Knocking noise at idle/diesel Sound - now fixed

[Daveh]

Since i bought my GTI it's had a loud knocking noise at idle and really did sound like an old diesel van. The noise was most noticiable from inside the cabin when sat at lights etc. The engine was silent from a cold start and only became noisy when it was warm.

I did some searching on this forum (and others) and it appears this is not uncommon and the concensus of opinion is that the timing chain and tensioner are at fault.

I took a chance on this and had both replaced today and my car is now 'knock free'. I'm aware some people also replace the 'adjuster' (which is a £280 part) and i had this part on standby but my garage did not need to fit it. The supplier (VW) said they rarely need to change this.

My car has just done 60k and was due a Cam Belt. I got my garage to incorporate the cam belt labour with the timing chain labour as a lot of the work is duplicated. If anyone else is in a similiar position its worth considering these two jobs together and asking for a combined price.

Hope this helps anyone else with the annoying 'knock' !

[john87]

Glad to hear your car is now knock free  however I feel I am missing something...

The 2.0 TFSI engine in the mk5 has a timing belt (cam belt) not a timing chain 

[sandancer]

You're right it's got a belt, but at the flywheel end of the cams they are joined together by a chain. Mine's making the noise as well, good job it's under warranty !

[nath]

People say these engines are noisey and mines the same , had the fuel pump cam follower & timing belt kit changed , the Vw specialised I used said the noise was normal and said it was the fuel injector rail as they run at very high pressure !  Out of interest was your noise coming from one side of the engine?   As mine seems to sound the same across the front of the engine , car runs great  . But as you said noise not there when cold !    any other symptoms to look/ listen for ?

[Daveh]

People say these engines are noisey and mines the same , had the fuel pump cam follower & timing belt kit changed , the Vw specialised I used said the noise was normal and said it was the fuel injector rail as they run at very high pressure !  Out of interest was your noise coming from one side of the engine?   As mine seems to sound the same across the front of the engine , car runs great  . But as you said noise not there when cold !    any other symptoms to look/ listen for ?

The noise on mine seemed to be across the top of the engine but was actually from the front right.

When I first got the car I took it to my local VW dealer and asked them what the noise was. I had two mechanics looking at it and neither mentioned the chain and tensioner. It' was only through research on the forums that I found out the likely cause. My car had no symptoms other than the knocking noise when it got warm. It actually sounded worse in the cabin than under the bonnet. When my garage did the job they said the chain was not tight on the tensioner and it was obviously knocking against it.

There are a couple of threads 'knocking' about with You Tube clips which demonstrate the noise. Do an Internet search on 'knocking on idle or diesel sounding.

Cheers

[nath]

Hi, is this expensive ?   

[Daveh]

Hi, is this expensive ?   

I think it depends on who does the job. I've seen forum threads were people have paid £1000+ for just this job at VW and it depends if you need the 'adjuster' which is approx £300 alone. I think the majority of cars just need the chain, tensioner and repair kit (approx £250 + labour).

My bill came to approx £650 + vat and I had :

Cam belt and tensioner
Water pump
Chain, tensioner and repair kit
Oil and filter change

The car is silent now, just as it should be !

[nath]

Thanks for that interesting to here how common this is , mileage , age , type of engine related etc and can it just run on and on like it with no major issues ? 

[Daveh]

My car is an 06 plate with 62k on the clock. I've read that this doesn't affect performance, but don't take my word !

It was annoying me so wanted to get it sorted.

Cheers

[Geezerus]

Hi there my car is atm doing what yours was. And with it just creeping upto 50,000 miles I am going to get it done too, do you have the part numbers for these parts or will I get them easy enough? I have a mechanic who used to work for audi and he will be doing it but if I get the parts for him there is less messing

I am going to need the cam belt and tensioner, water pump, chain, tensioner and repair kit

I have just had a oil and filter change so im all good there.

Thanks

[Geezerus]

Anyone????

[Gazza747]

I just had these parts replaced by VW as the car is under warranty. I didn't hear a noise but the exhuast system warning light was coming on and turning off so the fault was traced to this.
This may help as this is how it was worded on the invoice (was £1450 if I had to pay  )

"Carried out guided fault finding New chain gear adjuster. Replace camchain tensioner and gear adjuster unit"

[alexcon3]

I am experiencing the same knock. Fine at idle when cold as soon as it warms up starts slightly knocking and then gradually gets a bit louder. On a cold start up you can here a chain for a second then normal. I'm changing mine this week I have 90k haven't done it in a long time. Hopefully this solves it. I thought it was a piston knock but garage said it didn't sound like it. More noticeable in cockpit

[Washout]

This should help.

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,106158.0.html