lauk0dg

It happens when the car is in gear or in neutral.....it'll just go away after you give it some gas but everytime when it drops under 1200rpm it comes right back and it's loud. It's a 2001.5 A4 5-speed with 26k unchipped miles.

Drove it to dealership and the tech said they determined it's the lifters that's emitting the noise and they ordered a new head.....I'm not a mechanical engineer or genius so I have no clue how bad it is.....can any one of you explain what he meant?

They ordered the head and it'd come in Monday or Tuesday so HOPEFULLY I'll get my car back by Wed night.

On another issue (or maybe related), there's a slight grinding noise after I lightly apply throttle for around 5 seconds.....seems it happens anywhere between 1000 to 3000 rpm. That slight grinding noise will be there for 1 sec and be gone, and it happens on all 5 gears. Any insight?

Thanks for the help!

Oh for you Chicagoeans.....watch out for my maroon colored rental Dodge NEON!!!

beltsander TKO

any similarities?

<a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/1302125.phtml">https://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/1302125.phtml</a>

lauk0dg

So it's the camshaft tensioner.....maybe I'll bring that up.....you heard of the 1st problem I have?

Thx for the tips!

177ichael

I took my car into the dealership and they changed the Camshaft tensioner. Problem solved. I thought it might be due to the fact that I've been chipped ever since I hit the 1,000 mile mark. Guess not. Good luck with getting the problem fixed.

SwampGTI

This happpened just this morning to my buddies Z2 2.8 on the way to work. He drove through some deep puddle, car stalled, he started it back up and the noise you described is the one I just heard from his car when he started up. The ticking seemed to go away when reved, but I just think that when reved, other noises drowned it out. It's being towed to the dealer for a diagnosis.

Ray Calvo

They ordered a new HEAD????? You sure that's right?

Lifters are a small item on top of the valve; can replace them without needing an engine teardown (which if they're installing a new head - and by "head" I assume they mean "cylinder head" - would mean a MAJOR engine teardown/overhaul.)

No idea on the grinding - what does the dealer say?

lauk0dg

Or you mean you got the loud ticking noise at 15k miles?

I'll sure mention the camshaft tensioner to them.....thanks for the tip!

lauk0dg

And he said that's the "head" that needs to be replaced. Is that the cylinder head? He mentioned that it will cost a few grand which sounds like tons of labor and parts, so yeah, could be a major overhaul I guess.

I'm trying to see if the grinding noise I heard during light acceleration is the same as what 177ichael and petershyu had. If that's the case, it must be the camshaft tensioner that needs to be replaced.

Thanks guys for the advice!

lauk0dg

To give you an idea, it's as loud as a Ford F350 diesel truck, except it's a ticking noise. It just goes away above 1200rpm, and it can't be drowned out by other noises as it's very distinct. I wish I can record it and play that clip to you guys and see if there's any similarities.

And I don't think I drove through any significant water puddles. Just the normal wet roadways and mal-maintained Chicago roads with sinkholes filled with puddles of water.

Thanks for the tip though.