Strange engine noise on cold start

[Martynas]

Could anyone please thell me what sort of problem i have here, my engine noise is a bit strange on a cold start but only for about 50-70 seconds and after that it disapears untill next morning :) sounds like some metal is touching something :) Link to video with engine noise here

Engine is 1.6 petrol, car is from 2007 ;)

[Audi Owners Club.]

Hi...and welcome to the Forum

That's quite a distinctive noise, as in it doesn't sound like hydraulic tappet rattle but more like a worn pulley or similar.

Because of the sound being what appears to be rotational and also that it disappears once it's warm suggests that it should be checked out as soon as possible by a garage (stripping back covers, etc to check what it is) and in particular around the timing belt / chain area.

Let us know how you get on with this

Cheers   Trevor

[Martynas]

Perfect, thank you for the answer, ive checked that timing belt was actually done 20k ago but i have a feeling that whoever owned the car befor me didnt invest much money in it so what ill do is just change timing and water pump and tensioner and pulley and see what happens :) id say that should do the trick, ill keep you posted when the job will be done :)

[Magnet]

Hello Martynas,

I would very much agree with Trevor's advice about checking the belt and it's assembly. Just one further point I would add, the previous owner may well have had the water pump changed at the same time as the belt and tensioner. Unfortunately aftermarket water pumps ( if fitted at the time) can be of highly variable quality and service life, and if it has survived for 20k then you are doing well! 

Appreciating the expense, but it may be well worth doing this again and investing in a VAG belt and tensioner and water pump (not aftermarket pump). In fact, I pretty sure Audi do rebuilt pumps on an exchange basis - or they were. If you have to go for aftermarket belts etc. then the only one I would go for would be Gates. Apreciating Gates do a kit inc. water pump, but for me it would have to be a VAG pump to go with their belt kit.

Of course, having said all that, it may well not be the timing belt/water pump assembly. Might be worth removing the auxiliary belt first and seeing if the noise disappears. If so, the noise will be associated with whatever it drives- alternator, P.S pump etc. 

Good luck with it.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

 

[Martynas]

Thank you for your tip Gareth, ive just placed an order on full timing belt kit made by conti tech, so ill replace water pump, timing belt, tensioners, pulleys, alternator cluch, alternator tensioneer, and also belt :) will doo all the side of the engine and well see what will happen :) 

[Magnet]

Hello Martynas,

Obviously your call, and a great maintenance move, but I think I would still check if the noise is present when the auxiliary belt is removed, since this will remove any potential disappointment when you change the belt assembly.

As I said, aftermarket belt kits and particularly water pumps can vary in quality and I always favour main dealer parts fo this application critical component. I have used Skoda Parts Shop ( up north somewhere) - no connection - for discount parts and found the difference between prices and aftermarket are just marginal.

I have mentioned my preference if moving to aftermarket, and did mention that personally I would not go with the aftermarket water pumps, on the basis that Contitech, as with Gates, do not make pumps, but buy in to use with their kits. Appreciate everyone's preference differ, but this is one job where quality not price, is king. 

Anyway, good luck with it Martynas.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Martynas]

Hey guys, decided to keep you updated about this issue, just today timing belt was replaced also alternator belt, water pump, tensioner and alternator clutch, problem seems to be solved, it looks like it was either alternator clutch but my tensioneer was also completely gone :)

Once more i would like to thank you guys for all your help!

[Audi Owners Club.]

That's good to hear and glad you got it sorted before it turned into something worse with the potential of causing even more damage.

Also, now it's all done and dusted it's miles of trouble free motoring and peace of mind.