A2 TDI Cambelt Has Deteriorated, Possibly Slipped...

manhattan$

Past Member
I bought this A2 as 'another' project which was purchased as a non starter.

After investigating the battery, earths etc, i decided to take a look at the cambelt by removing the cover.

This is what i found and i am pretty sure that is the reason the car will not start.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1435840348.000089.jpg
As you can see the belt has deteriorated and some of the teeth on the belt have shredded...
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1435840387.520885.jpg

It looks like the previous owner had neglected having the cambelt changed and over the years it has fallen apart. The belt has not snapped, although it has a bit of slack when pressing a finger against the belt.

There is also a water leak, which i would imagine is from the water pump or a water hose has come off at the time?

Im not too sure of what happened, although i may be able to contact the last owner and ask.

Now, i suspect that the belt has slipped, causing the car not to start. Is there a way of checking for serious damage before removing the head for inspection?

I would like to put this car back on the road if it is financially viable, as it is quite a nice example and i would like to keep it and sell the FSI.

Would you say it is most likely bent valves, head refurb, gaskets, new belts and water pump?

What about sourcing a used head? As long as the pistons are not damaged in the block...

Any suggestions or advice would be great thanks.

Here is a video of the car failing to starthttps://vimeo.com/132430722
 
I would time the engine and see just how far out it is then if possible fit new belt kit and see if it starts. You may be really lucky and no damage may have been done. Cheers Mike
 
Great detailed description Paul!
Only sorry it's a little out of my league, but hope you get it sorted! I'm sure someone can help!
Cheers Jeff
 
After viewing your video it would also appear to be not turning over at all ? So could be a dead starter motor ? But either way that belt needs attention before it fails completely. Fingers crossed for you. Mike
 
Thanks guys.

Mike, thats correct the engine does not turn over. Could be the starter motor, but as you say that belt and timing needs inspecting before trying to start it again.

Unless the engine has seized?
 
Hi Paul,

As Mike says, it looks in your video as it the engine is not turning over at all. The fact that the instruments go off when you turn the key tells me that the starter is drawing a lot of current, as would happen if it were jammed. A stuck engine/starter motor combination effectively gives a dead short, hence why the instruments go off. From initial impressions, I'd guess that the engine is stuck and not allowing the starter motor to turn; indicating a valve and piston collision.

Great to see you're saving one! :)

Regards,

Matt.
 
Thanks for the info Matt.

Im thinking of buying a cheap cambelt to test it before buying a genuine Audi kit.

What is the best way to check the timing of a TDI?

Hopefully the whole engine is not damaged. If only electric car conversion kits were cheaper...
 
I also completed a scan with VCDS and the following code was

19464 - Camshaft Position Sensor (G40)

P3008

00-00 Signal Out Of Range

Readiness: 00XXX


Possibly caused by the timing being out?
 
Any suggestions on buying a genuine Audi Cambelt kit? eBay is around £65 not including the waterpump. New Audi water pumps are £85 plus £42.50 refund after sending in the old one.


2003 AMF 1.4 TDI 75 Engine

Thanks.
 
I also completed a scan with VCDS and the following code was
19464 - Camshaft Position Sensor (G40)
00-00 Signal Out Of Range

Possibly caused by the timing being out?

Almost certainly, yes. :( The belt looks pretty shredded to me and that fault code often relates to cam belt failure, on other forums.

Matt.
 
Paul, sorry to see the trouble you're experiencing.
From what I can see from your pictures, it appears that the teeth have sheared off the belt - that would be indicative of one of the shafts (probably camshaft) seizing up thereby taking the teeth off the belt. We recently did a belt change on an FSi where the coolant pump had completely disintegrated.

A suggestion would be to remove the belt, take the camshaft off TDC and try rotate the crank & cam shafts. If you get rotation, time the shafts, fit a timing belt kit & rotate the engine CLOCKWISE BY HAND! Remove the glow plugs to make turning easier.

Let us know how you get along.

blue skies
Tony
 
I have slipped the belt off and i have tried turning the top cog (camshaft?) by hand, but i am unable to move it.

Does it need turning via the middle bolt and a spanner to see if it moves?

(The car is out of gear)

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1435854301.205489.jpg
 
Paul, don't use the centre bolt - best is to use the holes in the cam pulley to turn it.
If you have no option, turn in a clockwise direction only to avoid loosening the bolt.

blue skies
tony
 
Ok, a bit of an update...

I tried turning the cam pulley, but it wont move at all using hand strength.

I would guess that is a sign of bent valves?


I am weighing up the cost of recon/replacement cylinder head and fitting cost to the cost of a replacement engine and fitting cost.

I have found a 53k mile TDI AMF engine for £500ono which seems a very good price. Does anyone know what sort of price it would cost for fitting?

Im pretty handy with car maintenance myself, but i just don't have the right tools or equipment to complete this at home, so it would be a garage job.
 
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