Hi, I've got a Zafira 2.2 56 plate, petrol, automatic.
For quite a while now its been making a strange noise when started cold, this does go after a few minutes which I assume is once the engines warmed up a bit.
It also sounds like a bit like a diesel engine when its running which and it sounds like this all the time no matter how cold or warm the engine is.
I am not sure if I am imagining it or not but I feel the car might be lacking in a bit of power from how it used to feel.
I've had the car nearly 3 years and it has done 97,000 miles. It did come with a receipt saying the timing chain & balance had been done at the 80k mark and at the time I bought it it had around 85k on it, but ran lovely for a few months, then the auto gearbox went thanks to the radiator leaking coolant into the transmission fluid and cost £1400 to put right, it's also had a new high pressure fuel pump in the past year.
My thinking is that either the car never actually had the timing chain done and the hand written invoice complete with garage stamp is fake, or it was done but using either very cheap parts or the old kit without the modified bit?
The car also does have a slight oil leak which appears to be coming from the area below the chain.
The last oil change was in June 2013, but as the car has done less than 10k in this time I hadn't bothered to get it changed just yet.
I will try and video the the car tomorrow morning when I start it from cold and post a link to it on here so the noise can be heard properly.
So just wanted to ask a few questions:
1) Does this sound like a problem with the chain?
2) Could it be perhaps a hydraulic tensioner that it taking it's time to get to desired oil pressure?
3) If it is the chain does anyone know someone with reasonable distance of Romford, Essex who can fit new chains for a good price?
For quite a while now its been making a strange noise when started cold, this does go after a few minutes which I assume is once the engines warmed up a bit.
It also sounds like a bit like a diesel engine when its running which and it sounds like this all the time no matter how cold or warm the engine is.
I am not sure if I am imagining it or not but I feel the car might be lacking in a bit of power from how it used to feel.
I've had the car nearly 3 years and it has done 97,000 miles. It did come with a receipt saying the timing chain & balance had been done at the 80k mark and at the time I bought it it had around 85k on it, but ran lovely for a few months, then the auto gearbox went thanks to the radiator leaking coolant into the transmission fluid and cost £1400 to put right, it's also had a new high pressure fuel pump in the past year.
My thinking is that either the car never actually had the timing chain done and the hand written invoice complete with garage stamp is fake, or it was done but using either very cheap parts or the old kit without the modified bit?
The car also does have a slight oil leak which appears to be coming from the area below the chain.
The last oil change was in June 2013, but as the car has done less than 10k in this time I hadn't bothered to get it changed just yet.
I will try and video the the car tomorrow morning when I start it from cold and post a link to it on here so the noise can be heard properly.
So just wanted to ask a few questions:
1) Does this sound like a problem with the chain?
2) Could it be perhaps a hydraulic tensioner that it taking it's time to get to desired oil pressure?
3) If it is the chain does anyone know someone with reasonable distance of Romford, Essex who can fit new chains for a good price?