Vorlockfoss

That sounds bad. Didn't your engine warn you the oil was low? I'm wandering if adding extra oil simply temporarily disguised the issue...

Hi, It is possible that, despite it being tight, it could be at its limit of tension. How does it run, aside from the noise? Mine started the same as yours, and seemed to mostly go away once started. The noise got gradually worse, and louder, and lasted longer, until the balance shaft chain eventually fell off, which stopped the water pump working and caused a breakdown that I needed to be recovered from. I did all the work myself in the end, as I received quotes of 3 or 4 thousand £ at least (no one knew or cared & just didn't want to do it!). One garage charged me £350 just to have a look, mess it up, and tell me what I already knew...! I forgot that around 7 years ago I had the timing chain changed at a garage, which cost £800, and as it turns out, they only changed the 1 main chain, and they caused a blockage on my main oil inlet from the oil pump as they'd used too much sealant to put the chain cover back on...!! There are 3 timing chains on mine, which I replaced myself. I also replaced all the guides and the tensioner. It turns out that I had several issues, which included the chains, guides, tensioner and a knackered inlet camshaft. As I was trying to diagnose the above I also replaced the oil pump (Audi), the water pump (Inna), various sensors (aftermarket), the oil (2 or 3 times, LiquiMoly), the serpentine belt tensioner (aftermarket), the inlet camshaft (aftermarket, but turned out to be the Audi supplier!), all the cam lifters (inlet & outlet, Inna), the charcoal thingy at the back (Audi), the high pressure fuel pump gasket (it was folded on one corner! Audi)), the pcv valve (Audi), the cam cover (eBay), the water thermostats (aftermarket), the cam bridge (removed the filter mesh! Same as camshaft), the 4 ignition coils (aftermarket high end), the camshaft adjuster & magnet (same as camshaft), the crank bolt (Audi), the serpentine belt (aftermarket), the oil level sensor (Audi), and probably something else too I have no doubt. It ended up costing me around £1,500 for all the parts (I bought them from Germany and some from Audi), but I didn't need them all. Although, my engine has run better for the last 2 or so years than it did when I bought it...! I know that's not what you wanted to know, but that's what I did. 😁

Update: No adverse affects...

Hi all, I have an update... Lol Loud scraping noise = destroyed Balance Shaft Chain & Crank Cog Teeth. Remedy = New Timing Chain & Crank Cog. I did the work myself, which took an age of learning and an age of fixing, but it's all good now. 😁 Thanks, Paul.

Hi all, How's things? I have an issue I caused today. I was tightening 2 bolts on my Crank Cover, to 8 Nm + 45°, and the back of not just one, but 2 screw holes 'pinged' off as I tightened the screws. Now, you could say that maybe I used the wrong screw, but they are all the same shape & size, so not sure what or why. Anyway, all that aside, as I was simply !Removed! the screw in to the hole, the back of a hole on the left of the Crank Cover popped off with a ping. It's a clean break & I'm not sure it will have any adverse affect, if any. I then went and did the same to another screw hole back on the right side of the Crank Cover...! I can only assume I missed 2 shorter screws, but I don't see how. It is possible that they both had a little silicone residue & the pressure simply caused the backs to pop off, I don't know. My question is, am I right in thinking there will be no adverse affect? Thanks all in advance, Paul.

Hi Gareth, That was a mighty fast reply...! I've been driving it about since yesterday without any problems. It now drives as it did 5 years ago. I also have no engine codes at all now, which is the first time for around 4 years...! When I start the engine the noise I mentioned is quite loud, but as it comes up to temperature it quietens and can only just be heard; while driving I cannot hear it at all. The noise is definitely not inside the block. As far as I can tell it's timing chain related, i.e. most likely the chain adjuster, or could even be one of the guides, but less likely. I'm going to purchase an adjuster, and maybe a chain guide kit, and replace it/them. It's not a job I relish though, because working on the top with the cam ends is easy as you only have to slide the front forward on 2 long and appropriate bolts, but for the lower end I'd need to either take the front off (oil and water removal), or at least remove the radiator to provide access; any advice on that...? I'm not going to drive it now until I've checked/fixed, just in case. Thanks, Paul.

Right, here is an update. I replaced the Auxillary Belt Tensioner and Belt, started the engine while the belt was removed, and the scraping noise still occured. I've also replaced the Cambridge, the Cam Adjuster and the Cam Magnet, but the noise persists. The engine is running better now and the tickover is slightly lower. The noise became slowly quieter over 5 minutes after replacing these parts, but persists... The noise sounds like it's revolving at around 1 - 2 times per second on tickover, so I have to surmise it's timing chain related, maybe the chain adjuster, but metal on metal...? Thanks, Paul.

Hi Gareth, Thanks for the above advice. It's obvious now you've said it... Lol Thanks, Paul.

Hi Gareth, Hope all is ok. I think I may have found the issue. I believe the Cam Bridge Mesh had disintegrated and part of it found its way in to the VVT Solenoid. I took the Solenoid Magnet off, turned the engine on the force oil to escape the Solenoid, and a small piece of metal appeared in the oil on the bottom rim. My car appears to start eat time now, but I now have another issue with an incredibly loud noise coming from either the timing area, one of the pumps, the serpent belt tensioner or the alternator. I have started a new thread accordingly. Thanks, Paul.

Hi folks, how's things? I have a very loud Scraping / Grinding sound on front of my engine. The noise is external, as apposed to inside the block. It could be coming from either the timing area, the serpent belt adjuster, one of the pumps or the Alternator, I can't work out which. The first 3 days it made the noise I crapped myself, thinking the engine was about to explode, or something was going to fall off. By the time I opened the bonnet the noise had gone. The noise was/is like twisting a shuvel inside a metal bucket, but at a constant faster speed, maybe twice a second at tickover/idle, and scraping more on one side of the bucket than the other. After the choke closed the noise went away within a few seconds and the car drove without issue. On the 4th and 5th days the noise didn't go away, but again became quieter (more quiet) as the choke closed & the revs dropped, which I would think to be logical; it is still quite loud, as opposed to very loud. The noise does increase with revs, as I assume would be expected. The engine starts & runs ok, but does appear to run a little laboured, but only a little... I have my suspicions, but thought I'd throw it out there to see if anyone agrees. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated and gratefully received. Thanks, Paul. Car: Audi A4 B8 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Line 2009.

Hi Gareth, My apologies. The Cam Bridge is the part on the end of the 2 cams that contains the mesh filter that filters the oil before it's fed in to the end of the Cam Shafts for the VVT. Oil 'transits' was a word I used off the top of my head in an attempt to describe the tubes in the Cam Bridge & Cam Shafts that the oil flows through from the engine to the VVT. 😁 I've had the car for 5 years next month & I had the Timing Chain & sundries replaced around a year & a half after purchase as it went in to limp mode &, I was told, the chain had jumped 3 teeth as it had stretched & needed replacing; I'm a bit more knowledgeable about my car now & would query 3 teeth. I recently discovered that the mesh I mentioned above is missing (they would have to take the Cam Bridge off to replace the chain) and there are marks on the cam shaft ends that look suspiciously like they could have been made by a wondering mesh... Anyway, I digress. The current issues all started just over a year ago and have gradually got worse since. In an attempt to resolve I replaced the air filter (Mann), plugs (NGK) and Coils (NGK) around 6 or 7 months ago, which made only a slight improvement. I broke down in October and had to be recovered. After research I concluded the PCV valve was faulty, replaced it and et voila. However, I still had other issues. I tested the new coils by replacing them with the old, but no change. I had no miss-fires on any cylinder, so concluded the plugs were ok. Around 2 weeks ago I replaced the N80 Evaporator valve, as I was having issues starting after refuelling, but no change, except that it is easier to start after refuelling, so that's good... 3 days ago I replaced the Camshaft Sensor, but that made only a small improvement in starting, but not massively. I've looked at fuel relay & CTS issues, but my car symptoms & codes (see above) don't fit. However, they do fit a blocked or faulting Cam Bridge & related 'transits', i.e. codes P0011, P000A and P0341. 😁 I just wondered what your thoughts on this might be... Just to add, I think the possible 'mesh' damage may have been caused when the previous owner had it (although, I cannot dismiss the possibility of the chain replace garage not causing the damage & not telling me, in order to avoid blame). The missing mesh could potentially cause a blockage over a long period of time & I think I would notice if the mesh dislodged and was ultimately forced through the Camshaft mechanisms. One thing that gives it away is the fact the car had been towed (attempted); I know this because the towing eye has stripped the thread from its mount & quattros cannot/should not be dragged... All work on the car had been reported to me when I purchased, however, when I got home from my mammoth 4.5 hour drive home, I noticed the front bumper looked odd, like it didn't fit & after an investigation I discovered it hadn't been refitted properly after being removed. To add, the car was serviced and maintained by the same garage that sold it to me. At the time of collection, they skillfully missdirected my attention from a couple of others faults, non-locking petrol cap, faulty central locking switch, etc. I know they did this because when I discovered the faults I recalled their words at the time of collection... The garage in question has since gone out of business (around 3 years ago) due to further discovered issues. I'm sorry, there's a lot of waffle, but I hope it affords some form of helpful insight. Thanks, Paul.

Hi Gareth, How's things...? What are your thoughts on the Cam Bridge & either blocked oil transits and/or missing filter mess...? Thanks, Paul.

Thanks Gareth... No, you're right, it certainly is interesting, and frustrating, and annoying, and stressful, etc. Lol I'm happy to change the CTS as I'm now not convinced it's the relay. Since changing the CSS it appears to start well from cold, but still demonstrates some starting Issues when hot/warm, but not quite as severe, and I'm not sure engine heat would affect the relay, unless of course the relay is overheating because of its fault... 😳 I've got plenty of time to think now, so I'll keep researching. 😊 Thanks, Paul.

Hi Gareth, Thanks for your feedback. I did initially think about the CTS, but I'm not seeing any temp. issues on my dashboard, so I unwittingly dismissed it. Do you think I should change it anyway...? I will have a look at the relay & see if I can 'borrow' one for testing purposes. 😁 Thanks again & stay safe. Paul.

Just thought I'd give it a quick go after it'd cooled a little; 1) fail but tried 2) fail 3) fail 4) fail 5) normal start, like it just decided to be normal... The above is a new pattern... After some thought & more research I don't think it's the coolant sensor, but I am leaning very much towards the fuel relay, as originally suggested by Gareth above...! From what I've read & learned, the fuel relay is triggard by the Camshaft Sensor, only after the engine starts cranking. Once the engine fires the Camshaft Sensor passes over control to the Crankshaft sensor. Now, I have a brand new OEM Crankshaft Sensor, so that is not (should not be) at fault. It's not the Crankshaft Sensor, otherwise I'd have problems after it started running, surely. This leaves the fuel relay; I say this because when running there are no issues whatsoever, no miss-fires, no stalls, power delivery is normal. The relay is what trigars the fuel pump to start pumping. Now, if the pump was faulty then surely I would have issues while running too, would I not...? This leaves the fuel relay (IMHO)... Any thoughts, anyone...? 😁 Thanks, Paul.