1.6 fsi tappet noise on startup and idle

leehallum

A2OC Donor
Hello, apologies for bringing this issue up again I have seen that it looks to be covered in some earlier posts, but as I have only had my 1.6 fsi for a couple of weeks I just wanted to ask again if there is anything I need to be concerned about with what I think are the tappets being particularly noisy on startup but less so after a couple of seconds, and still pretty audible whilst the engine is idling?

As I say I know this has been discussed a fair bit before, so apologies to cover old ground, but just wanted to know your opinions before I take it into a garage for peace of mind.

The car has only just done 51k miles and starts and runs fine, but just sounds more like a diesel than a petrol. About two months before I bought the car it had been serviced at an Audi garage. The cam belt was also last done about 5 yrs ago at around 32k miles, I think... I will double check the paperwork. Does this need looking at as well?

Thanks
 
perfectly normal. Mine has done it since 19000 miles. Now on 127000.
 
Mine does the same, it's a quirk of the FSI engines. They are quite similar to diesels in that they have two fuel pumps. A pickup one in the tank, and a high pressure mechanical one under the bonnet.

Mine sounds like a bag of spanners on start up sometimes. I have read that using genuine oil filters can help reduce that noise on startup because they have a little valve to stop all the oil draining back into the sump.

However, some seem to be louder than others. Mine sounds louder in my opinion, than the first one I test drove. The engine was very advanced when it came out, and as with all new technology, it has some downsides.
 
Hello, apologies for bringing this issue up again I have seen that it looks to be covered in some earlier posts, but as I have only had my 1.6 fsi for a couple of weeks I just wanted to ask again if there is anything I need to be concerned about with what I think are the tappets being particularly noisy on startup but less so after a couple of seconds, and still pretty audible whilst the engine is idling?

As I say I know this has been discussed a fair bit before, so apologies to cover old ground, but just wanted to know your opinions before I take it into a garage for peace of mind.

The car has only just done 51k miles and starts and runs fine, but just sounds more like a diesel than a petrol. About two months before I bought the car it had been serviced at an Audi garage. The cam belt was also last done about 5 yrs ago at around 32k miles, I think... I will double check the paperwork. Does this need looking at as well?

Thanks

Hi,
The tappet issue all depends on if it is just a little noisy or is it worryingly noisy?
The petrol engine A2s are very quiet normally but the tappets can be a bit noisy.

The cost of replacing them is high but the impact of the problem is one of just noise.

One thing that is important is that you must use the right high quality oil, no cheaper makes.

If the cambelt really is 5 years old then I would recommend changing it, the low mileage in that time probably means that the car has been left idle for long periods, so the cambelt may well have started to deteriorate. So I would change it and the water pump, just to be on the safe side.

Steve B
 
Mine starts as an old pneumatic hammer, but only when the engine is hot and restarted after about 20-30 minutes.
On a cold start, it's not noisy at all.
 
Sounds about right at start-up, then settles after a few seconds into a gentle sewing machine noise.
 
Last edited:
That's great thank you to everyone that responded, it has certainly made it less of a worry for me and I will define fly get the can belt looked at... Another job for the to-do list that is slowly growing
 
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That's great thank you to everyone that responded, it has certainly made it less of a worry for me and I will define fly get the can belt looked at... Another job for the to-do list that is slowly growing

Sorry for the funny spelling, my auto correct kicked in there. It should have said definitely get the cam belt done!
 
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Hello,

Does anyone know where I can get hold of a genuine oil filter for my 1.6fsi... Im keen to see if I can get one that has a valve on it, to help reduce the amount of oil draining back into the sump and to see if it will help reduce the initial noise on startup...

Now that I have sorted all of my interior creaks and noises (which has only taken me about 3 months), im turning my attention to the engine noises to see if anything can be done to reduce the tractor like noise on startup and idle.

many thanks

Lee
 
At the risk of sounding funny - you can get an oil filter from your Audi dealer. Just to add to others my one has made this sound since I got the car at 20k miles and still does it now and again at 143k miles.
I only ever fit genuine oil filters as the cost saving is minimal but the potential for issues is great. Cheers Mike
 
What's a part number for the oil filter with the valve?
I use genuine filter, couldn't see the valve there.
 
HI Darko,

I can see the logic in what you would like to happen, the "non-return" valve in the oil filter reducing the period where the tappets "chatter" on startup, because you would expect some oil to be retained in the tappet oil system, but unfortunately the oilways in the head share the same main oil feeds that go to the camshaft and are even connected to the main bearing and big end bearings etc. (there is only one oil pump and so they are all interconnected) So unfortunately the oil will still escape.

But I think that I too would try to find a filter with a non return valve in it, just to try and reduce the chatter even a little.

I have seen lots of petrol A2s that are so quiet when running that you think you have stalled the engine, but then the same engine chatters like a sewing machine on start up. So I know what you mean.

I hope you get an answer to this question and I hope it helps, even a little.

Steve B
 
Thanks for the oil routing explanation, Steve.
I was just hanging on the thread owner's inquiry about the filter with the valve, if it could reduce the sledge hammer noise, but if not, than there's no nee to waste more time on that subject.
 
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