Cam Chain Tensioners

[tweek]

Hi All,

A quick question (I hope).

How long do the oil fed cam chain tensioners hold pressure for? Reason for asking is starting the car Monday morning, got a rattly/grumbling sound for a couple of seconds on start up. Car was left standing from mid-day Saturday so approx 2 days. Did not get this when car started this morning so assuming they are releasing pressure.

This is just another problem on top of a growing list.

Thanks

Pete

[BlingBling]

Mine has done that occasionally ever since I bought it, 2yrs now. My car is often left standing for 2 days or more and it does not happen all the time.

[nidfix]

Usually a bit more than a day.
However I noticed that it may vary with weather conditions (cold a bit less).

I tried during several months to get rid of that noise without any real success. I have been told also that it was normal.

There is only one thing I did not try is to replace my 0w40 oil by some 5w30.
Ideally I would like to find some 5w40 granted for VW503.01 specs, but it seems to be impossible. So now I live with that noise, hoping that it is actually harmless

Let us know what you found

[tuscy]

Mine does it too, it's been doing it for a year but not getting any worse.

I've heard of a couple of folks having the tensioners replaced under warranty. I attempted this before mine ran out ... to no avail.

I can't see it causing any long term problems.

[P_G]

My S4 did it particularly on cold mornings when the oil pressure had fallen. There is a technical bulletin in the US regarding this, take it to a dealer however and they'll tell you 'it's normal' because there is not enough oil pressure on start up.

But stop the engine and then turnover again and it won't reoccur.

[B6S4John]

I had this problem when my car had done 11,000 miles. The dealer took the engine out and sorted it, because they have had some fail under load which causes massive engine damage (the one Top Gear had failed while the Stig was in it) Audi called it "an area of concern".

[kaisersolsay]

Hi guys,

I bought my '04 B6 S4 last month and it didnt make this noise, however it now does it everytime she is started first thing in the morning or if its been sitting for 3-4 hours. I've been told by a few forum members that its normal for this engine and wont cause any long term problems. What is it that is causing the tensioners to rattle so exactly??

[B6S4John]

What is it that is causing the tensioners to rattle so exactly??

It's the chain that rattles because the oil drains out of the tensioner when it's been standing and has to fill up when the engine is started.