Hi all, not been here for a while. Last time was a wheel bearing problem, got that fixed for a measly £70, was well chuffed.

Got a 1994 440 1.6 Si

Had rear brakes and cables changed last week, and had an oil/filter change at same time.
After this, a rattle started in the top of the engine that has got steadily worse ever since. Unfortunately, the garage that changed the oil put too much in, and i had to drain about 1/2 a litre from the engine as i was concerned that it might cause a problem, and it seems by the time i did this the damage was already done.
Any ideas what it might be? i'm no mechanic, but am pretty handy, so anything not to difficult i'm willing to have a go at.
Initially thought the noise was coming from drive belts, but on inspection, they look fine. Noise is deffo in the top of the engine.
Biggest fear is if one of the pistons has been damaged, and a friend mentioned valve rattle, but the car has barely done 80,000, so i'm guessing that kind of wear and tear hasn't occured.
He also said something about carbon build up, which wouldn't surprise me, as fuel economy has gone through the floor in recent months. I changed the plugs about 8 months ago, so i'm guessing it isn't those.
Could it be tappets?
Anyhow, i'm no expert, and any advice would be gratefully accepted.
If the engine is dying, how long till it gives it's final wheeze

sorry to hear about your 440. is the rattle always there, or does it come and go as you accelerate, etc. is it hollow sounding, groaning, slapping ????? metallic in nature? i know these questions sound dumb, but to one person it might be one thing and to another it might be another. good luck.

I had a rattle on one of mine, sounded like top of engine and was either the heat shield for the exhaust or a part of the exhaust itself was loose, one more thing to check.
grendel

Cheers for the reply!
Noise always seems to be there, can be worse if the engine is warm, stopped for a while, then re-started again warm.
Engine lacks power too, not pulling through the gears well at all, more than a little sluggish, truth be told.
Checked the air intake etc... this afternoon, as a friend said it could be a build up of carbon/ dirt, from air filter but the intake is spotless.
Noticed that there seems to be some exhaust leakage into the engine compartent. Can't see any smoke, but can deffo smell fumes when the engine is idelling.
Have checked the manifold, seems tight enough, ditto heat shield.
Could the muffler have gone? Wouldn't the engine sound 'blown' like when the back box goes if it had (it doesn't by the way).
Noise is deffo on top of engine, on belt side mostly.
Having said all that, took it out on Sunday for 200 mile round trip, tootling around 60MPH for the most, and the engine purred when i got home.
Noise started again next day when cold though.
Guess the sounds is more of a grating than a rattle, like somethings not quite aligned and scraping. I'd have to say it sounded metallic but not sure whether i'd say it was hollow. Can't detect any vibration in engine or mounts. Belts look fine and seem tight enough.
Plenty of oil in engine, not leaking away, everything looks well lubricated.
Had new sparkplugs in July. Am baffled to be honest.

Thanks Again.

Don't know whether this applies to you, but I had some erratic jumping following a similar oil overloading. It turned out that the oil went up to the distributor and was causing short circuits there.

Take the distributor out, and check for carbonization. Is there any leak from the gasket? Better take it out (have a new one in hand) following Haynes instructions. If there is considerable oil behind the gasket with carbonized distributor terminals, you might be having the same problem as I, clean the oil, replace the gasket, replace/clean the distributor.

good luck!

Cheers, will try that.
Sound has become more of a grinding with the odd rattle. Seems to be there all the time, hot or cold, fast or slow, guess the old girl is slowly dying. I'm guessing it may be the big end going sadly. Haven't had time to get it to a garage, but it's on the to do list.