Help for noob b7 1.8t owner

[Cristian G]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker, first time caller

So I picked up my first Audi yesterday. After much looking, procrastination we bought a 2005 b7 1.8T BFB eng multi-tronic.
Before I finalised the sale I had a mechanical check done, that identified a couple things, including the turbo oil feed banjo leaking and a rocker cover gasket leak. Not too bad but the price was adjusted accordingly.

Anyway, driving home from work last night, cruising at 90khr the oil press warning lit up.
A backed off to about 60k as I was about 3km from home. The rest of the trip, the low oil press warning is going on and off, and as I turn into my street I can hear the engine is getting noisier.
When pull into my drive I shut it off and breathe again.

After looking all over for leaks and checking the oil level, all seems well, so I decide to use the check function to recall the message. The MFD says all is ok.....
So I start it up again. There's no oil press warning, but the engine sounds really noisy. Rattlie and clunky like some of the older diesels sound. I give it a couple of gentle revs and still no warning, but the rattle doesn't get any better, so I turn it off again.

If I didn't know better I would say it sounds like a timing chain that the tensioner has lost tension, but these engines are belt driven arn't they?
Is it possible it's spun a bearing?
I don't really want to drive in case it lunches the engine entirely, but I will need to get it looked at I think.
Does anyone have any suggestions for further fault finding without opening the engine ? Or is it already cactus ?

I should say I'm a big handy with tools and cars, but this is my first Audi and I haven't had time yo learn the car yet.

Any help appreciated,

Cristian


MY13.5 Multivan TDI340

[h100vw]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker, first time caller

So I picked up my first Audi yesterday. After much looking, procrastination we bought a 2005 b7 1.8T BFB eng multi-tronic.
Before I finalised the sale I had a mechanical check done, that identified a couple things, including the turbo oil feed banjo leaking and a rocker cover gasket leak. Not too bad but the price was adjusted accordingly.

Anyway, driving home from work last night, cruising at 90khr the oil press warning lit up.
A backed off to about 60k as I was about 3km from home. The rest of the trip, the low oil press warning is going on and off, and as I turn into my street I can hear the engine is getting noisier.
When pull into my drive I shut it off and breathe again.

After looking all over for leaks and checking the oil level, all seems well, so I decide to use the check function to recall the message. The MFD says all is ok.....
So I start it up again. There's no oil press warning, but the engine sounds really noisy. Rattlie and clunky like some of the older diesels sound. I give it a couple of gentle revs and still no warning, but the rattle doesn't get any better, so I turn it off again.

If I didn't know better I would say it sounds like a timing chain that the tensioner has lost tension, but these engines are belt driven arn't they?
Is it possible it's spun a bearing?
I don't really want to drive in case it lunches the engine entirely, but I will need to get it looked at I think.
Does anyone have any suggestions for further fault finding without opening the engine ? Or is it already cactus ?

I should say I'm a big handy with tools and cars, but this is my first Audi and I haven't had time yo learn the car yet.

Any help appreciated,

Cristian


MY13.5 Multivan TDI340

Running it with a pressure light on isn't the best thing to do mate.

They have a belt on the front end of the engine which drives the exhaust cam, there's a chain at the back that drives the inlet cam. The tensioner is hydraulic and also controls the valve timing with the solenoid that is on it.

The tensioners do fail, mine is noisy on my Polo at idle.

You haven't mentioned checking the oil level, does it have any in it? Even at the bottom of the dipstick, I get no rattling on our A4 wagen, just the low warning.

Spun bearings are not unheard of either.

Gavin

[Cristian G]

Hi Gavin,
Thanks for the reply.
Yep the oil with was full to top mark, so no problem there, I'm not sure what grade but it's there.
I've read some of the guys in the US have issues with the oil pickup clogging, so I thought I could check that first, just need to drop the sump apparently.
I'm really hoping it's not bearings.....

Cristian


MY13.5 Multivan TDI340

[h100vw]

Hi Gavin,
Thanks for the reply.
Yep the oil with was full to top mark, so no problem there, I'm not sure what grade but it's there.
I've read some of the guys in the US have issues with the oil pickup clogging, so I thought I could check that first, just need to drop the sump apparently.
I'm really hoping it's not bearings.....

Cristian
MY13.5 Multivan TDI340

Yeah they were driving a millions miles on low grade oil and surprised when stuff started breaking..........

If you car has history with regular services, I don't expect you'll find much in the sump and it's a headache to remove because of the subframe. I'd be tempted to try and check it with an inspection camera through the drain plug or turbo drain. I haven't done that though as most of the 1.8ts i have worked on have been transverse.

Does the oil filler cap smell of burnt oil? It's not a true indication of the state of the engine but well looked after ones don't have burnt on oil.

Gavin

[Transporter]

Depending how much did you pay for the car you most likely have the warranty. Just take it back to them or call them to collect the car. That's what I would do, if I bought the car with the fault like this..

That's of course if you bought it from the car dealer.

[Cristian G]

Does the oil filler cap smell of burnt oil? It's not a true indication of the state of the engine but well looked after ones don't have burnt on oil.

Thanks Gavin,
I did check that and there was no dodgy smells, or build up on the top of the engine (that I could see through the limited size of the oil filler cap). The only thing I have noticed is that the engine appears a little dirtier than I thought it would be, but it's been a city car and as you say, they could have been putting cheapo oil in it.

[Cristian G]

Depending how much did you pay for the car you most likely have the warranty. Just take it back to them or call them to collect the car. That's what I would do, if I bought the car with the fault like this..

That's of course if you bought it from the car dealer.

Good to see you helping on this side of the fence too, Transporter.
Unfortunately, I bought it privately.
I had it checked out by a specialist, but there was no evidence of any issues with oil supply in either the Code scan or the visual. The closest it got was evidence of an oil leak on the rocker gasket and the turbo feed banjo bolt.

[Transporter]

Do the engine flush and use the right oil, change the oil filter too and see if it improves. It's also a good idea as Gavin suggested to check the oil pick up strainer with the inspection camera.

You could also check the oil pressure directly.

[Cristian G]

Do the engine flush and use the right oil, change the oil filter too and see if it improves. It's also a good idea as Gavin suggested to check the oil pick up strainer with the inspection camera.

You could also check the oil pressure directly.

I'm thinking what you have suggested is the way to go, to at least work out how bad it is.
I can check the oil pressure with VAGCOM can't I?
Isn't there a measuring block that will display "live" values?

[h100vw]

I'm thinking what you have suggested is the way to go, to at least work out how bad it is.
I can check the oil pressure with VAGCOM can't I?
Isn't there a measuring block that will display "live" values?

VCDS can't see that as it's just a switch. As long as it makes minimum pressure on start up, it's all good as far as the car is concerned. It trips the light off and the assumption is that it remains up after that.

A mechanical gauge is a good idea too.

Gavin