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1.8t engine noise

16K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  Boost Addicted 
#1 ·
so every time i turn on my car it sounds like a f*ckin diesel, then it goes away in bout 5secs, ppl tell me its the cam tensiorner others tell me timin belt, i just dont noe anymore it sounds like this (not my car but same exact noise)
 
#2 ·
Deffinately sounds like your timing belt tensioner. Remove your timing belt cover and start your car. Look down at your timing belt tensioner. If you are able see a goldish metal tab vibrating your tensioner is bad (it should not vibrate). If you have recently had your timing belt changed your timing belt tensioner was probably damaged. That's what happened to me. My car was making the same noise and once I put a new tensioner in, it sounds like a new car. You can probably change it out yourself if you have any mechanical knowledge.
 
#3 ·
OP, do NOT do this. Do NOT follow these steps. It's just not possible to do what this member is saying.

However, I'm not in complete disagreement with his opinion of the noise. But, there may be other reasons for the cause of the noise.

A few options to consider (based on the noise in the video):

1. The octane of the fuel is too low and is causing dentonation/pinging while idling. (My #1 choice because you said it goes away within 5 secs).
2. Valve Train noise (if this was the case the severity of the noise (from video) would show serious issues with the valve train)
3. Timing belt tensioner. (this is a possibility but only if the noise sustains itself like the noise does in the video.)

What octane fuel are you putting in your car? 1.8t motors tend to show symptoms of detonation/pinging if the octane gets down to 87.
 
#4 ·
Sounds to me personally that you're not getting enough/any oil to the top end. I would check level and pressure.

Not ruling out tbelt tensioner failure because honestly I've never heard one sound like that... But that doesn't mean its not possible.
 
#5 ·
Sounds to me personally that you're not getting enough/any oil to the top end. I would check level and pressure.
This.

I just dealt with this on my volvo, ended up being a bad O-ring on my oil pickup, but this is not a problem with VWs. I agree the noise sounds like your lifters are starving of oil, but usually you would have an oil light for this.
 
#7 ·
Quite honestly there are a lot of things that can make that noise, or noises similar to it; some serious and others not.

Noises I would associate...

Rod bearing
Lifter tick (low oil pressure)
Lifter tick (you have a cracked lifter)
Valve slap


Are there ANY lights on the dash? Oil, engine, anything at all??? Any flickering of a light would count. How is the car idling? (how many RPMS?), does it fluctuate?
Do you notice any loss in power under acceleration ?

Do you have a stethescope? These are often used to pinpoint the exact location of the noise, might come in handy if you can find one...
 
#11 ·
thanks guys for all the feedback, im sorry i could not reply earlierr i was very busy at school but now im on spring break =]]
but yes the noise does go away after 5 seconds, nd when i do oil changes i would like to say this noise never show up not even once, but at about 2000 miles it shows up if i hit 80+ mph, then goes away if i turn the car off then back on, then at 2500 or so its on the whole time even while drivin so annoyin, ive had this car for a year never did that much drivin but now that im workin nd goin to schhool im drivin ALOT, ive narrowed it down to the tensioner nd the fact that i mite not be gettin enough oil, i always use 91 + octane, nd it drives like a butterfly nd haules like no one business juss a noise affects the car in no way... again thanks for the feedback nd sorry it took so long any questions i didnt answer juss ask away
 
#13 ·
Only the old passat 1.8T's were notorious for it. Sludge problems in any Jetta 1.8T is nearly unheard of
 
#14 ·
Really depends on how its maintained. But any 1.8T is prone to it... Gets a little ambiguous sometimes because dealer recommended oil changes are waaaaaaaay high, and so people think they can throw conventional oil in it and run 10k miles because it says so in the manaul. But the oil must meat certain ratings, an it needs to be synthetic. I'm currently trying Motul, its said to be the best synthetic on the market by a lot of european enthusiats, and its supposed to help clean out the engine. Im supposed to run 7k+ miles on this oil, so we'll see how it goes.
 
#15 ·
I'm a big fan of motul, best gear oil out there IMO. For engine oil I use Lubro Moly or Total Quartz... Motul is too expensive for me for reg. oil changes.
 
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