My beetle has just developed a nasty knocking lumpy sound in the right bank of engine, its very noticeable when idling and starts to become less noticeable when accelerating. its idling pretty rough, (engine shaking)

any ideas?

sounds like a familiar prob in a VW engine try using a thicker grade oil on ur next change i think its just a bearing somewhere on the crankshaft so if u use a thicker oil it will compensate for the play!!
just my suggestion
rhys

hmmm... i already use the thickest oil you can get at the auto-shops...

well it will live it , but if u dont like it strip the motor and do all main bearings and shit on the crankshaft
cheers
rhys

My 1916cc has started making a noise that sounds like you described too...

It only happens when its cold though.
I think ill go with an oil change, since i topped up a fair bit with some oil that may have been too thin...

Not a lot to go on, but it sounds like you are describing a "big end" knock. If you are already using a heavy oil, you need to face up to the need for a rebuild. The oil loss will eventually kill your engine - far better to rebuild now, before you need a new case.

The engine slows right down when it does it...If i let it go on without giving it more gas it stalls after a few seconds.
- and only when i start it up and its cold. And yesterday it took me 10 minutes to get the bastard started - its never taken that long before. Mine seems to come from the middle of the engine though - i cant say it comes from one side or the other....

QuikBug - yours actually sounds a bit more like a serious vacuum leak (again, not a lot to go on, but do you have an SP, or a broken stud, by chance?)

Problem solved!!

My fan belt was loose as a goose!
Also i was missing a bolt out of my linkages for my kads, and when the car was warmed up the linkage wouldnt come back to normal position so the engine was idling high as well....

All good now

ok...heres more to go on, if it helps!

after 3 generators (first one had a loose peice of metal, 2nd one had a problem with the bearings, and 3rd one... well who knows, it was purring like a kitten for 3 days then... bam! its again making the same shitty noise!) it is still making a crappy noise.

The noise sounds like it is coming from the general area of the generator. It isnt a clunky engine sound, its more like a something is loose or tappy sound.

I wouldnt go so far as an engine rebuild/recond as my current engine was rebuilt 2.5 years ago and had just over 6500miles on it, the mechanic said it was pretty sweet Checked out the fan housing, the generator isnt knocking there. it wont make the knocking sound when the fan belt is off, leading me to think that its problem in that general area. the knocking sound is most noticeable when the engine is idling, and cant be heard at all when you accelerate.

Im thinking perhaps something is loose or fuxd around that general area, im thinking this because my battery is also having problems holding charge (infact, it is now completely dead!) Its still drivable (when it had a battery), and drives very well, i just hate the clunky sound when starting up and stopped at lights and whatnot... grates my nerves!

any more ideas? the less i need to take it to a mechanic the better, because its got a webber carb and its a bitch to take the generator/fan housing and whatnot out, meaning lots of labour hours etc etc. Plus if its able to be done at home, i would prefer to do it myself... FUN!

Hope thats a bit more to go on!:thumb

[Edited on 6-5-2003 by Starbuggy]

YEAH MATE THE THICKEST OIL I HAVE SEEN IS STRAIGHT 60 GRADE OIL MADE BY PENZOIL (FOR OLDER ENGINES). I KNOW REPCO SELLS IT AND FOR ABOUT $30.:thumb

do you have much play in the crankshaft
ie can you push and pull the pulley ?

would account for bad knocking
and could also be affecting generator and charging