2001 Allroad 2.5tdi AKE timing belt tensioner failure

[skyegtb]

Hello, unfortunately my car has developed the above problem... I was driving along quite happily when I started to hear a few occasional strange rubbing noises (similar to the undertray of the car scrubbing the road) and very shortly afterwards I heard a few metallic 'pinging' noises and very soon after that suffered a loss of power on the car. I was driving at around 30mph at the time going up a hill. When the engine died I pulled over and looked under the bonnet. I took the timing belt cover off and everything looked fine, but when i felt for tension on the belt I found it to be completely loose...

Here s the question. I am assuming that the pulleys must have jumped when the tension was lost on the belt and therefore I expect major engine damage. I got the car towed home by the AA and it is currently on my driveway on axle stands. Before I start stripping the front off the car to see exactly what went wrong with the belt tensioner or pulleys can anyone advise of how far i will need to dig to evaluate the actual damage done? Will both heads need to come off without question, or is there any way I can check for internal damage without going down that road straight away? Is there any point in fixing the damaged timing belt components then seeing if the engine will turn freely when correctly timed up, or is it almost guaranteed i will have suffered bent valves at a bare minimum?

Just looking for advice - what would you do?

Thanks in advance, Angus

[ametlib]

Hi,
Your engine can be total wrecked or just in need of a couple of new rockers. If you pull both rocker covers and all 4 camshafts, you,ll know.
If no valve is broken, you can check for bent valves by pushing the valves down with a piece of wood and listen to the sound when they go back in their seates. If they all sound the same, just replace the broken pushers, if you have a bent valve, head off.
With a broken valve- new engine.

[skyegtb]

Hi,
Your engine can be total wrecked or just in need of a couple of new rockers. If you pull both rocker covers and all 4 camshafts, you,ll know.
If no valve is broken, you can check for bent valves by pushing the valves down with a piece of wood and listen to the sound when they go back in their seates. If they all sound the same, just replace the broken pushers, if you have a bent valve, head off.
With a broken valve- new engine.

Hi ametlib, thanks for the excellent advice. I will do as you suggest. Fingers etc crossed that I manage to get away with minimal damage! It would be fantastic if i did not need to take the heads off, but at this time all I am hoping for is the engine to not be destroyed! Cheers and i will report back with what I find. Angus

[bluezie]

I know someone hwo bought an A4 2.5 very cheaply due to a broken cam belt. He replaced a few followers, and once I sorted the pump timing out for him, it fired up and runs perfectly!
I think the followers are designed to shatter before the valves bend on these engines, and generally this what happens. Sometimes it doesn't though.

[bluezie]

PS, you will probably find the cams to be worn anyway on an AKE engine, if it has medium to high milage.

[skyegtb]

Hi,
Your engine can be total wrecked or just in need of a couple of new rockers. If you pull both rocker covers and all 4 camshafts, you,ll know.
If no valve is broken, you can check for bent valves by pushing the valves down with a piece of wood and listen to the sound when they go back in their seates. If they all sound the same, just replace the broken pushers, if you have a bent valve, head off.
With a broken valve- new engine.

Hi again, just wanted to update here a little. I have been very busy since making my first post and have not had a chance to look at the car yet, but tomorrow I plan to get stuck in to it and remove the camshafts . I got a hold of the workshop manual for the job and have printed all of the relevant sections - it seems quite straightforward, but there is no mention of how to install the rocker fingers should that be all I need to do to fix this problem! Also, I see in the diagram 'Valve gear - exploded view of components' of mention of item 25, 'guide for rocker finger'. Should these also be replaced as I can not see them included in the rocker finger kits I am looking at on eBay? Is that part actually the 059109075E Thrust Pad?
TIA, Angus

[bluezie]

It's all very straight forward. The hydraulic adjusters just push in a hole, the thrust pads sits on top of the valves, and the fingers lay across the top of those. Then the cams go in correctly timed using marks on the cogs. Then check everything over to make sure it's all in place. I took a lot of time doing the job, as I was tripple checking everything, changed all the rollers, tensioners, belts, water pump, thermostat, G13 coolant etc, as I was doing this job to last the rest of the life of the car, hopfully never to have the front end off again.
There are loads of parts and full kitts on Ebay, I got a full kit from Germany using top quality branded parts for around £600. There are also some very cheap unbranded parts on ebay - I would avoid these, as they are cheap for a reason!

[Crasher]

I use the Febi kit which I retail for £900 all in.

[skyegtb]

Hi there, thanks for the replies. Currently got the front end off and found that the tensioner pulley bolt had sheared hence the reason for the loose belt. The remains of the bolt will need drilled out of the housing..... after my late lunch i intend to get the cams off to check the rocker fingers and valves etc. I will report back tonight with some pics. Cheers for now!