T-350 2.4 (52) Rattle on start up 2-3 mins it goes?

[Prestige]

This is a strange one, at least to me, the van has been well maintained, only driven by me, so never been thrashed, full service history ect, but what could this noise be, i think its coming from the front?

Could it be the:
Water pump?
Something to do with the timing chain?

It's one of those noises that makes you think..OUCH!!

It started as an irregular knocking sort of noise, a bit like big end knock, but not regular and stopped after a few seconds, oil pressure is ok, light goes out straight away, the engine sounds as good as it left the factory after a few minutes.

So i'm hoping that someone will have had a similar problem, and maybe shed some light on the subject, thanks in advance....

[75psT330lwb]

timing chain tensioner mate. £52 from ford. where abouts are you?

[Prestige]

timing chain tensioner mate. £52 from ford. where abouts are you?

Hi,
Boston Lincolnshire.

Have you had a similar experience to this then?

The engine has no loss of power, no smoke, no rough idle nothing at all except this loud big end kind of knock, in an irregular way, but it seems to go after a few miutes.

I can see how that it may be the tensioner, especially if the bearings are beaking up, but i am not 100% sure, there are so many posts on here with knocking related issues, but none seem to be described in the same way, most seem to point to the DMF or piston on No 1....but the engine runs so smooth at idle, and once warm it sounds brand new!
Btw van has done 120.00 miles


UPDATE:
Just taken van out and driven for about 8-10 miles after being liad up for 7 months, drives perfectly, no knocking or power loss or vibration from gear lever, but i know if i start it in the morning, the knocking will be there.

So the more i think about it, the more likley it seems that it just may be the tensioner, has anyone had similar problems to this, and changed the tensioner?

[angeleye]

at 120,000 i would change chain and tentioner,even if it aint your problem but sounds like it is.what engine is it tddi,tdci
bearing breaking up no bearings in tentioner,it works on spring and hydraulic pressure

[75psT330lwb]

just thought, is it definately a rattle or a really loud knocking? had tensioner go on one of my vans and sounded worrying nearly everytime i started it use to rattle like mad and then quiten down then was perfect till i turned off and left for over 5-10mins. If its more of a really loud knocking like a tractor then possibly timing solenoid on pump on way out but not sure if they 'just go' or not or 'wear down' if you know what i mean. had one of these go aswell and would say its easier to do timing chain and less worrying than doing solenoid as prob more chance knacking things up even if you know what your doing let us know and we can hopefully give a better diagnosis

[Prestige]

at 120,000 i would change chain and tentioner,even if it aint your problem but sounds like it is.what engine is it tddi,tdci
bearing breaking up no bearings in tentioner,it works on spring and hydraulic pressure

After further searching on the forums, i think it may be tensioner related, any idea how much it will cost to get this done, roughly, i assume a kit is the better option?

Thanks

Engine: Duratorq DI 2.4 (90PS)

[75psT330lwb]

when i did mine i put all guides, chain and tensioner on so yes kit is best option but can sometimes get away with just putting tensioner on if guides etc are not that worn. i ordered all my bits through transit parts uk and got some extra gaskets and bits n bobs and it came to about £140 all in delivered. I fitted them myself was quite easy if you know what your doing but if you dont wanna risk it then theres obviously labour on top of that which i imagine would be more than the parts themselves if your thinking of having a go i will help you along with any ad vice needed

[Prestige]

Thanks for the reply and help so far.

I have some mechanical knowledge, and i have attempted some pretty daunting tasks in the past, but not too sure about having a go at this, a couple of questions....

Do you have to remove the whole front, bumper, panel,radiator, ect ect
Any special tools required?
Being realistic, how long would an average joe take to do this job, i mean 1 day, 2 days?

Bearing the above in mind, should this mean because i am asking, it should not be attempted by me !!

[GBBiker]

If you are not 100% confident in doing the job, stump up the green and take it to a garage.

Not something I would normally recommend but at least if something goes wrong it won't cost you to fix it

[75psT330lwb]

If you are not 100% confident in doing the job, stump up the green and take it to a garage.

Not something I would normally recommend but at least if something goes wrong it won't cost you to fix it

Depends which garage you go to Ford would probably dismiss all liability and blame YOU for breaking your engine

[APH]

Its quite an involved job, and I will echo other peoples posts saying if your not 100% sure it may not be worth attempting yourself, as if anything does go wrong it will cost you a lot more to put right.

Just to answer your question regarding removing stuff, yes all the front end must come off to give adequate access, and whole job shouldn't take more than a day if your working carefully and methodically and deffinately have all the right bits before you start.
Heres mine when I did it 2 years ago, showing all parts removed and new chain, tensioner, and guides installed, timing checked, and Just about to start re-assembly:

[angeleye]

just to add no need to take bumper or bonnet off just prop bonnet up

[APH]

Agreed bonnet removal not essential but easier (only 4 bolts) to have it out of the way, rather than risk knocking prop and getting large bump on the head

Thought bumper had to come off though certainly wouldn't have though to try and do it without. (didn't Guy88 take his off too, if you follow his old thread on chain tensioner replacement)

[angeleye]

no bumper dont have to come off dosnt impede in any way

[Prestige]

Thanks for the replies you guys


Looks quite involved to me, i might have attempted it in my younger years, i'm no pensioner but i just looked at the above picture (picturing it being my van) and thought...Nah, too much for me.

So it's going to cost me then i suppose, i just hope that it is the tensioner causing the noise.

I also wondered if it could be the starter not returning properly, and could be the cog hitting the flywheel because it seems to me to be that kind of heavy thudding sound...like i said, big ends sound the same, but this is irregular and only lasts a few minutes, but big end knock doesn't go, and is a regular knock.

I'm all happy to have the tensioner and chain done, but cant equate it to this sort of noise, rattle yes, heavy knock - i'm not so sure?

Sorry to be a pain