when I started the car to warm it up this morning ( cold & very wet) I noticed a noise that I have heard come & go on other Kombi 1.8 & 2L motors, my pessimistic outlook tells me it SOUNDS exactly like the fan/pulley wheel just touching against the alloy fan housing.
Am I on the right track?

Hmmm... Hard one to diagnose Kim. Could it just be fan belt?
Often an easy way to check is remove the fan belt, start and see what happens as it eliminates a number of possible causes.
As you say, other that the Alt. and fan (on the crank) there's not much else on T4 to make a scraping sound.
Let us know how you go.
Andy

I will, my one horrible thought is thrust bearing on crank

Scary!!!!
Not that I've tried myself, but have been told it is possible to see if there's any end float by pushing/pulling on the fan.
I've only done this on the fly wheel of a motor that's out of the van, but it doesn't take much force.

I hate em... I do ...
Fweemings OK but Scraping is OUT...
:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce

i was in my mates kombi the otha day and we had a scraping noise but that was us going over a speed hump hehehe

we had a type 3 motor that the fan would scrap and then come flying off!!!!! never found out what it was and its know a type 1 motor
cheers
rhys

luckily that "can't"happen to a type 4 cause the fan is bolted to the crank, I am going to check its tightness tonight though

Kim, I've had the same problem with my kombi for months, only when the engine is cold. I did at first suspect bearings, but it doesn't appear to have gotten any worse so I've stopped worrying about it.

Kim, yours is an auto?, there won't be any bearing in the crank to worry about, make sure your fan is tight.

yes dave, tis an auto & I was thinking that thrust bearings in any engines with auto don't normally give any trouble, toothed fanbelt is tight & the noise was not there tonight of course- stuff it!:cussing, used to come & go with the old 1800 & has only just started with this one, 3500ks sounds LIKE pulley on fan is just touching fan housing, causing it to resonate

I occassionally have a similar problem , just get a cake of soap ,with the motor running , rub it under the fan belt as it spins. It normally happens after a few days of rain ??

thanks Mike, will do, noise was not there this morning, I have a ten minute window to check everything each morning so that I don't come home to find the vehicle mechanically terminated - if you know what I mean

Soap UNDER the fan belt??? :o Won't that make the belt slip?

yep, I know it sounds crazy, but people have been doing it since v-belts were invented, I think it makes the belt "stick",
Shower gel should NOT to be used

One other thing to check - Type 4 engines have those little dicky timing arcs that bolt on underneath the plastic mesh fan cover. They sit right near the edge of the fan and can easily rub. Original ones are steel, aftermarket ones are plastic.

My plastic one used to rub on the edge of the fan, wearing curved grooves in the back. I tossed it away, found an old steel one and put that on. Steel ones fit better.

kOL

No SOAP on the fan belt is a common fix ... helps lubricate

Beck refresh my memory is it anything to do with hydraulic cam followers. ???

Infuriating thing is there is no point in trying to fix the noise until it is there, so that I know what fixed it &
IT refuses to make a noise again, but next time I WILL be ready! and let you all know

HEY!! fixed, came out this morning, started up, & noise was back, loud as hell,
raced back in house, got bar of soap & raced back out, ignoring strange questioning glances from family - held bar of soap lightly against belt for a coupla secs with engine running, & no more noise wil be in trouble about skidmarks on soap when I get home

[Edited on 5-5-2003 by kombikim]

Glad it's fixed without breaking the bank

Don't worry about the soap, there are worse places to find skidmarks...

Good to see it was so simple.
So was the belt sliping? or is was there something on the belt or pully creating the noise?
:thumb

really dont know, it is a tight toothed belt in as new condition, before the soap I wet my finger & put the finger on the running belt for a sec & noise went away for probably 5 secs, I did this a few times & when the noise came back it sounded like scraping with minor bearing rattle all I can think of is that the Alloy fan/metal pulley are resonating & coating the belt dampens this