Hey all,

Bought a 2004 2.7T S-Line w/60,000kms 2.5 weeks ago, Audi Certified warranty for 2yrs. Just getting used to the car and I am beyond impressed. Best purchase I ever made for sure.

But, I have a question about an odd noise I hear every now and then. It sounds like a small fan with a loose bearing. It sounds like the noise comes from the drivers-side firewall area, slightly left of my visual perception when looking straight ahead. This does not happen every time I drive, and when it does it’s so faint that I have to turn off the radio to hear it. Even with the radio off, the fan noise gets drowned out by the engine past 3,000rpm….but it increases in speed and volume as I accelerate up to 3,000rpm. I’m sure its still there after I exceed 3,000rpm but the engine/turbos spinning drown it out. Given the low volume of the noise and that it does not seem to be affecting performance, I doubt its too serious but I will certainly take any preventative measures I can to make my very rare (in Canada anyways) S-Line tuned BiTurbo V6 last as long as possible.

To give perspective on any thoughts you all may have, I would not be surprised if it was the front defroster fan spinning. That’s how faint it is. But it does not always occur and I would expect a faulty HVAC fan to be a constant nuisance…especially considering its winter up here and the heat is on all the time. This issue has occured when leaving my heated underground garage so its not a warming up problem...

Any advice? I’m thinking of just mentioning it when service is due in 13,000km but if anyone has had a similar experience that turned out to be serious I would welcome your thoughts.

Thanks

 

Despite the fact that's winter... have you tried to drive without the heater on for a while?
Get your car warmed up good so you won't have to "suffer" from frostbites (I know, I'm exagerating a little bit ); then drive a few miles without the heater on and see if you can still detect the noise.

I bought my car with the blower motor acting up in the same fashion, and the noise got me worried while driving back home. It was like a dry bearing... it took me a while to figure out what was the cause, but after I played a bit with the AC/Heater. When turning the fan off, always the noise (if it was occuring in that moment) would disappear.
Maybe it just needs some greasing of the bearing.

I know you said the noise seems to come from slightly left of the driver side, but you may have the same blower fan issue.

Good luck diagnosing the problem, and please do share your findings when you solve the mystery.

 

Well, I just drove it drove 3 hours on the highway and when I got back into town, I noticed the "ticking fan" noise when starting from stop in rushhour traffic. It increases in speed as I accelerate. Once I’m moving, I cannot notice it. Did not notice anything on the highway. Seems to just occur at low speeds. I did turn off my heater/HVAC fans and its still there. When I pulled into my garage I put in manual mode 1st gear as I went down. It was barely noticeable, much less than when starting in 2nd in drive mode. When I got into my spot I put it in park and opened the hood. Stood outside the car and pressed the gas with my windshield wiper and the engine purred like a kitten. Could not hear it at all from the outside. So, its only when I am in the car, in gear, at low rpm when I can hear it...and not all the time. As I said, sounds like its coming from the firewall or near the back of the engine. Still, it’s so quiet that I have to turn off the radio to hear it. I have never had a turbo before….could it be the turbos spinning at low RPM? I live in Calgary, very thin air. Perhaps it’s the fan simply trying to force the air in to get the fuel mixture right?

 

Ok, so its the engine. I turned it on, and lifted the hood. Instead of standing by the door, I walked right to the engine and listened while it idled. It was making the very "ticking" noise I have been talking about. Very metallic sounding. I looked up some other posts and found a guy whoe posted his 1.8T engine noises (everyone agreed it sounded normal) and it sounds very similar to mine....except my 2.7T ticks at a faster rate. I shut the hood and could no longer hear the ticking. If I listen, I can hear it in the car but its faint. Its recently purchased, Audi certified and they did change the oil/filter and reported on the inspection report I got with the car that the engine sounded good when idling. I guess it would have to or else they would not certify it

How about other A6 2.7T owners? Can you sometimes hear your engine noise (ticking) when sitting in the car? When I rev the engine, the roar is louder than the ticking, which is why I don't even notice when the engine goes about 2500rpm. I'm so used to the drull grumble of my previous car the metallic ticking is freaking me out

PS I always use 91 octane from major retailers (never, ever use "fastgas" or any chain that adds ethenol) so im sure its not knock and ping.

 

I should have just youtube'd it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAtK4_bE5sQ
that is exactly how mine sounds and that ticking is what I hear in the cabin. Problem solved! Audi newbie, the Audi is very different from the POS domestics I have owned and its nice to have a place to read and learn from other's experiences.

This forum is much appreciated...community is awesome. I even fixed my radio stations cutting out when the rear defrast is on by reading this forum...I had to clean my back window

 

A "ticking" could be the valve lifters. These tend to be a little louder when the car is cold. If it's very faint, I would not worry but would ask your dealer next time the car is serviced. The turbos do make a slight whining noise and I have noticed some gear whine from my MT6 when everything is shut off and the windows are up.

Make sure they used a good 0W-30 or -40 synthetic like Mobil1.

Go Red Wings!

 

Noise is coming from both sides of the engine at idle. My gut says valve tap. I'm not all that knowledgeable in terms of engine design; valve tap would come from both sides of the engine correct?

Thanks for everyone's help! Getting to learn from other posts that Audi engines are just plain noisy, especially compared to my 2006 Focus I had before