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I've just had the cambelt changed in my M49, plus an MOT. Picked the van up today, and straightaway it sounded really rough - very noisy and clattery, with residual clatter after lifting off the throttle when changing gear. It's the sort of noise I'd imagine an engine would make if there were no oil in it. I only drove about 200 yards but it was so bad I took it straight back to the garage that did the work, we went for a test drive, the guy just said that it pulled really well but I could leave it with him if I wasn't happy. As it was 7:30pm I said I'd take it home and see how it ran in the morning. Any thoughts on what could have happened? I've used that garage for over 5 years and not had any problems before.
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10-02-2022, 09:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2022, 11:49 PM by notsofast.)
Just checked the oil level - there appears to be no oil showing on the dipstick. Admittedly it's only an hour since the engine ran, but the level was only a little below the max before the work. And the sump is dented, and some of the underseal and paint has been scraped off the floorpan underside, exposing bare metal. Wtf?
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Maybe a change of staff or ownership?
Take photos, document all you can.
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If the engine mount needs to be taken off to change the cam belt then they may have jacked the sump rather than supported the motor from above. Oil pick up is close to sump ...... Take it back and ask them - it shouldn't make any additional noise after a correctly done belt change.
I seem to recall there was more than one length of cam belt (one had 2 extra teeth?)
Good luck!
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Good luck with this. It really annoys me when garages don't know how or can't be bothered to put the jack in the right place or like it sounds in this case put a board of wood between the jack and sump to spread the load when supporting the engine. It only takes less than a minute.
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Where is the catalytic converter on this model (2001 DW8 1.9 diesel), and what does it look like? I'm wondering if I've become a crime statistic. I spoke to the guy at the garage today, and amongst other things (including offering to look at the vehicle tomorrow) he said that he didn't put anything under the sump. Now, when I collected the van yesterday, I couldn't take it home straightaway as I had driven to the garage from work in my K9, and I had to drive that home first and then walk back to pick up the M49. This meant the M49 was parked in the street for about 50 minutes - the street being a poorly lit trunk route well after sunset, with few buildings close. This fact, coupled with the damage to my sump and floorpan (pics attached), I'm thinking some criminal shyster might have roughly jacked the vehicle and cut out the cat - wouldn't that lead to a godawful noise when the vehicle is driven? I had thought the cat was the swollen lozenge shaped bit of exhaust in the middle of the pipe (which is still there), but having looked at Haynes I'm not sure. What should I be looking for?
(N.B. The sump pic isn't perhaps totally clear, but basically there's one deep-grooved scratch leading to a dent, plus other scratches. The floorpan paint/underseal damage is obvious)
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The sump damage looks pretty minor - if the cat was taken altogether you'd have no silencing and it would sound like a tank. Could be that the attempt failed and the pipe is partially cut through? Catalytic converter will be the first thing in the system that looks a bit like a silencer.
A proper check with the car up on a ramp will help to narrow down the problem as it may just be coincidental damage, like running something over.
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• notsofast
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The cat on our 2001 1.9 is roughly below where the handbrake handle is
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The cat's still there. I'm taking it back to the garage this afternoon - the guy said it might be that the timing is slightly advanced and this is making it noisy. He said something about 3 pins and that occasionally - I guess if they're slightly in the wrong position? - can result in the timing out by a third of a tooth on the belt (is this making sense?). I've got it up on ramps to see if I can see anything obviously amiss, though my knowledge isn't much. The diagram of the underside in the Haynes manual looks slightly different, with a pipe showing there that I can't see on my vehicle, though the diagram could be of a later engine. I've attached a pic of the back of the sump area in case anything shouts out as being wrong to anyone here.
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What your man is saying makes sense - the pins keep everything where it should be to ensure timing is correct and it is possible to put the belt in place one tooth out of position - I've done it on a 1.9D and it wouldn't rev.
It's not difficult for him to check/re-position the belt.
At least you still have a cat - some footballers have lost theirs!
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• notsofast