anthony911

Hello I am in a little bit of a stump here on the How-To's to get the cam chain tensioner gaskets done.
I am getting mixed how to's

Some say I need the Vag Tool 3366 (Which I have no idea what it is)
Some say I don't need it and I just need to unbolt the T30 torx screws.

Can someone tell me the proper way to change Just the Cam Chain Tensioner Gaskets on a 1999 Audi A6 2.8L AHA engine.

Is this a 10 hour job or can it be done in a few hours.
Can this be done with the regular every day mechanic tools or do I need special Audi tools?

Do I need to move around the chain to get the gaskets out?

I have the dreaded burning oil smell on my passenger side rear right under the MAF and from what I understand it is the Cam Chain Tensioner Gaskets that are causing this.

I bought the piece (5 dollars) and the Valve Cover Gasket set (Which I installed yesterday only to realize that it did not correct my problem so I will probably reuse the one I just installed yesterday since I only ran the car at idle for about half hour ((unless my valve cover gasket set is rendered useless by this)) )



Any help would really really help me out

sqplus

1. Use the VAG tool, no reason to take risks with engine internals
2. Use https://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng107.shtml from the tech section
3. Its only a 10 hour job if you attempt it through the tailpipe, first time should take you about 1-1.5 hr per side
4. Tools would depend on what you consider regular mechanics tools but yes, most likely. Many Allen and Torx bits on these vehicles, the only special Audi tool is the 3366 you already mentioned
5. The VAG3366 is intended to compress the tensioner to the chain has a small amount of flex, it won't be enough to move the chain anywhere.
6. The burning smell is likely the tensioners leaking, you are correct
7. Re-using valve cover gaskets isn't usually a good idea but it may be acceptable in this case considering the motor wasn't run much

FYI there are many many many posts about these two jobs(valve cover/cam tensioners)from the A4 and A6 forums since they share the engine

There are also several different tech articles with useful bits of info, again, from both the A4 & A6

HTH Good Luck

anthony911

Where would I go about getting this tool?
how much is it?
considering if this is the only way to get this done and I need the tool I will need to find someone who has it.

Anyone know where I can get this tool or if anyone in the Montreal area has it?

thejulex

ebay is the place. Just search for audi cam tool and you will evnetually find some listings for it. It is about $10-$20 shipped.

anthony911

Ok from what I am understanding though to remove the cam chain tensioner gasket I do not necessarily need to remove the cam.
Does anyone know the procedure to remove these gaskets WITHOUT lowering the chain and removing the cam?

I'm asking because I don't want to take out the cam and drop the chain and potentially open up another can of worms that I didn't need to have open.

sqplus

Get the tool off ebay or buy it from www.zdmaktools.com then use the procedures in the tech section.

The cam does NOT have to be removed but the tensioning assembly under the valve cover does need to be compressed before unbolting the leaking hydraulic tensioner.

If you're not comfortable with the procedures please have a shop do it and don't risk damaging your engine.

anthony911

its really more a question of if this can be done without the tool and if it can HOW does it get done.

I also need to know what the torque specs are to replace everything.


(I feel like I am sounding like someone who wants to get spoon fed but many of these how-to don't give that information and I am yet to find one that gives a way to do this without the tool. Which quite a few people have said it can be done without it.)

sqplus

Well, if you'd prefer not to use the tool then I would message some of these people that say they didn't use it and ask them if they can give you some more specific info about how they did it. I've just never come across that info, all of the tech articles authors used the tool.

Torque spec on the valve cover bolts = 7 ft-lbs(listed in the tech article)
Can't remember the tensioner torque spec off hand