My Vauxhall Corsa's timing chain is getting noisy - should I have it replaced?

We bought a 2004 1.0 Life Vauxhall Corsa a couple of years ago and it now has 54,000 miles now on the clock. It has a timing chain instead of a belt. It recently passed its MOT, but there was a comment on the certificate that the chain was noisy and may need replacing at some time in the future. I always thought that a chain would last a lot longer than a belt, or am I wrong in thinking this?
Chains generally last the life of the vehicle, but not if the oil has not been changed regularly enough and that means every 5000 - 8000 miles. See if fresh oil reduces the clatter before worrying about it. Another reader has had 165,000 miles out of one of these engines with no trouble after regular oil changes.
Answered by Honest John on

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