytic convertor) is on and heating it up. When everything is warmed up the idle speed gradually lowers down to around 850-900 rpm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Ah I see. Yes the sound only happens for maybe a max of 30 seconds then it goes away, presumably because it's warmed up. I also notice that the engine RPM is about 1200 when cold, but I guess that's because there's a lot of electrical draw from various components. I saw this in another post: unless ford changed it only the diesel shoulkd idle that high petrols are 700+/-30rpm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramaniac Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 unless ford changed it only the diesel should idle that high petrols are 700+/-30rpm OK so there may be an underlying problem? Once warm, I'm getting about 700 - 800rpm. The 1200 is only when cold first thing, although coupled with the metallic sound I'm a bit worried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffg Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Hi taffg, Yeah I mentioned the idle pulley in the original post but I couldn't find any where to actually buy it. Did u manage to buy a new one? If so where from??? i couldnt find an aftermarket one so had to resort to frauds which if my memory serves me was about £26 + vat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 i couldnt find an aftermarket one so had to resort to frauds which if my memory serves me was about £26 + vat! the dial goes up in incraments of 250 rpm so it will look as if its at 750 but with the dash trick if you were to check it its around 730 or lower ford may have upped it to 800 it should be in the handbook to be honest i wouldnt worry at 7-800rpm if it was up at 9 or more when warm then maybe theres an issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramaniac Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 the dial goes up in incraments of 250 rpm so it will look as if its at 750 but with the dash trick if you were to check it its around 730 or lower ford may have upped it to 800 it should be in the handbook to be honest i wouldnt worry at 7-800rpm if it was up at 9 or more when warm then maybe theres an issue Yeh I'm not going to worry about it. After about 30 secs from startup you can hear the engine tone change and it settles down from 1100 - 1200 rpm to around 750 - 780 rpm, checked using the dash trick. The engine certainly doesn't sound like it's revving too high, in fact you can't really hear it at all stood a few feet away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockernao Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi Not been on in a while... Liking the new site 8) Anyhoo, metallic sounds from the engine bay can be sticky valves.... I had that recently and it was solved by an oil change (it was just due for a change anyway) and it's been fine since.... if the sound goes just as fast as it comes, then this is what I'd say it was. I think if it was a belt, tensioner, whatever, than the noise would be constant. At least with an oil change, it's cheap to do, so if it doesn't help your problem, at least it didn't cost much, didn't take long to do and means you have some clean oil in the engine. Hope you sort it soon... I know how frustrating it can be trying to diagnose problems and it can end up being expensive if it doesn't work. My "new" (old) focus is starting to cost me a few £££ to get stuff replaced and sorted... *sigh* Nao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham16v Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi Not been on in a while... Liking the new site 8) Anyhoo, metallic sounds from the engine bay can be sticky valves.... I had that recently and it was solved by an oil change (it was just due for a change anyway) and it's been fine since.... if the sound goes just as fast as it comes, then this is what I'd say it was. I think if it was a belt, tensioner, whatever, than the noise would be constant. At least with an oil change, it's cheap to do, so if it doesn't help your problem, at least it didn't cost much, didn't take long to do and means you have some clean oil in the engine. Hope you sort it soon... I know how frustrating it can be trying to diagnose problems and it can end up being expensive if it doesn't work. My "new" (old) focus is starting to cost me a few £££ to get stuff replaced and sorted... *sigh* Nao Thanks for your reply Nao. I have done an oil change not to long ago and the sound was there before. I have ordered a new Aux pulley, cam belt kit and the revised cam sensor and wiring (to fix another problem) hopefully all will be well once this lot is fitted. I will report back once it's done. Thanks to everyone for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham16v Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Feedback: Fitted new aux belt pulley now so the car has had a new belt, tensioner and pulley and the metallic sound is still there. Next will be the Cambelt and tensioner. On the up, if your having starting issues, lose of power with the glow plug light flashing at you, change your Cam Position Sensor for the new type which are grey in colour! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham16v Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 New Cambelt and tensioner fitted now, very easy to do by your self! However the metallic sound is still there! The only thing i can think of changing is the water pump and alternator clutch. I'll do the water pump sometime soon, next month or two. Anyone else got any ideas what this sound could be??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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