Hi everyone!

I have a 2006 Colt CZ3 with an 1.3 petrol engine and the following problem:
When the engine is cold it has a strange knocking / clicking noise, when the rpm falls or under heavy load.
After about 2 minutes the sound goes away, and once the engine heats up it is very very hard to reproduce, if even possible (needs extreme loads to do it).
To have the problem occur again the engine needs to be off for several hours. Because of this, I cannot show it to a mechanic, since by the time I get there, the noise is already gone.

Also the "check engine" light does not lit up, so I'm guessing there are also no error codes to read. (??) The problem has existed for over a year now, but the 2 car mechanics I've asked to check it didn't find anything suspicious. (they haven't heard this clicking)

I've recorded the knocking, you can listen below:

Does anybody have any idea what on earth could be the problem??

 

tappets.
Called that, because they tap.

 

How sure are you about that?
Also how big of a problem is it? Should I worry that sometime soon the engine will just blow into my face, or should I simply wait until it gets a little worse so that a mechanic can notice it too?

 

not sure at all. I cant diagnose your problems over the internet.

Noisy tappets themselves wont do damage.

If its a failing oil pump, then your car could explode in an horrendous mushroom cloud.
Or not.

Make use of internet Search.

 

I've finally found a mechanic who could figure out what the heck makes this noise... Once he heard it he was fairly sure that it's not coming from the engine itself, and later found that he was right:
There is a heat shield plate that covers the exhaust pipe behind the engine, which is held in place by 3 bolts that got loosened over the years, probably from the continuous heat-expansion.

No replacement part is required, the plate needs some hammering to make it tighter, after that it can be bolted back in place and the annoying sound is gone... well for a few years more at least, until it gets loose again.

This seems to be quite a common issue (like a series / design issue), so I thought I come back here and tell what was the cause for me, so that others don't have to worry and possibly waste a lot of time trying to get it fixed... at least in my country it's quite hard to find a mechanic who was willing to investigate, and not charge me a fortune for replacing stuff (like the tappets) that weren't even faulty.

 

the internets thanks you.