To keep it short, I’m a complete newbie with the Audi’s! I picked up a 2001 A4 Quattro with the 2.8 V6 30v DOHC power plant. The records indicate the services have been complete including a timing belt and water pump 18k ago (132k now).

The only problem so far was a leaky valve cover gasket brought on by a broken PCV pipe to the passenger side of the head (I’ve read that’s fairly common). No worries though, I was able to source the parts and R&R’s them Saturday afternoon. The leak problem has been solved but I do have some concerns. While the valve cover was off I found a broken piece of what looked like a corner of a valve tensioner. The valve tensioner itself was completely intact, maybe an old chuck was left from a previous repair? Or is it possible that the fragment could travel from one side of the engine to the other? The oil acting like a sticky pad and the broken chunk following the cam tensioner chain all the way over? I wouldn’t think so but I wanted to check with the experts and see what you all have to say? Appreciate any and all input in advance!

BTW, fun little car to drive! Very nice indeed!!

 

The cam chains don't meet anywhere, so that piece definitely came from that side head. As long as both tensioner pads look fine you can assume it's from an old tensioner.

 

I'm not sure MadCow. I bought a Passat with that motor and had to swap the motor. A broken pad on the tensioner was the culprit, and since it was on the bottom pad I didn't see it till I got the motor out. See here, it was just gone and in pieces:

 

That's why I said "if both are pads fine", but now I remember how hidden the bottom ones are so they probably weren't inspected. Definitely make sure both are still in 1 piece, from my experience the bottom one is usually more worm than the top so it could very well be from the bottom pad.

 

It was a chunk of a corner, so top for sure. Wasn't sure where the chain went! It's pretty tight in there! I'm pretty confident it was a previous repair that was not cleaned out properly. I checked all four corners very carefully, found they were all in perfect condition.

 

By the way, THANK YOU! I feel much better at this point.

 

The top and bottom pads are identical, I'd inspect it more carefully if you want to feel safe.

 

We’ll that completely blows. Really wish I would have known a little more or paused for half a second. Chances are it’s from a bottom pad then. What’s the worst case scenario? If the tensioner breaks what happens? If/when I pull it all apart, can the valve cover gasket be reused? That really changes everything….

 

If either of those pads comes apart completely, the exhaust cam can jump and cause damage. That's what happened in the Passat I bought for $1,000. You can always try to reuse the valve cover if you just want to take a peek. But I'm not sure if you can see the bottom pad without raising the cam adjuster up, and then you might as well change the gasket on that...and that half moon seal for that matter.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think you can't see it from the top. I was looking to see where the chain went, that's why I thought it may have wound around on the back side of the engine somehow. No question, it's got to come apart. The tensioner itself is working as designed, the engine is running strong. I just looked up the prices on tensioner "unit", a bit pricey! Does anybody know if just the Tensioner Pads be replaced? Thanks for the heads up on the half moon seal.