Disaster averted

[Mr Messy]

I had a close call today.

This is my MKIV GTI, 2001 with Recaros, Sunroof, Montreal IIs... nothing special really but it is my first dub, and the first decent car I've owned.



A couple of weeks ago I felt a knock from what felt like the right front suspension. It didn't happen for a while and then yesterday I could feel a metallic thud when taking off or applying fair dollops of torque.

I thought, "Hmm, I've stuffed an engine mount" and thought I'd get it checked out next week.

But then today the car started making a godawful whirring sound, rising in pitch with engine speed almost like a World War II style bomb raid alarm.

So I stop.



(Note: sock was for wiping the dipstick, I wondered if the car had dropped its guts and was running dry. It hadn't. And no it wasn't the sock I had been wearing. The servo I stopped at had no paper towel)

I wheeled it into a nearby workshop, who found that the T-Belt cover was loose. They clipped it back on, the whirring stopped and everything was fine.
For about 10 seconds.



The horribly awful angry noise returned and the spannermen told me that it was not good (duh) , and that I'd need a new T-Belt, tensioner and engine mount. And that they could do it all today. For about $1500.

I told them the car had a new T-Belt and tensioner in October, and they said take it back to where I got that done. So I did.



After crawling down the M5 at 70kph I arrived at Camden GTI, where Matt agreed that the car sounded like it was dying and needed to be sorted ASAP. Already late for work I left the car in his capable hands and walked to Campbelltown station before waiting 25 looooong minutes for the next city-bound train.

Long story short an engine mount bolt had snapped, leaving half the bolt rolling around and the other half in the engine's bowels. Oh, and a listing engine putting huge pressure on the cam belt cover and tensioner.

I prepared my soul for a >$1000 job and phoned the fiancee to ask whether we really need a photographer for our wedding next month.
She was not impressed.

But the legendary mechanics at CGTI were able to fish out the busted bolt, check that my cambelt hardware was still fine (all brand new 6 months ago) and nail it all together for less than $200.
I couldn't be happier.

[BTJ]

close call mate...

but the real question is:

If your wife-to-be is questioning the repair of your VW, do you really need a fiancee at your wedding next month?

[Mr Messy]

Haha not really she loves the car, but you can't come between a bride and her budget!!!

She's into F1 and V8s, and owns a restored Mini clubman (not rego'd this year)

I have to say thanks to my boss too, who let me come in very late without trouble. The legend (not a member here) drives a clean Mk4 with rims and racks as well as a new Passat wagon TDI. He was very sympathetic.

[sierra055]

Always love a happy ending!

[DIDZ]

Hrmm why does this sound so familiar ?!??

[Golf Loon]

Thanks for the plug mate, always glad when stories have a happy ending.

Cheap solution in this case for you. Glad you didnt keep driving, new head would not have been fun if the belt snapped

You totally lucked out, that the tensioner and belt were not damaged and that the snapped bolt came out easily. Hope you bought that lottery ticket.

[RhysQ]

A couple of weeks ago I felt a knock from what felt like the right front suspension. It didn't happen for a while and then yesterday I could feel a metallic thud when taking off or applying fair dollops of torque.

I thought, "Hmm, I've stuffed an engine mount" and thought I'd get it checked out next week.

But then today the car started making a godawful whirring sound, rising in pitch with engine speed almost like a World War II style bomb raid alarm.

This sounds horribly familiar, I'm getting a grinding noise (and feel through the clutch) when I lift the clutch from idle in gear, and knocking noises coming from under when I am going slow and giving taps of the accelerator. Is this the same thing you were getting. Should I be looking at my engine mount. I have an APR insert, and lately its felt like the standard mount is back in.... a bit sloppy.

I don't have the whirring sound.....YET!

Glad everything worked out for you though mate?

[Bug_racer]

happy ending ?

For now maybe and this is very familiar to me as well since Ive repaired one after it had a timing belt done .

The engine mount bolt was not torqued down correctly . There are 2 18mm head bolts that are what holds the engine mount bracket and the engine mount together . If these are too loose then instead of the engine movement going through a flat surface of the 2 mounting faces of the engine mount and the bracket the load gets put through the actual bolt itself . So the bolt not only has to take the weight of the engine but it also has to take the torque harmonics of the engine moving . This is far to great and over a period of time the bolt will break .

maybe this explains it better :
Screws and bolts are usually in tension when properly fitted. In most applications they are not designed to bear large shear forces. For example, when two overlapping metal bars joined by a bolt are likely to be pulled apart longitudinally, the bolt must be tight enough so that the friction between the two bars can overcome the longitudinal force. If the bars slip, then the bolt may be sheared in half, or friction between the bolt and slipping bars may erode and weaken the bolt (called fretting). For this type of application, high-strength steel bolts are used and should be tightened to a specified torque.

taken from here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw#M...s_and_strength

And the timing belt is no longer going to last the full 4 years . Any slight damage to it , even removing it , it should be replaced otherwise its going to fail earlier than it should . I can try and find the VW technical bulletin for this if anyone is interested .

[Mr Messy]

happy ending ?

For now maybe and this is very familiar to me as well since Ive repaired one after it had a timing belt done...

[skipped bit]

And the timing belt is no longer going to last the full 4 years . Any slight damage to it , even removing it , it should be replaced otherwise its going to fail earlier than it should . I can try and find the VW technical bulletin for this if anyone is interested .

It's definitely good news in the short term! Massive relief.

As for the long term I guess I'll have to trust my mechanic. The first thing I did when I bought the car last October was take it to Camden GTI for belts/tensioner/pump/air con service and, panel work aside, they're the only mob who have seen it since.

The crew there had a good look at the belt, tensioner and pulleys and couldn't find any damage. Now you'd think a mechanic would push for repairs if there was any problems because there's money to be made in the short term, and a reputation to protect in the long term.

Hopefully everything is fine, because as a pen pusher I don't know what to what to do with mechanicals and need to trust the judgement of those who do.

[Golf Loon]

In this instance, I reckon the problem was caused by a tired dogbone mount and an uprated diverter valve, causing the bolt to fail.

The belt was not damaged and the screetching was caused by the cover pushing on the tensioner wheel, resulting in lots of noise, but no damage.

The belt should of course be checked at the next service, or if there are any other symptoms.

I personally dont believe in doing jobs that do not need doing or taking peoples money to no good purpose.

Hope the car is going well and that you have many ks or trouble free motoring.