Hi chaps, I've just today developed a whine from the belt area on my mk3 16v GTI. It sounds a lot like the one in the video in this thread: whining sound Ok, it is a different engine, but the sound is almost exactly the same, only difference being, mine isn't audible until about 2500rpm and upwards, when it starts to get faster/louder with the revs. I had the cambelt/tensioner/all belts/waterpump replaced just before Christmas, but not had a peep up until now. Could it be belt tension? Just seems strange to have developed all of a sudden, what with it having an auto tensioner. Also, I have driven through alot of fairly deep puddles in the last week to get to work, could this have somehow caused the issue? All help appreciated
take the pas belt off and fire it up breifly and see if noise is still there, if not repeat with alternator belt. i say only briefly as the waterpump will be run off one of these belts depending if it has aircon or not but I'm sure you know that anyway. If its the alternator belt and you have the later style alternator check the alt belt tensioner wheel spins smoothly, the bearings in these can fail. if thats good spin all the other pulleys see fi any are wobbly or grindy. if noise is still there with alt and pas belts off then it may be timing belt or tensioner, first off check which tensioner you have the early solid type or later self-tensioning one. if its the solid type you want about a 45 degree twist in the longest run of the belt. if its the self-adjusting type fire it up again with the belt cover off and you should see the tension arrow is lined up to the notch on the wheel (you'll see what I mean) if its not lined up slacken it off then to reset tighten it again till the tension arrow hits the stop then loosen it again till the arrow lines up. reason I say check when running as often the arrow isnt lined up when the engine isnt running but as long as it does when started all is well
Ok I had my car into a local garage to sort out my rear calipers today and I wanted them to also look at the whining belt issue. I simply haven't had the time, or place to do this with the awful weather, so I bit the bullet and took it to a garage - short story, brakes sorted (although brake pedal feels different to before, but brakes still lockup, so guess they are ok), but they ran out of time to look at the belt issue. When I went to pick the car up, I did manage to collar him and he looked at it very briefly, checked the auxiliary belts and tensioners and they looked fine and he thinks it is the cambelt/tensioner. Which is what I suspected all along So they have no more time to look at it and I took time off work to get this all sorted, and it isn't - so tomorrow I'm going to have to brave the weather and look at it myself. John, do you have a guide that shows steps on setting the tension for the later tensioner? I really, really need to get this sorted this weekend, but I don't want to f*ck it up - so need something to follow, preferably with a pic or two, so I understand what I'm attempting. Lastly, do I need the special VW 2 pronged tool, or is it possible to do this without it? Oh - and what should the torque setting of the tensioner bolt be? Anybody in the BUCKS/HERTS area that could quickly set the correct tension for me if I nurse the car over to you?! PLEASE!! EDIT: I've spent the last few hours reading and I think I understand better how this is tensioned - all I need is the tool now.. not a GSF for 20 miles .. :/
Si, The cambelt pre-tension is too tight that is why. You can use the VW tool ( preferred option) or a bent nose 'bird beak' pliers with a suitable 13mm ring spanner to slacken the tensioner nut and add or remove tension from the belt. with the air box out of the way, it is a 10 mins job
How to check belt tension. How to do? Remove the airbox and intake ducting. Remove the cam cover (held on by a 5mm allen bolt over #1 exhaust port) Check crank/cam TDC alignment after rotating the engine 2 times Set the crankshaft on TDC Crank TDC marks on damper and flywheel With the crank at TDC the cam must in this position. Then follow this procedure. If the tension returns to the same position every time, then it is in good nick but I suspect yours was set up with too much pretension ( pointer settles well left), hence the 'whining' Hope this helps.
Thanks for the guide Eddie, golden info! I've just re-tensioned the belt - before, when the engine is running, the plastic disc with the v-cut groove was sitting to the left of the dash on the metal adjuster - does this mean it was over tensioned? With the engine running now after I altered it, they both match up in the same place, so it appears it was tensioned incorrectly - I'm just about to take it out for a drive, but only problem seems to be that the whine is still apparent - perhaps not as much, but seems to be there still. Maybe take it back a tiny bit more? Which side of the V-cut should the little dash be on to slightly loosen the tension further? EDIT** I checked that the lines matched up before I took it out for a spin, still noticed the whine while driving (although it isn't quite as loud), checked the markers with the engine running after the test drive and they are out of alignment again - now the V-cut is to the right of the metal notch (which is still sitting correctly in the middle and doesn't appear to have moved) Any ideas? I'm pretty confident it is done up tight enough and it doesn't appear to have allowed the adjuster to move, but the plastic disc with the v-cut appears to not be in the correct place again now - could the tensioner be faulty? Despite everything, there appears to be the correct amount of tension in the belt, so am mega confused
I found that sometimes the tension markers would not be aligned engine off but as soon as you fire it up the marks line up properly again. mine is a genuine VW tensioner done up using the above info as supplied by eddie. if it still whines now its set correctly then I'd say the bearing inside is past its best, you can replace them with the earlier type 'dumb' tensioner if you also change the stud and nut for an early one 8v studs are the same if you have any old lumps sat about or have a good scrappy local. check for a 15mm nut, thats the one you need AVS do both types so its your call if you want to keep the more expensive self adjusting type or go back to the cheaper solid one.
The bearing makes a specific noise when worn and should not require replacement if the belt is done up right. There should be no need to return to the early tensioner, which cannot compensate for belt stretch and 'whipping'. With 15k miles road and track miles covered on my current ABF car, I say these parts are very robust once set up right.
It was an SKF kit purchased and fitted mid December, so it is only a couple of months old, tensioner included - I'd be really surprised if it was duff already. The sound it makes doesn't sound bearing related to me, but then I don't have the most experience in these areas. It is a high pitched sort of sound, starts being audible at 2500rpm and then gets faster/louder/ higher pitched as the revs go up. Sounds sort of like a supercharger imo. I'm going to have another go at re-tensioning it tonight when I get home from work - which way would lessen the tension a bit more? the dash to the left of the v-cut out or to the right of it? Can this be done on the fly, ie when the engine is running, or am I likely to slacken too much and risk the belt slipping? Lastly, if I have to replace the tensioner again (so much expense) Can it be done without removing the cambelt? So in situ?
ok i would be surprised if the tensioner is the problem, dont adjust the tension on the fly only do it engine off. if the arrow is showing tension is corret then you shouldnt need to slacken it any more. did the mechanic try removing the accessory belts to isolate the alt, waterpump and alt tensioner? if not thats what I would do next just to be sure its not one of those making the noise
Do not attempt to 'play' with your cam belt tension when the engine is running! Must be done on feel/experience with the engine off.
Mechanic didn't take belts off - he ran out of time to look at it properly, apparently, despite him having it all day It will have to wait till this weekend now, since it's dark when I get home, not to mention the weather. Hopefully it won't grenade itself by then! I'm very, very close to buying a newer car now, I don't mind a bit of maintenance now and again, but these days I want it to just point and go, maybe it's the weather - an Audi TT 225 is possibly on the horizon.
If you are not far from West London, I can have a look at it when I am home early. Should take 30mins max.
I'm in Watford today, finish at 5.30pm - are you not too far from there? That would be really brilliant if you'd take a quick look, I'm a bit stupid with some of these things. Would happily travel just so I can diagnose for sure what the issue is. Edit**: If not today, I am in Watford also Wed, Thurs and Fri this week, so would quite happily travel to you
Thanks again for taking a look at the old girl, Eddie! Much appreciated! And thanks for scaring the hell out of me in Jenvee! lol - Really a very strong pulling car, love the quick gear change and next to no drop in go between the gears! Just for anyone who might have been reading this thread, it looks like my PAS pump has become noisy, still runs fine, so I will run it till it breaks, then swap it out!
No problem. Happy to help. In JENVEE, every gear is a 3rd gear . Cars like that demonstrate you do not need expensive engine modifications to make significant progress...just a doner mk3.... Back in it's hole, sleeping with a melted shift linkage. Time to break out my Hotgolf specials!
Yep that will sort out the smell of burning clutch that is still in my nostrils! lol Look forward to a go in the anchor and maybe the Wolf R in the future!
