Audi Allroad 2.5 TDi Noise

Tropheus

Hi Guys,

I have 2003 Audi Allroad 2.5 TDi Quattro from new. It now has 132k miles on it and has never put a foot wrong bar the usual wear and tear.

I've noticed over the last couple of weeks that it gives an intermittent screech when starting up - generally from cold. The noise lasts for about a second. It also does it when I shut the engine down. The car is running well otherwise.

I was initially thinking that the starter motor is on the way out, but that wouldn't make noise when it's shutting down.

I had a look under the bonnet with the engine running and thought I could hear faint noise like a bearing or belt, but it's hard to be sure over the sound of a diesel engine.

Any ideas? I'm thinking it's a problem with a pulley or belt, but it's very tight in there and certainly nothing to be seen from above the engine.

Thanks,

Slidey

More than likely it is the tensioner assy or the pulley on the alternator.

Best thing to do is whip the belt off and check them. It is not a great idea to leave it go on too long, if the belt breaks it can end up getting wrapped around everything or even getting in under the timing cover

Tropheus

Slidey wrote: »

More than likely it is the tensioner assy or the pulley on the alternator.

Best thing to do is whip the belt off and check them. It is not a great idea to leave it go on too long, if the belt breaks it can end up getting wrapped around everything or even getting in under the timing cover

Thanks. I do most of the servicing myself - oil, brakes, filters, etc. This sounds a bit more complicated and I don't have a lift so access is a problem.

I'll drop into the local mechanic during the week and get him to have a look at it. Hopefully it's not anything too serious.

Slidey

No probs, I could try and explain how to do it but I am not too familiar with your model of car

Fishtits

It does sound like the freewheel pulley on the alternator, they tend to get sloppy, then seize (belt hops about like the tensioner is duff - especially on stationery full lock) then eventually they all but melt & disintegrate. When they get to the latter state they'll have melted the grease from the alt bearings which should then be replaced.

Tropheus

I left it with a local mechanic. He agrees that it's most likely the alternator pulley, but can't get near it. He claims the font of the car has to come off similar to doing the timing belt. Does anyone know if that's true? It sounds incredible for what should be a relatively straight forward job.

He told me that if I do get it done, I should get the timing belt done at the same time as there's that much work involved. He wasn't interested in doing it as he doesn't have the right tools for the V6 engine.

The timing belt isn't due for another 30k miles.

Gary ITR

ksimpson wrote: »

I left it with a local mechanic. He agrees that it's most likely the alternator pulley, but can't get near it. He claims the font of the car has to come off similar to doing the timing belt. Does anyone know if that's true? It sounds incredible for what should be a relatively straight forward job.

He told me that if I do get it done, I should get the timing belt done at the same time as there's that much work involved. He wasn't interested in doing it as he doesn't have the right tools for the V6 engine.

The timing belt isn't due for another 30k miles.

If he's not interested in doing it then he has no reason to tell you fibbs. I'm not familiar with that engine at all but from their positioning I do know they can be a bastard when it comes to getting access

Tropheus

I have the workshop manual for the car and checked this out a bit more thoroughly. Unfortunately, the front of the car does have to come away to do any work on the alternator pulley/belt (if that's what the problem is). It's nearly the exact same procedure to do the timing belt. It's the same process if the alternator were to fail which would make that a very expensive job.

If I was going to get it done, it would make sense to do the timing belt at the same time even though it's not due for another 30k miles. I will leave it for the moment and see if it gets any worse.

The last Audi dealer that worked on the car was Agnew's in Belfast. They were a bit cheaper than the dealers down here and seemed to know more about the car as many more of them were sold up there. So I'd probably give it to them to do.

I'm not sure I'd trust an independent as the timing belt is one thing I won't take chances with. I think my usual independent was fair enough when he said he wasn't interested in doing it as he hasn't done one on the V6 TDi before and didn't have the necessary tools.

Tropheus

For the record. I had the timing and auxilary belt done at Walsh Motors in Belfast. They were sceptical about the belts being the cause of the noise.

The work was done on Wednesday and I'm very happy with the results. The noise is now gone and I recon it was something to do with the auxiliary/alternator belt.

Since the front of the car was off, I got them to do the timing and alternator belts as well as the water pump.

I would recomend them. All was done for £470.

Tropheus

Ok, not so happy today. In fact very depressed.:mad::mad::mad:

The car was running great until this afternoon. I was driving normally and heard a loud bang. I though I'd hit something on the road, but there was nothing behind me.

I stopped the car which was still ticking over normally with no odd sounds. I had a look around and to my horror coolant was running onto the ground. I thought water pump shut the car down and called the AA.

The AA duly came and looked over the car. They found that several blades had broken off the fan and most likely punctured the radiator. There was no sign of anything that could have came in contact with the fan, but then you can't see much from above the engine.

The car was put onto a low loader and is now sitting outside a local mechanic's premises to be looked at on Tuesday.

I'm presuming some foreign object came in contact with the fan. The fact the timing belt etc. was done is too much of a conincidence.

the merchant

Best of luck with it, it'll be interesting how our northern friends handle this one.

Couldn't you have got the AA to drop it to Belfast?

Tropheus

The AA will only get the car to your house or a local mechanic. No way they would take it to Belfast.

I'll ring Walsh Motors tomorrow morning and see what they say. If it's to go back up to them, I'm sure it will be at my expense. No doubt this would be a total coincidence and nothing to do with the work they carried out. Maybe it hasn't, but I think it's too much of a coincidence.

It will be very difficult to determine if anything came into contact with the fan. The fan is enclosed in a cowling and is designed so as nothing dropping from above will come into contact with it. There's also not much behind or in front of it that could come lose and come into contact with it. You have the cover for the timing belt at the rear which is in tact and the radiator in front.

I did a search and there is a thing called fan fatigue where blades on the fan weaken over time. If one were to break, it can cause the type of damage I have. I wonder was the fan damaged in some way during the job?

I'll keep you posted.

Tropheus

Car is still with the mechanic. Looking at the damage, he's convinced something heavy fell from above into the fan and was then propelled into the radiator bursting it.

I called Walsh Motors, but they weren't that interested. Basically said it has nothing to do with the job they did. They said I probably picked up a stone.:rolleyes:

It's not stripped down yet as the parts have to come from Germany and could take up to 5 days. €50 + VAT for the fan and €409 + VAT for the radiator. I have to go with the genuine Audi radiator as there doesn't appear to be a non OEM rad available for the car.:( Hopefully that's all that was damaged. I'll find out for sure when the front comes off.

Looks like the car will be off the road until early next week.:mad:

jeez that sucks dude!
Hope it works out for ya

What kind of MPG do you get from the Allroad?

Tropheus

When it's running I get around 28mpg around town and 32mpg on a long run. It's far from a modern eco diesel, but not too bad for a 2.5l 2.5 tonne motor.

Tropheus

Got the car back yesterday and my wallet is €692 lighter.:mad:

Thankfully is was just the radiator and fan that needed replacing. The mechanic could find no sign of anything that could have caused the damage. He says it looks like the fan broke up on it's own and punctured the radiator. It's hard to see how relatively thin pieces of plastic could punture the radiator, but I suppose they would have been moving at very high speed.

Anyway, nothing to link the damage to the timing belt work, but I still say that it's very coincidental.

pert

That's the way it goes bud. But it is very stange considering the whole front end of her would have been off for the belt. Maybe a spanner or ratchet was left around the engine - who knows.

Remember my Mo'ars car years ago, the day after it was in getting fixed by a main dealer in Belfast. The window just completely collapsed in.

They didn't want to no, but that's the way life goes.

Tropheus

Sorry to resurrect this thread. After just over 18 months, the car is now losing coolant. A local mechanic has diagnosed it as a water pump problem. On the Allroad, that’s obviously a new water pump and I’d be mad not to do the timing belt at the same time although it’s not due for another 3 years.

Buy cheap pay twice, but in my case it's looking like pay cheap, pay three times.

Not a happy bunny.:mad:

tossy

Jesus you are having a bad run with it!

For the record the front doesn't have to come off the car completely you can just un bolt the front panel and slide it slightly forward to what is called the 'service position'

If you are looking for an honest reliable VAG specialist this side of the border for future work i highly recommend George Dalton in Laois,he is a member on here.

Tea drinker

ksimpson wrote: »

Sorry to resurrect this thread. After just over 18 months, the car is now losing coolant. A local mechanic has diagnosed it as a water pump problem. On the Allroad, that’s obviously a new water pump and I’d be mad not to do the timing belt at the same time although it’s not due for another 3 years.

Buy cheap pay twice, but in my case it's looking like pay cheap, pay three times.

Not a happy bunny.:mad:

Any merit in talking to the crowd in belfast? Looks like they received a bad batch of pumps or used a chocolate water pump :-(
I assume you haven't done something like 100K miles or something?
It seems like one too many coincidences with the original job, so I could understand your reluctance to go back there.....

There were problems a year or so ago with (non original VW) timing belt tensioners collapsing and engine going bang, I think there was some recourse with these. Also I remember something about timing chains from industrial application being used for motors, wearing out in no time, can't remember the marque.

Tropheus

I am relucant to go back to them. There's about 15k miles on the car since the job was done. I'm sure if I read the small print they give a 6 month guarantee tops. They weren't interested in discussing the fan problem a few days after the TB was done.

I'll get the local mechanic to sort it. He was reluctant to do the TB job initially (that's why I went North), but now that he's had the front off to do the alternator about 6 months ago, he's pretty sure he'll manage it - even without the special tools.

I'll make sure and get an VAG water pump this time. I'm not sure what Walsh Motors used, but I'd be pretty sure it wasn't an original part. At least with an Audi part, I'd have some comeback.

George Dalton

I wouldn't recommend trying to do the timing belt on one of these without the correct tools.

JJJJNR

Understandable about the reluctance to go back to them, but in their favour I had my belts and bits done and they did a good job, they'll be doing it again the next time around also.

Tropheus

George Dalton wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend trying to do the timing belt on one of these without the correct tools.

I'm tending that way myself. I'll talk to him again. It may be worth my while just to pay for the tool depending on the cost. He'll probably be doing it again at some stage in the future anyway.

Chimaera

ksimpson wrote: »

George Dalton wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend trying to do the timing belt
on one of these without the correct tools.

I'm tending that way myself. I'll talk to him again. It may be worth my while just to pay for the tool depending on the cost. He'll probably be doing it again at some stage in the future anyway.

Definitely worth having this done with the proper tools. It's also worth having him pop off the valve covers and having a look at the camshafts. Unfortunately those 2.5s have a bit of a habit of chewing them up over time.

Tropheus

Any ideas on where I could get the tool or how much it would cost?

allroad

I know it's an old thread, but I had an unusual experience which has some similarities with your own. My allroad was serviced by an independent, who I've used many times, in Tyrone. During the service they discovered the viscous coupling and fan was on the way out and I agreed to have it replaced. (£450, I think). On the way home (dark,foggy, minus 13 and a long way) the coolant temperature warning alarm came on. Pulled over and was greeted by steam from under the bonnet. AA arrived and found she had emptied almost all the coolant from the overflow tank. Got her lifted and returned to garage (at their expense) and they told me she had sprung a radiator leak. This was repaired rather than replaced, with my agreement ( tried to get a new radiator but difficulties caused by the weather were going to make the wait impossible for me). Garage took no responsibility, but paid for everything.
Was going to use Walsh after this. Haven't done so yet.
Did you get any joy from them?

George Dalton

It is interesting to see that you want to change to a different garage after what happened.

My take on the situation is that the garage you used made a mistake (which happens to us all) They didn't try to make you pay for their mistake or claim it was co-incidence or back out of their responsibilities in any way. They paid for the recovery of the car and for the repairs. I don't see what more they could have done. If you have used them several times and have had no other issues with them then I see no reason why you shouldn't keep using them.

Tropheus

As was said, at least your garage paid for recovery and repairs regardless if they admitted liablility. I had no joy from Walsh. They just said it was coincidence and I was out over €600 for repairs.

The water pump they fitted also failed after 15k miles. I had to get the pump and belt done again locally which again cost over €600. The pump they fitted was non-OEM. I didn't even bother contacting Walsh when this happened as I'm sure I would have been told that it was out of warranty.

That's my experience of them. There are far more positive experiences on here if you do a search.

allroad

There were a number of factors involved. The garage have always been very competent, but they are quite far away from my home. During the period in question (last winter) I was without the 4x4 for almost two weeks. This does leave a negative impression. Apart from that, a friend experienced a major engine problem after a timing belt change by the same garage. This was also repaired at they're expense, without acceptance of responsibility. I have a notion, rightly or wrongly, that there is a problem in the workshop and I'd rather not be the first person to encounter a change in attitude toward customer relations. It could be expensive.
Both problems involved the 2.5 Tdi engine.
Overall, they have been a solid and reliable workshop, but I'd rather not take a chance that things are on the decline. I came to them through recommendation and Walsh's were also recommended. That's why I was interested in their reponse to the OP.
I should add that the total paid for work done was almost £1300. I now have a repaired radiator which was fine before the work was carried out.