Tappet/Rattle Noise

[Eighteen88]

I've noticed a tappet/rattle noise coming from the engine when starting the car from cold, anyone any idea on what could be causing this and best thing for fixing it?

[bobby_fodge]

Which side of the engine is it coming from? Passenger side could be chain.

[Eighteen88]

Which side of the engine is it coming from? Passenger side could be chain.

Its not coming from any one side in particular, evenly along the engine block....if that makes sense??

[pudding]

How long does the rattle last?  If it goes after a few seconds, probably just the hydraulic lifters.  My engine does that over winter if the oil is getting on a bit. Swap it out for fresh lube and the noise goes 

If it's a more persistent rattle, how old is it?  Is it an early one with the dodgy chain tensioner?

[Eighteen88]

How long does the rattle last?  If it goes after a few seconds, probably just the hydraulic lifters.  My engine does that over winter if the oil is getting on a bit. Swap it out for fresh lube and the noise goes 

If it's a more persistent rattle, how old is it?  Is it an early one with the dodgy chain tensioner?

Cheers for the reply, it’s a 12 plate and from my understanding it’s a belt mine rather than the chain?
Left the car with the garage I use and the guy doesn’t reckon it’s anything serious but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what was causing the noise, he said possibly an injector?
I top the oil up every 1000 miles, you think it’s maybe not quite having enough oil in the car? I’m completely useless when it comes to being mechanically minded

[pudding]

A 12 plate is a chain driven engine.  No cam belt.  It's also way past the iffy tensioner problems of the 2009/10 engines, but it could still be chain rattle.

It's hard to be specific without seeing the car but if the rattle disappears quite quickly, it's probably nothing to worry about.   

High pressure fuel pumps are a common failure on the EA888 engine but as you need to top up the oil regularly, I think you can out-rule that.

I think you need to get the garage to verify you don't have chain stretch/tensioner wear which can be done with VCDS and other scan tools.

[Eighteen88]

A 12 plate is a chain driven engine.  No cam belt.  It's also way past the iffy tensioner problems of the 2009/10 engines, but it could still be chain rattle.

It's hard to be specific without seeing the car but if the rattle disappears quite quickly, it's probably nothing to worry about.   

High pressure fuel pumps are a common failure on the EA888 engine but as you need to top up the oil regularly, I think you can out-rule that.

I think you need to get the garage to verify you don't have chain stretch/tensioner wear which can be done with VCDS and other scan tools.

You sure about the chain mate? My service book has toothed belt change @52k miles
It’s an edition 35 I’ve got if that makes any difference on your thinking?
Wasn’t aware that I had a high pressure fuel pump (clueless really on the car apart from driving it  )
Will look into getting it plugged into VCDS tho 

[john_o]

@Eighteen88  be careful the
Mk6 GTI has the newer engine EA888
Mk6 GTI Edition 35 has the older EA113 engine (as found in similar guise in Edition 30 mk5 , s3 etc)

As an edition 35 it has the older engine which has a different set of 'issues' compared to 'normal' mk6 gti which changes @Pudding  responses above.

have a look on youtube for tensioner rattle on edition 30 (or mk5)  for examples, how many miles on your car?   normal to start rattling at 50k miles onwards and need changing at 100k
but not to be confused with the 'tensioner' problem that 'normal' mk6 faces which is a totally different issue

[Eighteen88]

@Eighteen88  be careful the
Mk6 GTI has the newer engine EA888
Mk6 GTI Edition 35 has the older EA113 engine (as found in similar guise in Edition 30 mk5 , s3 etc)

As an edition 35 it has the older engine which has a different set of 'issues' compared to 'normal' mk6 gti which changes @Pudding  responses above.

have a look on youtube for tensioner rattle on edition 30 (or mk5)  for examples, how many miles on your car?   normal to start rattling at 50k miles onwards and need changing at 100k
but not to be confused with the 'tensioner' problem that 'normal' mk6 faces which is a totally different issue

Many thanks for the response,  the car has done 76k so going by what you say this should be expected?? Is this something I should be concerned about? What needs done to “fix” the issue??

[Eighteen88]

Got the car plugged into vcds today and no issue was found.

[john_o]

glad to hear it.

At 76k yes Id expect some noise
Concerned no, just budget for getting the chain/tensioner replaced over the next 40k miles (unless it suddenly changes tone etc). Its highly unlikely it will fail just get noisier
The excellent guide is on here : https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,106158.0.html

You can also check the level of 'slack' in the cam chain by checking some VCDS values.

Enjoy

[pudding]

I didn't notice in your signature it's an ED35 and assumed it was a GTI.  In which case, as above, it's the older engine from the MK5 so will be a cambelt + chain.

As mentioned before, if it's just a few seconds of tapping in cold weather after the first startup of the day, it's usually the oil getting a bit old and gloopy.   I have the same engine pretty much in my ED30 and it's the only noise it makes at 140K miles old.  I wouldn't expect your 76K miler to have any significant problems.