[Corsa C 2000-2006] Engine noise when starting from cold - Any ideas?

[Thompson23]

Hi,
Wondering if anyone can help identify the problem, when I start my 1.2 Corsa C I get a noise coming from the engine normally when its starting cold.
I Changed the oil and filter a few days ago using 10w40 Castrol oil, since doing this it seems to have got worse.

any help would be appreciated, i have uploaded a video so you can here the noise.

Thanks

[Taurus]

Hard to tell from that clip - but the usual thing with them is the timing chain. If oil changes aren't done frequently enough, or poor oil and cheap aftermarket filters are used then the chains stretch and wear.

You can get a tapping from the hydraulic tappets which goes quiet after a couple of seconds, but from the clip it doesn't sound like the tappets. What's the mileage and service history?

[gb33]

From the sound of the video, I'm wondering if your oil filter housing is draining all of its oil back down into the oil sump when the car sits.

I once changed the oil and filter and for a few days, every time I restarted the engine after it had sat for more than a few minutes, I got the terrible clatter of a dry start from the engine for a couple seconds -- it reminds me very much of what I can hear in your video. When I removed the oil filter cover to inspect the filter, I had noticed that all of the oil had drained back into the sump.

Normally, when you remove the oil filter cover, there should be a good sized puddle of oil in the metal housing that shouldn't drain out until you depress the metal release valve that goes through the center hole in the filter. This small amount of oil that stays in the filter housing seems to act as a reserve to quickly get a small amount of oil to the cylinder head when the engine is first started, but the oil pump has not yet been able to pump oil up from the sump. Without that reserve, you get a prolonged dry start until the oil in the sump has made its way into the top end of the engine.

As it turned out, somehow the filter I had was interfering with the depress valve, thus allowing the oil to drain back into the sump. When I replaced the filter with another name brand, the problem was solved and I no longer had that dry start. Maybe you can solve the problem with another filter, or its possible that the drain valve is stuck or faulty irrespective of the filter used. Good luck.