Berlingo 1.6 hdi bad knocking/tapping

[Mighty]

I picked up a mint looking 08 model berlingo today. It was very cheap as it was advertised with water in oil and leaking steering rack. The van is otherwise in excellent condition and virtually dent/scratch free. It has done about 136 thousand km which translates to roughly 84k miles.

I can't find any evidence for water in the oil though. The oil is not milky and there is no crud under the filler cap. There is coolant disappearing somewhere, but it's not in the oil. 

There is however bad noises coming from the engine. It's bad both at tick over and at higher rpm. It sounds worse when i let off the throttle in gear when driving.

I do have an identical donor van which is partially why I bought this anyway. Knowing it was likely it needed a new engine. That one purrs like a kitten by comparison. The van was owned by a man that for "medical" reasons can't remember the last months of ownership so he has no idea. He just got told by his mechanic that it was water in the engine and that it was not worth repairing.

Should I just start replacing the whole engine sooner rather than later or should I put more effort into the noisy engine?

[ffrenchie]

Sounds like a diesel to me. I'd service it and run it till it breaks.

[Sol]

Sounds pretty normal to me too. Might be shafty when revved but idling it's classic citroen diesel clatter. Smooth idle actually.

[Mighty]

The video lies a bit. The tapping is REALLY loud. Here's a video comparing it to the engine in my donor van. And yes, the sound is the same with or without the little cover





It's like it's knocking all over, and it got gradually worse as I was driving home (3 hour drive). I almost want to remove the sump to see if the oil flow is restrained.

[polar]

Take the sump off and check to see if there is sludge in there - oil starvation?

[Mighty]

I started it back up this morning cold and it was smooth like new. After 2-3 minutes it starts getting noisy and it sounds worse the warmer it gets.

[polar]

I started it back up this morning cold and it was smooth like new. After 2-3 minutes it starts getting noisy and it sounds worse the warmer it gets.

What do you know about these engines? Do you know you are describing a classic case of sludge in the sump and blocking the strainer? 

You 08 will be a 16v - what do you know about what happens to these engines when they are under serviced or the wrong oil is used?

1. Get the sump off NOW
2. Unblock the strainer better still replace
3. Are any of the injectors blowing by - do a search on this 
4. remove filters in turbo oil feed 
5. flush engine 
6. Hope your a very lucky person

[Mighty]

I know they ar prone to clogging up, with following turbo failures etc. I also know about the injector leaks. This one had all 4 injector seals replaced one year ago and there is no evidence of any leak.

I replaced the oil this morning as it looked thin. It sound's better after that, so I was planning on doing a couple of oil changes in succession as a "flush".

I thought these 75bhp "old type" vans were 8 valve engines?

The exhaust goes right over the indention in the sump. Can I get the sump off without removing the exhaust?

[Mighty]

Had the sump off. Strainer was clean.

[polar]

Then it may be an idea to check the oil pump pressure.