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A slight aside, but from what year of car did they change the tensioner to one that doesn’t wear out?
I don't recall anyone saying the modified ones don't wear out lolA slight aside, but from what year of car did they change the tensioner to one that doesn’t wear out?
Update, mines stopped rattling, so not bothered to take it inthanks for the tips guys, same things happening to me now 66, plate astra 1.6 diesel, now and again get the rattle, last 2 services not at main dealer, will take it to him though as he's trustworthy, not like the main dealers, rip off merchants
Mine has been doing the "1-2 second, startup rattle" for the last 3 years, it does not seem to get better, it does not seem to get worse, and i am not going to sink £2000+ into getting it fixed unless the situation gets worse. Partly because i am thinking about replacing it in the next year or 2 and i have not actually been driving as many miles as i though when i bought it, so it is still below 60.000 miles (Covid is the cause of that), and partly because i have read about someone that had the full repair (New chain, new chain guide, new cogwheels, and new tensioner) and the rattle returned shortly after, so it does not seem like, even what they do now is going to be a complete fix, more of a "Extend the time before something goes boom"Update, mines stopped rattling, so not bothered to take it in
started again today, intermittentUpdate, mines stopped rattling, so not bothered to take it in
Yeah and here the vauxhall dealer even told me that they could change that without me having to pay for the gasket or repair.The Important part is tensioner gasket, because keep oil pressure.
In my country official dealer hadn't heard of tensioner gasket or maybe they know about it, but just they don't want to mount.
Just poor lazy cheaply cost engineering which is a shame as the 1.6 whisper quiet engine is a peach , it pulled our Zafira tourer along at some speed. Our engine never rattled despite being abused by various drivers on our fleet , sadly it got towed away when the gearbox got locked in first gear & car stopped dead. It had 66,000 miles recorded on a 15 plate but the company wasn’t going to spend anymore money on it as it was deemed not to be worth repairing.Yeah and here the vauxhall dealer even told me that they could change that without me having to pay for the gasket or repair.
BUT...There was a caveat...For them to be allowed to do this, they would have to do a full inspection of whether other parts had gone bad...Such as chain guides having the moulded on plastic being stripped.
They were only allowed to add that gasket for free, if this was the only problem. If there were other damage, i would have to pay out of my own pocket for the complete fix with chain, guides and whatnot and if i did not want to do that, they would only add the gasket at my own cost...And if i refused any of that, i would be charged for some hours of diagnosis.
I do not trust them enough, and i would bet that they would find damage that i would either have to pay for or have to pay for the diagnosis and possible addition of that gasket.
Either way, i was not going to have them look at the car, and essentially decide themselves how much money they would want me to pay.
Is not like this. You are on the right track but this is how it is: the rattle at start is because in time the plastic guides first they getting shaved off a bit from the top. Not enough to brake or damage them but enough for the chain to have room to vibrate. SO at this point the gasket is fitted to make sure that the chain will stay on the guides and not vibrate on them and shaving more to get them to the point of braking.From what i was told, what happens when the car rattles is this.
On the chain guides is some plastic moulded onto the metal, this reduces the friction between the chain and the chain guides.
When the engine is cold, the tensioner is not keeping the chain tight, so the first second or 2, the chain can flex a bit. This means the chain is not just "gliding" on the chain guides, but actually slapping them.
When the chain guides are slapped, the plastic breaks off, so that the chain is able to ride on the bare metal.
When they change the chain tensioner, it will only resolve the "tensioner is not keeping the chain tight at startup" but if the chain guides already have the plastic come off, then the chain will still ride on the bare metal.
Essentially....If there is startup rattle, there will be chain guide damage, and then the new tensioner and gasket will not really solve the problem, which is that in time, the chain and guide ville wear out to a point, where they will fail.
Hi @myukjob85, are you or anyone else, able to link me as to where this bulletin is regarding the gasket head?
I agree, this is also what they told me.is not valid. Was valid until end of 2021.
If the car started to rattle again after a full chain kit replacement is only one culprit. The oil pump chain. Usually when the timing chain has problems the oil one needs also to be changed as the fault of the timing one will affect the oil one but in a smaller way. So the oil chain is weak but not enough to rattle , and if is not changed with the timing chain will start to rattle once will be loose enough. So is a must both chains needs replacing also all gears. That is why cost about £2000 on main dealerI agree, this is also what they told me.
But still, was not going to go there and basically give them a blank check to write, based on what they thought i should have done and have to pay for.
Also, it was around that time i read of someone that had a full rebuild done, including the gasket, and his car had just started rattling again.
Not going to pay £2000+ to "not fix" the problem
Hi I'm planning on doing the gasket and tensioner mod too, would you be so kind and please send me the repair instructions too ? ThanksSorry for late reply, pme and I can send you instructions and tipa how to change it
send me a private message and will help youHi I'm planning on doing the gasket and tensioner mod too, would you be so kind and please send me the repair instructions too ? Thanks
send me a private message and will help you