XRDT rattles - help!

I bought my first diesel car a couple of years ago, a 205 XRDT. A good
drive, and so far totally reliable. A month or so ago, coming up to
95,000 miles, it started rattling louder than usual, usually when cold &
at low revs - e.g. creeping along at 10mph in 2nd its clearly audible.
Half the people I've asked say don't worry, all diesels do that; the
others practice the standard mechanics response: sharp indrawn breath,
slow headshake, etc. It does seem to be getting worse, but by my
previous standards all diesels are terribly noisy. (Actually when warm I
was surprised how quiet it was from inside, but outside when cold...)

Are there any common faults in these engines at this sort of milage? I
believed that they usually went to much higher milages than this before
trouble started. In case, any suggestions for good suppliers of exchange
rebuilt engines in the Plymouth area?

Dave

 

I bought my first diesel car a couple of years ago, a 205 XRDT. A good

Well, it's certainly true that diesels are a lot more rattly when they are
cold, so it may well be nothing to worry about.
If this is accompanied by difficulty starting I would check your glow-plugs
and if they're fine I suggest checking the valve clearances.

One (long shot) thing I suggest you check is the water level - on my 205
GRDT I had a minor split in a radiator hose, which led to the water level
dropping, and the first sign I had was that the engine was noticeably
noiser than normal. Fortunately I caught this before any damage was done,
but these engines don't like running low on coolant - it's about the only
thing, other than a snapped cambelt, which will kill them.

Nothing specific. The XUDT engines are normally very reliable - most are
still fine when the car they are in is scrapped, and mileages of 250,000+
are quite possible. At very high mileages the injectors do wear, and the
engine can become smoky, but yours is barely run in.

 

Do not And i repeat do NOT check the valve clearances, it is an xud7t
engine and it does not i repeat NOT need any valve clearance
adjustments, rechecking ore whatever

When was the cambelt done?
check water pump and thermostat, renew the air filter, fuel filter,
and coolant

they do about 500.000 Km, so yes it has barely ran in

 

glow-plugs and if they're fine I suggest checking the valve

Really? It's not something I've done myself on an XUDT engine - mine has
never needed it, so I was following general diesel diagnostics. From your
reply it sounds like serious damamge can be done by checking clearances on
the XUD7T. Is this the case ?
Certainly valve clearances are a noteable source of poor cold-weather
starting and rattle on the pug TUD4/5 diesel engines.

 

once you know what you do it's nothing to dificult, you need clearance
"platters" ( donknow the rite word for it in English)
it just does not need any adjustments, other then after repairing bent
valve stems after a cambelt failure.
checking itself does not do any harm apart from the fact that you
have no need for it, and you need to replace the lid gasket. The
damage you do is to is to your purse ( as with all pug parts)

so is cambelt tensioner, waterpump, and worn out engine
shockmounts.... in general!

My 406 HDI rattles when i give it stick, i'm not to worried about it..
i just let it warm up and it runs fine

 

The word is 'shims'

 

aha thnx!

 

Thanks for the replies.
The cambelt, all filters etc. were replaced last summer, about 6,000
miles ago. Oil, water etc. are all ok. I'll have a go at rechecking the
cambelt on Saturday.
One thing was suggested: is it possible for the injector timing to be
too far advanced - do diesels pink like petrol cars?
Dave

 

does it start difficult?
run like a rally car?


I mean it is possible but not very likely, it has a lucas pump i
presume?
GT has a 205 XUdt maybe he has some sensible toughts

 

I found that the cambelt was very slack; tightening it up seems to have
cured the rattle. It does seem odd that it slacked off that much in only
6,000 miles - I think I'll keep a very close eye on it for a while
Thanks for the help, Dave

 

yer welcome

Marc

 

Hi Marc,

Sorry, coming late. I was pretty busy these days, could well be worse next
week

Of course, as any XUDxT I've ever seen. The only one Diesel pump reported by
my tech data (the well-known french RTA, my friends' and my own (tiny)
experience) indicate it's a Roto-Diesel (later will be Lucas CAV, later
again Delphi) DPC series pumps.

My brother has one ('91 DTurbo, indeed), I just have a '93 Junior D. Not
important for the point I will express :
As it's pretty cold these days, oil (whatever it's motor oil or gearbox oil)
could well become thicker. Even if it's inside the engine, it's cold, still
! On winter, with my car (checked with some other 205Ds) I can feel a lower
idle on cold start, and a far stiffer gearbox; which tends to disappear when
heating up. Could well involve the rattle mentionned, IMO. I also feel some
kind of rattle on such occasions.