Hi guys I am new here and have come looking for help.

I have a 2001 A6 that I bought a few months ago.
2.7T Quattro Automatic
has about 130K miles on it and the only service I know of is a Mass airflow sensor that got replaced about 2 months ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q4oF3jSP2o

Just a couple days ago this noise started and I can't place my finger on it. the temp has dropped here in North Carolina but I don't know if it is related.

hopefully you guys can help and if I forgot something please let me know.
Thank you

 

It's hard to tell by the video. Do you mean the squealing or clicking noise? If it's a sort of rattling, squealing noise, take the belt off and run it only long enough to see if the noise goes away. If so, find the bad pulley and replace the belt while you're at it.

 

I agree that it is hard to tell from the video what the sound is. The clicking noise? Seems to be louder in toward the rear of the engine compartment on the passenger side? Near/under the air cleaner box? Could be a loose heat shield. Does it come and go? Any other issues accompany the noise?

weird

 

The clicking noise just sounds like the injectors which are known to be a little noisy on these cars after a while. As for the other noise, you definately have a problem. It sounds to me like a pulley or the water pump bearing is going out. I would try and find the problem ASAP to prevent doing engine damage if something locks up. Take the covers off and see if you can tell where the noise is coming from.

 

Also, where in NC are you? I live in the Greensboro area and could possibly take a look at if needed.

 

Thanks guys, I am down in Jacksonville actually so not too far away.

If it is the injectors do you think we are talking about just pushing some fuel additive through to clean them?

I'll give the belt a shot when I do the oil change here in the next couple of days.

The sound does get worse when I rev the motor, and it is both the clicking and squealing they showed up together.

 

Fuel additive doesn't work. If the noises showed up together, then it sounds like an accessory drive bearing has gone south. My tensioner pulley went bad recently. Pull the belt and spin each pulley by hand. If you hear one really noisy one, you've found it.

I bought my tensioner from ECS tuning, they had the best price around.

 

Don't mean to bump this. But I would rather use this for my situation. I am having the exact same problem.

I bought a 2002 a6 2.7t a few days ago. I am having that exact same sound in the front of the engine. Sounds like its coming from the belt, but its really hard to tell. Apparently there was no oil in there, so i poured in 2 quarts of synthetic oil.

Two days ago, I was driving and accelerated a bit more rough and then the engine light came on. The next day, I went to get the code checked out. It was a PO174 code. I looked at the engine and there is a ripped pipe that needs replaced. That should fix the engine light.

But now the engine is starting to make that exact same noise like in the video of the OP. The guy I bought it before from said the water pump will need to be replaced very soon.

What can this be? I really don't want to have to go to a dealer to get it checked out because I don't want to spend $120 an hour just on labor. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you want, I can post a video myself of the problem.

 

I'm going to say that you most likely have a pulley or tensioner on the way out.

How did the previous owner know the water pump needs to be replaced soon? Does he know it's leaking or just based on the amount of miles on the car?

 

The guy before me took really good care of it. He gave me a fat book of all the stuff he did to the car including replacements and oil changes. He is the only owner on the title, also an older guy. He had it brought in and they found that the pump is going to need to be replaced soon. It doesn't need immediate replacement, but its on its way.

How can I figure out what my problem is without having to bring it to a dealer? Could the water pump be making that kind of noise?