Hey everyone I could really use some insight on my current situation. I just bought my very first Audi and I am excited to get it on the road. It is a 2001 Audi A6 2.7t Quattro with 117,000 miles on it. I bought the car at auction two weeks ago and expected to invest some money into it… I seriously underestimated what this car required, but I am committed now. I will likely end up maxing my budget out for this car, but I am trying to remain optimistic about it. I do not know much about Audi engines at all and these last two weeks have been a crash course on Audi engineering.

This car had an oil leak on both sides and after doing some research I determined it was the valve cover gaskets. I decided to go ahead and do the timing belt at the same time. I bought a valve cover gasket kit and a timing belt kit from Blauparts and rented the complete tool kit to do the job properly. I followed the directions with the kits very carefully and did not take any shortcuts. I properly set the engine to TDC, used the crank lock pin and the cam locking tool. I do remember when using the cam chain tensioner tool the directions said to be very careful when compressing the tensioner to avoid damage to it. It is possible I went too far with it and I suspect this was the cause of the current problem I am having. I completed the passenger side and when it came time to do the tensioner I was more cautious with it. After replacing all gaskets around the camshafts I resumed in finishing the timing belt and took the car out of the service position. The kits I used included the following items:

Enhanced Valve Cover Gasket Kit
• Valve Cover G2 Neoprene Perimeter Valve Cover Gasket - Improved
• 2 Neoprene Center Valve Cover Gasket - Improved
• 2 Cam Chain Tensioner Gaskets - Improved
• 2 Camshaft Valley Seals - Improved
• 2 Viton Front Cam Sprocket Camshaft Seals
• 2 Viton Cam Reference Sensor Seals
• 2 Viton Rear Camshaft End Cap Seals
• 4 Cam Chain Pads - (Enhanced Addition)
• 1 Cam Chain Tensioner Tool - (Enhanced Addition)
• 1 Tube Silicone RTV Gasket Compound

Enhanced Timing Belt Kit
• 2 Neoprene Perimeter Valve Cover Gasket - Improved
• 2 Neoprene Center Valve Cover Gasket - Improved
• 2 Cam Chain Tensioner Gaskets - Improved
• 2 Camshaft Valley Seals - Improved
• 2 Viton Front Cam Sprocket Camshaft Seals
• 2 Viton Cam Reference Sensor Seals
• 2 Viton Rear Camshaft End Cap Seals
• 4 Cam Chain Pads - (Enhanced Addition)
• 1 Cam Chain Tensioner Tool - (Enhanced Addition)
• 1 Tube Silicone RTV Gasket Compound

I started the car up completed the coolant bleeding process, but I heard a noise I had not recognized before. The location where I am confident the noise is coming from is the passenger side near the combi valve. At first I thought this was an exhaust leak because it sounds like a diesel in the engine bay. The noise was proportionate with the RPMs and at first it was constant. Now, after a few engine runs, I can only hear the noise when fluctuating RPMs rapidly and there is smoke coming out of the exhaust. My unprofessional opinion tells me that the passenger side tensioner is worn out and there is slack in between the exhaust and intake cam. I believe the engine is literally dieseling and blowing unburned fuel out of the exhaust due to the camshafts being unsynchronized?

Has anyone been through this before? What do you all think the problem is? The VAG-COM is on its way and I’ll need a few days to familiarize myself with it, but should I be prepared for codes or will I have to analyze the engine specs?

Where is a good place to get the tensioner? I am trying not to spend more than a 400 for one if that’s possible.

What other preventative maintenance should I take care of when doing the tensioner and is it possible to only remove the intake cam?

I will greatly appreciate all of your input and I am open to any suggestions, thanks Jim.

 

When you had the valve covers off, did you inspect the pads on the cam chain tensioners? Sometimes these pads can be worn, thus causing this slack that you maybe experiencing. Also, after removing your cam chain tensioner compression tool, did you turn the crank shaft prior to putting the valve cover back on to visually see that the tensioner was doing its job? (Obviously this should be done with the timing belt on)

What color is the smoke coming out of your exhaust? Is it white or is it a blueish color?

 

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Pam B
Customer Service
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