1.4 petrol engine noise

Chat about your facelift 9n3 Polo - Including the 9N3 Polo GTI!
Moby2
New
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:25 pm
Drives: 1.4 petrol
Location: Chichester West Sussex

1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by Moby2 »

Morning to you all, newbie on here, have just bought a 2009 polo, really like the car but it has a noisy engine when cold... Has 62000 on the clock was one owner and had full vw device history, have had cambelts done to be on the safe side and my mechanic has put Wynne's additive in to coat the moving parts, said it will take quite a few miles to have any affect... He said its the skirt on the pistons causing it and its quite common, have been with him for nearly 30 years so very trusted, is there anything else to be done.... Is an engine flush a good idea.

Thanks in advance for any hep.
RUM4MO
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5859
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 9:12 pm
Drives: B8 S4 & 6R/6C1 1.2TSI 110
Location: Mid Lothian

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by RUM4MO »

These 1.4 16V 75>86PS engines are all a bit noisy - that is if this is the first car you have owned with one in it. There is a video of what the typical maybe slightly revised 6R version of that engine sounds like, either on this forum in the 6R section, or the seatcupra.net Ibiza 6J section, if you want to check how that one compares with your one.
Quietness and power delivery was never these engines strong points, but reliability, in general, is, which should count for more?
Moby2
New
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:25 pm
Drives: 1.4 petrol
Location: Chichester West Sussex

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by Moby2 »

Hi thanks for the reply, it is the first one I've had, just goes against the grain a bit.... Seems to have more rattle when around the 2000 rpm range... Just have to turn the radiobup louder 😀😀😀
RUM4MO
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5859
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 9:12 pm
Drives: B8 S4 & 6R/6C1 1.2TSI 110
Location: Mid Lothian

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by RUM4MO »

My wife has a 2015 Polo 1.2TSI 110PS and it has lots of noises, so newer engines don't necessary mean smoother sounding engines - which I didn't expect!

I used to own a 2000 Passat 4Motion 2.8V6 197PS, that was an Audi used engine mainly, super quiet and super smooth, I now own a 2011 Audi S4 3.0 Supercharged 333PS and it is not as quite or smooth as my old Passat engine was, though obviously it has other improvements like better MPG if you resist the temptation and obvious loads more power.

My wife's 2015 1.2TSI Polo can return over 60MPG though in normal mixed driving it returns 54MPG over a tank's worth of running - for the same use, her old 2002 Polo 1.4 16V 75PS returned 38MPG if she was lucky, so maybe newer engine types are making more noises, but the fuel economy of these direct injection turbo charged small petrol engines can be very good! I'm not sure how far it would drop if she hammered it as it is quite lusty engine, made a bit of a change from her 2002 Polo 1.4 16V 75PS!
Moby2
New
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:25 pm
Drives: 1.4 petrol
Location: Chichester West Sussex

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by Moby2 »

Thanks for the heads up... are the 1.2 engines 3 cylinders... It just as I said earlier goes against the grain having a rattly engine, tried a little Hyundai i10 and that was very noisy and tinny, thats what ibliked about the vw it didn't feel like a small car, as I say nice little drive just the noise bugs me, was going to trade it in for maybe a newer one but if they rattle seems little point... Your Audi sounds nice.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

All the best
bvs
Silver Member
Posts: 271
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:56 am
Drives: 02 1.4s 16v
Location: perth

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by bvs »

We have an 02 1.4 16v and it is a little noisy when cold (not noisy enough to worry about too much) - but within a few minutes the engine quietens right down.
I use 5w40 synth oil and good quality oil filters (usually Mann),I usually do oil/filter changes at around the 6-7,000 mile mark in deference to an older engine.
I guess it depends on how loud the engine noise is and how quickly it quietens down !
RUM4MO
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5859
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 9:12 pm
Drives: B8 S4 & 6R/6C1 1.2TSI 110
Location: Mid Lothian

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by RUM4MO »

Moby2 wrote: Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:08 pm Thanks for the heads up... are the 1.2 engines 3 cylinders... It just as I said earlier goes against the grain having a rattly engine, tried a little Hyundai i10 and that was very noisy and tinny, thats what ibliked about the vw it didn't feel like a small car, as I say nice little drive just the noise bugs me, was going to trade it in for maybe a newer one but if they rattle seems little point... Your Audi sounds nice.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

All the best
No these newer 1.2TSI engines are all 4 cylinders, eventually VW Group replaced them with 1.0TSI 3 cylinder engines in the quest for lower emissions, just a small point if you ever aspire to moving up to a later Polo, the 2009>2014 6R Polo had a 1.2TSI 8V engine and it had a chain driven camshaft, it was smoother than the later one but had many issues so is best avoided, the later, maybe 2014>2017 6C Polo got a new 1.2TSI 16V that has a belt driven camshaft and so far has had fewer issues, then they changed to using the 1.0TSI starting in some models in 2016.
Moby2
New
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:25 pm
Drives: 1.4 petrol
Location: Chichester West Sussex

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by Moby2 »

Thanks for the advice, will probably replace in a year or two, just got my wife to drive it past me and you can hear it when she accelerates usually around 2000. 2500 rpm, is an engine flush or fuel additive an idea, would appreciate the panels view's

Thanks
bvs
Silver Member
Posts: 271
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:56 am
Drives: 02 1.4s 16v
Location: perth

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by bvs »

I am not sure if your engine is related to our 2002 1.4 16v engine or not but we have to use 'super' unleaded fuel (usually tesco momentum 99 ron) to help prevent our engine 'pinking' during acceleration,this pinking sound is not like the old engine pinking but just like a light 'rattle' from the engine (really annoying noise though).
The engine should have an anti knock sensor to prevent pinking but does not seem to work on our car LOL
I have never done an engine oil flush in 46 years of driving and servicing cars.
RUM4MO
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5859
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 9:12 pm
Drives: B8 S4 & 6R/6C1 1.2TSI 110
Location: Mid Lothian

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by RUM4MO »

bvs, I've forgotten, is the engine in your Polo a 75PS or 100PS ? I had trouble with pinking and using oil with my wife's old 2002 1.4 75PS, I replaced the oil separator and that slowed down the oil usage and the pinking - which I think is normally blamed on, ie the oil being carried in with the air influences the fuelling of the car as the controlling precat sensor responds to what the postcat sensor is seeing, ie excessive fuelling, so closes down the "base" fuelling, this carried in with the air is seen as extra fuel but its properties are different so the effective RON of the overall fuel getting into the engine is reduced so far that the knock sensor can not retard the ignition far enough to stop it happening. UL+ is just lifting the overall fuel RON level high enough for the knock sensor to get back into control.

Moby2, a lot is said about fuel additives and oil flushing, but, I started adding Comma Petrol Flush (or now just a general engine flusher for both petrol and derv) into the oil before service at each other oil change and always ran roughly 100miles with that flushing compound in the oil, it is not like some of the extremely aggressive flushers that you only leave in for 10 minutes before dropping the oil out. Always use a quality oil, probably stick with 3W-40 to the correct VW spec for your engine as a minimum, Fuchs oils okay and VW Group them at factory, though Quantum is it Platinum is also usually available online at a good price, Castrol oils tend to be over priced for what they are. Fuel additive, again, I used to use Redex maybe once a year, but in its current state it does not seem to do much - I can't clarify that though, just a hunch. What I use now, as my cars have direct injection, is Comma Petrol Magic as injector health is critical to them, as your engine has port injection it is not so important.
bvs
Silver Member
Posts: 271
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:56 am
Drives: 02 1.4s 16v
Location: perth

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by bvs »

@RUM - 75PS I think rum - I have the oil separator pencilled in for a major service next spring thanks,the tesco 99 or other brand 97-98 oct petrol seems to be working ok at the moment.
TBH though - I thought the 16v engine was designed for higher ron fuels ?
RUM4MO
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 5859
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 9:12 pm
Drives: B8 S4 & 6R/6C1 1.2TSI 110
Location: Mid Lothian

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by RUM4MO »

bvs wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:12 pm @RUM - 75PS I think rum - I have the oil separator pencilled in for a major service next spring thanks,the tesco 99 or other brand 97-98 oct petrol seems to be working ok at the moment.
TBH though - I thought the 16v engine was designed for higher ron fuels ?
The 75PS engine should be happy with normal UL and not have any pinking, the 100PS engine should also be happy with UL, but will only develop its fully potential if you use UL+ - and using UL+ at all times with the 100PS version seems to keep it going better and longer.
bvs
Silver Member
Posts: 271
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:56 am
Drives: 02 1.4s 16v
Location: perth

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by bvs »

Its a funny thing Rum - in our handbook it states 95ron (but describes it as 'Super RON').
But under the fuel flap the placard states 98/95 ron - which I have always taken to mean that 98 is the preferred fuel but 95 is 'ok' if you have to use it.
Does not worry me too much - if at the moment the engine needs 98+ to purr reasonably quietly then that is fine,whenever we are near tesco we just top the old girl up with 99 because it is usually a fair price.

rgds baz
Moby2
New
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:25 pm
Drives: 1.4 petrol
Location: Chichester West Sussex

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by Moby2 »

Hi quick update another mechanic has listened and reckons its more bottom end but if it doesn't rattle on over run shouldn't be too bad !!!!! Hopefully
coopern
New
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:11 am
Drives: Polo 1.4 BUD 9N3 petrol manual
Location: West Midlands

Re: 1.4 petrol engine noise

Post by coopern »

As an owner of a 1.4 petrol 2009 that's somewhat concerning because a properly serviced engine, like the OP's engine, should last for at least 100K. Maybe it was thrashed by the previous owner.
Post Reply