Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Engine Knocking 1.6 Sigma

Good day and I hope this finds everyone well.

A bit of a strange/new one for me. Took the 4/4 out for a short drive and stopped in for a few groceries. Upon starting the car up again, I was greeted with some significant engine knocking as if a cylinder was about to give! Engine was still warm. I quickly shut it down and cycled the ignition a few times and starting it up again the noise was still there but not as bad. I lifted the bonnet with the engine running and the noise indeed was coming from the engine. I gave it a gentle revving up and all was fine.

Drove home, ran like a top. It's never done this before. No check engine light either.

Any hints? It's a 16 reg with just shy of 20,000 kms, always serviced, plugs changed a few years ago etc.

Fingers crossed it was just an anomaly!

In my case, the MAF sensor was already a culprit twice. Unfortunately, cleaning did not bring a lasting improvement. If the MAF sensor is the real cause, then I would buy a new one. It doesn't have to be a Fomoco for way too much money. I would recommend buying a MAF sensor from Hella, for example, which have lasted a long time for me.

If you have an OBD2 reader plug in and look for fault codes. Cam and crankshaft sensors can cause all sorts of running issues and will flag up as a fault with a code. If your cam belt or chain has skipped a tooth, yes it is possible! you may get a cam shaft positioning code and investigation will show that the cams if there are two, will be out of sink with each other, ie. one has skipped a tooth or two and you will be surprised at what running issues you can get. No, it's unlikely that you will get interference between valves and pistons but you will get out of cinque compression/exhaust opening times on one bank of valves and some knocking! If suspected invest in an aftermarket set of cam and crank locks and check alignment. Chain tensioners usually have hydraulic/mechanical tensioners, the mechanical applies a certain level of tension but only enough to keep things in place when not running, rather it relies on the oil fed pressure to do the real job and they are notorious at wearing out and letting oil leak out!. First symptom is chain noise on start up for 5-10 seconds. Act on this before the chain fails!