Timing Belt roller failure
09-28-2006, 07:28 AM
#1
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Timing Belt roller failure
Hi everyone,
The car is a '99.5 A4 QM 2.8 PES G2 supercharged, 177k miles.
I used the timing belt kit from BlauParts in April, 11,000 miles ago, which includes new rollers, water pump, and belt. Last weekend I was idling in heavy traffic, and the car started running very badly. Within a couple hundred feet away the car sputtered and died. I tried cranking it, and it would turn over but not catch, and shortly after it seemed like it didn't have the battery to turn over (but was likely pistons hitting the valves).
I peeked inside the covers and there was belt debris everywhere, the belt had a lot of slack, the camshafts were at different rotations, and there were loose bearings inside. The latter symptom pointed to a pulley failure.
I opened the car up yesterday and what I saw was very strange. Both the tensioner idler roller/pulley and the other idler pulley had lost their bearings. I am truly at a loss as to what could have caused both these pulleys
to fail with such low mileage (11,000) since replacement in April. And, I'm guessing they didn't blow their bearings at exactly the same time, so the car must have been running for awhile with one frozen pulley. But I don't
know what would have caused this -- they're just rollers after all.
I didn't have time to replace the timing system and do a compression test, although I'm certain there is damage to the valves.
Any idea what could cause this? Should I be leery about putting on the parts Blau sent me as replacements, since not one but two pulleys failed? What if this happens again?
Thanks guys!
~michelle
UPDATE: The failed rollers were manufactured by Meyle. Mike @ PureMS told me of a known history of roller failure by this manufacturer. He told me this prior to me finding out that my purchased rollers, were in fact made by Meyle.
The car is a '99.5 A4 QM 2.8 PES G2 supercharged, 177k miles.
I used the timing belt kit from BlauParts in April, 11,000 miles ago, which includes new rollers, water pump, and belt. Last weekend I was idling in heavy traffic, and the car started running very badly. Within a couple hundred feet away the car sputtered and died. I tried cranking it, and it would turn over but not catch, and shortly after it seemed like it didn't have the battery to turn over (but was likely pistons hitting the valves).
I peeked inside the covers and there was belt debris everywhere, the belt had a lot of slack, the camshafts were at different rotations, and there were loose bearings inside. The latter symptom pointed to a pulley failure.
I opened the car up yesterday and what I saw was very strange. Both the tensioner idler roller/pulley and the other idler pulley had lost their bearings. I am truly at a loss as to what could have caused both these pulleys
to fail with such low mileage (11,000) since replacement in April. And, I'm guessing they didn't blow their bearings at exactly the same time, so the car must have been running for awhile with one frozen pulley. But I don't
know what would have caused this -- they're just rollers after all.
I didn't have time to replace the timing system and do a compression test, although I'm certain there is damage to the valves.
Any idea what could cause this? Should I be leery about putting on the parts Blau sent me as replacements, since not one but two pulleys failed? What if this happens again?
Thanks guys!
~michelle
UPDATE: The failed rollers were manufactured by Meyle. Mike @ PureMS told me of a known history of roller failure by this manufacturer. He told me this prior to me finding out that my purchased rollers, were in fact made by Meyle.
09-28-2006, 07:34 AM
#2
Keeper of the Cash
Wow, I honestly don't know what could've gone wrong either
For a 2.8's TB to fail like the 1.8T's does is pretty rare. I'm sure as well that damage has been done, but you won't know for sure until you start pulling things apart.
Good luck!
Good luck!
09-28-2006, 07:59 AM
#3
If one or more pulleys lost their bearings, you'd have heard it. Doesn't take much vibration to ....
create a LOT of noise and vibration up there. I would suspect that either the pulleys weren't torqued properly, or, were just faulty parts.
I can not imagine BOTH rollers failing simultaneously. Futher, if one was seized, you'd have had a car which would struggle to idle, and it would have burned through the belt in very little time.
I can not imagine BOTH rollers failing simultaneously. Futher, if one was seized, you'd have had a car which would struggle to idle, and it would have burned through the belt in very little time.
09-28-2006, 08:02 AM
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It's been at least two years since I've examined these parts...
is it remotely possible that an overtorqued bolt could have caused this issue? (on both pulleys) That's the only thing I can think of that would cause both to fail.
I've seen the roller fail on a few S4's because they weren't replaced with the TB (just normal wear and tear), but what you're describing seems like there is an outside factor, beyond just a part failure.
Did you get any warning (sounds or worn bearings) before the belt let go?
I've seen the roller fail on a few S4's because they weren't replaced with the TB (just normal wear and tear), but what you're describing seems like there is an outside factor, beyond just a part failure.
Did you get any warning (sounds or worn bearings) before the belt let go?
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09-28-2006, 08:09 AM
#9
Yeah, or the pulleys start to wobble... But I've never seen a stuck pulley actually grenade...
99% of the time, teh belt just wears through, and breaks. I'd LOVE to see pics of this unfortunate situation.
09-28-2006, 08:34 AM
#10
I agree with RKA...
The two were probably over torqued. Its doubtful that both would fail together if there was a defect or a loose bolt though I guess it is statistically possible, however remote.