Stupid Timing Chain Tensioner Pads

[jseklund]

Also - it seems like you know since you mentioned that the broken pad was a ticking timebomb- but if one of those pads goes, it could grenade your engine eventually. It seems like you would be upset that you didn't put the pad in after you already paid for it, just to save a a few hours of work...although, it may be an OK gamble if you make $200 or more an hour - but I don't typically make that much

[tartar]

This has now turned into a full blown nightmare. I'm still missing some of the broken pieces of the failed cam chain tensioner pad. I'm afraid that they may be lodged under the cam chain or, worst yet, between some of the valves and pistons.

The car started initially after replacing the broken top pad, but it rattled loudly so I turned it off and reopened the valve cover to pick off another small piece of the old failed pad. I restarted the car after replacing the valve cover back on and the engine ran like crap! It wouldn't idle right like only half the cylinders were firing. Sure enough I get the following codes:

16684 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
16687 Cylinder 3: Misfire Detected
16688 Cylinder 4: Misfire Detected
16689 Cylinder 5: Misfire Detected
16690 Cylinder 6: Misfire Detected

Is it possible that I may have affected the timing when I replaced the broken can chain tensioner pad? I did have to "tap" it into place with a hammer since the cam chain tensioner tool was only able to loosen the chain so much.

My daughter's 2004 Mustang threw multiple misfire codes last summer and it ended up being a bad ignition coil after I had replaced the plugs, ignition wires, and MAF filter. I still have the original ignition wires and ignition coil on my 2000 Audi A6. Could this be my problem, too? The car was idling and running smoothly before I worked on the stupid cam chain tensioner though! Dang it! Now the engine won't even start anymore!

I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to eventually dismantle my engine in order to fix this problem correctly. I had the timing belt, thermostat, and water pump replaced at 100K miles and my odometer now reads 133K. Although I will have to disassemble them in order to work on my cam chain tensioner on the driver's side, I sure hope that I won't need to replace those at this time.

Any tips on how to deal with this problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[4Driver4]

If you didn't remove the cams to do this job, you need to.
How did you check/replace the bottom guide? Did you check chain timing before assembly?

[jseklund]

I really think you should pull the cams and take a look on this one. It's the old saying, "If you don't have the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over?"

However, the mist fire problem may or may not be a cause of the pads directly. You have misfires on one head mostly. I bet the cylinder 3 misfire is really just because of the random misfires on the other head throwing off the timing.

Did you connect the cam adjuster electrical connectors correctly? How about the hall sensor connectors? Is it a ticking or an exhaust puffing sound? Is your combi valve on correctly and tight?

At this point, I would pull the timing belt, double check the timing, pull the cams and replace the pads on the adjusters fully. It's probably about 10+ hours worth of work, but replacing a head is probably 20+ hours of work easy. Replacing a piston that is damaged by a collision will put you in a position that you may as well drop a new engine in the car.

While you're in there, you may as well replace the cam seals and plug also.....Timing belt components should still be good for another 40,000 - so you could do those later....

[Philhawtin]

Originally Posted by tartar

I finally got around to changing the half moon seal and cam chain tensioner gasket on my 2000 A6 yesterday. It was a PITA trying to replace them using just a cam chain tensioner tool and without completely dismantling the front of my engine but, by far, it was still easier than the latter.

Everything was going fine until a bolt broke off while I was tightening the valve cover (7 ft/lbs) on the passenger side. No biggie. It was still a pleasant experience up to that point.

Then midway through the driver side I find out that the cam chain tensioner pad is cracked and missing some pieces. What a POS! It wasn't what I needed after putting in a few hours of back breaking work! I'm not sure how much of the missing pieces are still in the chamber, but I tried to fish them out as much as I could. It was a disaster just waiting to happen. This might explain some of the ticking noise that I've been hearing. I hope that my timing is not affected by my replacing this tensioner pad. Any ideas from you Audiworld gurus on this subject?

Anyway, I found an auto parts place on Amazon who sells the pads only for $22.95 (plus $32.06 FedEx Overnight). The shipping costs more than the part. LOL!

Local auto parts stores and the dealership only sell the cam chain tensioner as a whole unit.

Here's the culprit:


Here's the cam chain resting on the tensioner without the pad:


I'd appreciate any helpful hints from you Audiworld gurus! Thanks!

Question...

How can you tell that this was existing??? is there a sound/noise?

[tartar]

Originally Posted by Philhawtin

Question...

How can you tell that this was existing??? is there a sound/noise?

Loud rattling noise and sudden rough idle. Fortunately, it didn't happen at higher speeds. I did rev the engine up a few times to see if the rattling would go away. I hope that I haven't done much damage by doing so. I'm such a freakin' caveman most times... :-(

[tartar]

Originally Posted by jseklund

I really think you should pull the cams and take a look on this one. It's the old saying, "If you don't have the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over?"

However, the mist fire problem may or may not be a cause of the pads directly. You have misfires on one head mostly. I bet the cylinder 3 misfire is really just because of the random misfires on the other head throwing off the timing.

Did you connect the cam adjuster electrical connectors correctly? How about the hall sensor connectors? Is it a ticking or an exhaust puffing sound? Is your combi valve on correctly and tight?

At this point, I would pull the timing belt, double check the timing, pull the cams and replace the pads on the adjusters fully. It's probably about 10+ hours worth of work, but replacing a head is probably 20+ hours of work easy. Replacing a piston that is damaged by a collision will put you in a position that you may as well drop a new engine in the car.

While you're in there, you may as well replace the cam seals and plug also.....Timing belt components should still be good for another 40,000 - so you could do those later....

I strongly agree with your approach. It just goes to show that "shortcuts" 9 out of 10 will only come back and bite you in the ****. I bought my brother's 1999 Toyota Camry Solara with 211K miles on it so I'll have a daily commuter in the meantime. My son will be turning 16 in a couple of years and it will be an excellent first car for him eventually.

Let me tell you what, that Solara drives like new even with those many miles and having been used by my nephew all the way through his last year of his Phd Degree at Emory.

I can't help but think that a Toyota or Lexus would have been the way to go the year I bought my 2000 Audi A6. Regardless, I'm not about to give up on my baby at this point. After all, she has been with me through thick and thin all these years. Owning an Audi has forced me to learn how to work on cars more than I wanted to but, in the end, I've become a more mechanically inclined man because of it. I've learned a lot from my Audi and, unfortunately, the lessons continue.

Thanks for everyone's input. You guys are the best! :-)

[jseklund]

I have 188,000 on my Audi and it still drives as good as new.

Of course, you're right - I had to learn how to fix some things along the way. I bought this car with 93,000 on it 2 years ago and have replaced both front axlex, the timing belt and all components, valve cover gaskets, cam seals, cam tensioner gaskets, wheels, brakes, a brake switch, some bulbs, engine oil and filter, and 2 transmission fluid changes.

Other than that, I just drive the hell out of it....but I still wish shortcuts worked. It sure would be nice!!

Good luck with pulling the cams...let us know how it goes.

[tartar]

Originally Posted by jseklund

I have 188,000 on my Audi and it still drives as good as new.

Of course, you're right - I had to learn how to fix some things along the way. I bought this car with 93,000 on it 2 years ago and have replaced both front axlex, the timing belt and all components, valve cover gaskets, cam seals, cam tensioner gaskets, wheels, brakes, a brake switch, some bulbs, engine oil and filter, and 2 transmission fluid changes.

Other than that, I just drive the hell out of it....but I still wish shortcuts worked. It sure would be nice!!

Good luck with pulling the cams...let us know how it goes.

I'm with you, bro. I do love my car and plan on keeping it for as long as it lets me. ;-)

[tartar]

Originally Posted by jseklund

I have 188,000 on my Audi and it still drives as good as new.

Of course, you're right - I had to learn how to fix some things along the way. I bought this car with 93,000 on it 2 years ago and have replaced both front axlex, the timing belt and all components, valve cover gaskets, cam seals, cam tensioner gaskets, wheels, brakes, a brake switch, some bulbs, engine oil and filter, and 2 transmission fluid changes.

Other than that, I just drive the hell out of it....but I still wish shortcuts worked. It sure would be nice!!

Good luck with pulling the cams...let us know how it goes.

I'm with you, bro. I do love my car and plan on keeping it for as long as it lets me. ;-)

UPDATE: I think I found the culprit after hand cranking the crankshaft to TDC.

Is this the intake cam sprocket? These are the driver side camshafts. Anyway, I must have made it jump off by a tooth when I was "tapping" the top cam chain tensioner pad into place between the chain and the cam chain tensioner.



I found instructions on how to replace the cam chain tensioner without dismantling all the belts in Audiforums.com:

http://www.audiforums.com/forum/diy-...er-diy-101340/

What do you all think about his instructions? The problem that I see is that this cam sprocket is on the driver's side and the timing belt rear cover is partially blocking the cam chain tensioner itself. There's hardly any wiggle room for the cam chain tensioner to be lifted high enough and pulled out.

Going through the motions of the timing belt replacement steps may be my only sensible recourse at this time. Yes?

Besides, I'm still lacking a piece of the old cam chain tensioner pad that's roughly a square inch in size. I've got a hunch that it may be under the cam chain somewhere.