mkongsiri

Hopefully it'll be warmer out! I'm still nursing battered knuckles from working in the cold!

Catamount90

mkongsiri, you mentioned that you have photos and video from this DIY job. Would you mind sharing those here? As these engines age, I think more and more of us will be facing this repair. Until this thread, I had always assumed that the engine had to come out and I'm thrilled to read that it doesn't (for the uppers).

Please share when you get a chance!

tboo72

I, as well, am curious to know the details. I might end up having to do this so any info is welcome.

mkongsiri

Hey sorry for the delay, I've just been super swamped with work. The A6 is running like a champ after replacing the tensioners. After doing the job, I'm completely amazed at how little information is out there on this procedure and how unwilling people are to share the information. It's really NOT that hard if you have the tools and basic skills. It's NOT that expensive and it's NOT the end of the world. I was going to work on repairing the adaptive headlight motors this weekend, just got my heated blade to split the headlight housing apart yesterday. But, I think I'll finish the procedure post today and see if I can get the crappy video I shot edited. I'll try to get it done today.

Jerrad

Thanks mkongsiri. I too will probably have to tackle the tensioners this Spring.

mkongsiri

Well after wasting 2 hours with my video editor, I just said screw it (I only want to figure out so many things in a day!). I just did a write up on the procedure in a new thread. Ill try to answer any questions you may heve, cheers!

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...7#post24540887

Catamount90

That is one AWESOME write-up. Thank you! Any idea what the CELs you were getting when this was happening?

Did your clicking go away after the first few seconds after startup, or is this "fix" only for a tensioner that doesn't tension at all?

I guess what I'm trying to get at: exactly what symptoms were you having, that this solved? And is there any way to use the VAG measuring blocks to determine which issues this will fix, and which it won't. For instance, it sounds like one of your tensioners wasn't extending fully, so I imagine you would've seen a CEL for a big difference between "requested tensioner angle" and "actual tensioner angle".

Either way, thank you for writing that up. I bet that thread is going to be VERY popular over the years.

mkongsiri

I didn't get any CEL till it just failed. I pulled the codes when I finished everything but I dont recall what they were. You could audibly hear the failed tensioner. This is a good example of what I had:


Funny, reading all of the responses in the video "there is nothing you can do besides replacing the entire engine." Lol!

mkongsiri

I'm thinking about your question. I don't recall their being a tensioner angle code when I pulled them. Honestly, I'm not sure where the ECM would get those values as there are no sensors or connectors on the tensioners. They maybe located elsewhere but I havent looked further into this engine design. What symptoms/DTC are you getting? The hydraulic pistons in the tensioners have a pre-load spring in them. I believe they tension the chain till oil pressure builds high enough. If you are getting a cold start sound that goes away, I wonder if the springs may have failed? In my case, the seals inside the pistons failed completely so it would no longer hold any pressure. This is what I think is the main cause of these tensioner failures. Failure of a seal is MUCH more likely and common than an apocalyptic "chain stretch" or guide failures I see blamed.

tboo72

Awesome write-up! Thanks