LoPoVe

I have an 2003 audi a4 1.8T Quattro with 137K miles.

When I open the hood and am standing in front of the car I can hear a ticking noise. The noise seems to be coming from the top of the engine I believe where the cams are. There are no performance issues with the car. I changed the timing belt and water pump at 90K miles. I also changed the fuel pump and fuel pump relay. There was a ignition coil recall and I changed those as well. Car runs good besides these small issues I have dealt with. There also seems to be a small oil leak somewhere I can't find where but the car doesn't lose that much oil I rarely have to put any oil in.

Is this ticking noise normal? I have a feeling it's not and would like to hear if anyone had this same problem so I can tackle the problem and do preventive maintenance.

Thanks guys

lyleswk

Some subtle ticking is normal. It is the fuel being metered into the cylinders. Note I say subtle. You can hear it above the engine running, but it shouldn't be realy loud.

dimmer

cam chain tensioner is probably your problem

lyleswk

Why I put the term subtle in. Cam tensioner going bad is not subtle. Listen to the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toO2nP9UjDk

LoPoVe

Here is what my car sounds like. What do you guys think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgNCU3SzqBI

jordonb

I think that sounds about like mine

lyleswk

I am with jordan; can't hear anything out of the ordinary. When you have a problem with the cam tensioner, the noise will be focused at back of the engine and will make a distinct and loud noise similar to the other video.

But just to explore a bit, what oil / filter do you run? What change interval?

jordonb

That's a good point on the oil.... Many people are very happy with mobil1 0w40 in the 1.8T engine, and it is a really good oil too, but it also makes the engine run a little louder- I find it makes the 1.8T sound like a rattle trap lol. That is why I use German castrol.

LoPoVe

My one friend who is a mechanic seems to think there is a ticking noise that is the reason for my post. I'm a mechanical engineer so I know enough to be dangerous.

I use mobileone 0w40/and either the audi dealer filter or the mobileone filter that costs $12. I change the oil/filter every 5K miles.

I've noticed when the car is idling or moving at a constant velocity its not totally smooth. When I am accelerating it is totally smooth. I never changed the fuel filter nor air filter and had a thought this was the reason. Any ideas?

Thanks for everyone's responses.

jordonb

Air filter should be changed every year, and fuel filter every 40,000 miles. This can certainly cause problems.