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file under "oh no not another one"

on starting the car after it's been standing a while, in the cold, there's a whistling noise coming out of the engine. it fades out past about 1750-1800rpm but comes right back when dropping off to idle or cruising at low revs.
its a very high pitched, metallic kind of noise that seems to be... rhythmical? but very fast, and in time with the feel of the engine?

...my fear is that its the same diagnosis as when dad's ur-rover started making a similar noise. He had to sell it.

The tappets...

Any mechies back this up/have other ideas?


gonna see tomorrow if it disappears after running a while, because it's been mostly short journeys of late. double check the oil level as well. conceivable it might be oil on the alternator or even cam (!) belt... that head gasket will probably need doing in the next 10-15k miles.

I can't see how the head gasket, oil on the alternator, or oil on the cam belt would make a high pitched squeal?

Does the noise still happen with the clutch depressed?

well mate i didnt have a clue at the time what it might be... my only pointer was dads old rover making a similar sound when the tappets were shot

on reflection though i wonder if he tried the obvious and topped the oil up

i checked the level when I got down to bournemouth and it was off the bottom of the dipstick! was round to the boot and pulling the spare litre out quick as a flash! got it up about halfway now and it's much much quieter and well behaved. no more whistles.

to be honest i was suspecting that, as it was stopping after a few minutes i.e. by the time a decent flow would have reached the cam.... but, the trigger for that check came when I took a corner hard, got a bit of a surge on, and the light and beeper started going and didnt turn off for 2-3 seconds - made me s**t enough bricks to build a house...

i dont get how it needs so much oil (a litre and a half) so soon after being changed. i know i have been beating it a little but i dont think its more than 1500 miles, so thats outside the maximum usage guidelines. I'll be having to keep a very close eye on it in future.

Aye. A lesson learnt there bud. Check your oil every week!
It shouldn't be using that much oil. Do you have a leak somewhere? Does it burn oil badly (i.e blue smoke?)

It's definately worth checking that out, mate.

Mine has been about 4 months now since I changed the oil on it, and the level hasn't budged at all.

well it's due a headgasket or piston ring illness to be honest!

dont often pay much attention to what comes out the back - it certainly isnt billowing eye-catching smoke is probably an explanation for that however. but i may park it up and get someone to rev it a bit from cold while i stand behind so I can see if anythings coming out.

Aye, get it checked out.

It's just worrying that it is using that much oil.

Are you sure you have no leaks? If you suspect the Head Gasket is on it's way out, look to see if it is leaking oil out from the corner of the head, near the alternator.

It pisses out oil there as first signs, which I have seen three times now, resulting in a huge of loss of oil (which mine used to do, before I replaced the Head Gasket.)

I used to lose about a pint of oil a week! But, if it was as bad as that, I'm sure you'd notice the lovely stains on the driveway.

Well its been weeping from that corner for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages, as many supposedly do (a good place for the cam gasket to leak as well?). Don't think it's been getting worse of late, and i'd be fearing for my cambelt and alternator belt were it true.

I'd have to get the underseal stains off the drive first in order to notice the oil !!

It might just be a freak occurence, i'll be trying to keep tabs from now on.

When the cam cover gasket leaks from the corner, it trickles down the same route, and it is therefore difficult to determine whether it is coming from the head gasket or higher up.

Your cam belt should be okay, as it is covered up, but fear your alternator belt and the alternator itself, as that oil leak killed both of mine.

Check if you have oil leaks, as if you have, it looks like it's time to get them sorted.

already had one alternator belt go on me - frayed metal bits everywhere

i'd be worried about my cambelt too though - the cover isnt in one piece any more. It's mostly there, but there's a gap at the top, for starters, and i'm not confident about how tightly it's held on and therefore sealed...

Pull the cover off and have a look to see if the belt or any of the pullies are contaminated with oil.

If they are, I recommend you clean all the pullies up and replace the cam belt ASAP.

I doubt it will be though.