Camshaft Adjuster going bad (3rd time)

[blueinnewyork]

so this is getting old now...my camshaft adjuster was going bad @ 100k and my mechanic told me he needs to change it. so 2 days and $900 later i had a new can adjuster that went bad in 32 days. I had check engine light and at one point car came to stand still. to be honest i got a little scared and left the car on the street wherever it was. Next day i tried and the car started without issues, check engine light gone but came back soon. We thought that piece was faulty and he replaced it without any charge (good lad). That was May. One week ago (last week of July) the check engine light came back on and i suspected it to be same issue because the car started driving pretty strong (you can feel it). It was confirmed as soon as he scanned the error code. So now we are talking about a 4th cam adjuster in 3 months. It is unbelievable. Anyone run into this issue? He thinks it could be the camshaft itself and wants me to leave the car with him to open it up and inspect if the camshaft has an issue. He might have to replace the camshaft and redo the timing costing me prolly $1200 more. I am just not sure if he knows what he is doing. BTW he is the biggest APR dealer out of NJ and very well known. I wish i knew more about A4's so i can take a shot at it myself. Has anyone (as unlucky as me) run into this issue? I have a B6 A4 1.8T tiptronic. thanks for your responses. i did a search and found nothing relevant.

[diagnosticator]

It is very unlikely the 2 replacement cam timing adjusters are faulty. If the cam timing is malfunctioning, as identified by the stored DTC/s, it is more likely the adjuster is not working right due to some other problem. For example, if the oil pressure is lower than it should be due to a sludged oil pump suction tube screen, then there won't always be be enough oil pressure to operate the cam timing adjuster, causing the cam timing fault DTC/s.to be stored. Another possible problem is if there is sludge deposits from upstream in the cylinder head lube oil galleries, getting into the cam timing adjuster solenoid valve, that will cause the timing adjuster to fail. Even if this is the case, the solenoid valve can be removed from the timing adjuster and cleaned out, to restore normal function of the timing adjuster. If the issue is due to low oil pressure, then the low oil pressure must be address, then the timing adjuster fault/s will no longer occur. If there are DTCs stored, it will be really helpful here if you post the exact DTC/s stored in the ECU.

[1900gte]

Is it making noise at startup?
This could be a sign of sludge as mentioned by diagnosticator.

Do you know if the shop uses genuine audi parts or other brands?
There are some story's of bad aftermarked CCT.
The sensor for the cam position can also cause problems.
this sensor is at the front of the engine and can be easely replaced.

If your mechanic is good he not only changed the tensioner but also the chain.
Removing the chain means taking out cams and the cam sensor.
Maybe something went wrong there.
Sensor damaged, cams not correctly timed.............

[MikTip]

so this is getting old now...my camshaft adjuster was going bad @ 100k and my mechanic told me he needs to change it. so 2 days and $900 later i had a new can adjuster that went bad in 32 days. I had check engine light and at one point car came to stand still. to be honest i got a little scared and left the car on the street wherever it was. Next day i tried and the car started without issues, check engine light gone but came back soon. We thought that piece was faulty and he replaced it without any charge (good lad). That was May. One week ago (last week of July) the check engine light came back on and i suspected it to be same issue because the car started driving pretty strong (you can feel it). It was confirmed as soon as he scanned the error code. So now we are talking about a 4th cam adjuster in 3 months. It is unbelievable. Anyone run into this issue? He thinks it could be the camshaft itself and wants me to leave the car with him to open it up and inspect if the camshaft has an issue. He might have to replace the camshaft and redo the timing costing me prolly $1200 more. I am just not sure if he knows what he is doing. BTW he is the biggest APR dealer out of NJ and very well known. I wish i knew more about A4's so i can take a shot at it myself. Has anyone (as unlucky as me) run into this issue? I have a B6 A4 1.8T tiptronic. thanks for your responses. i did a search and found nothing relevant.

You cannot "suspect" a CEL!

You need to get a code reader and get the code numbers to make certain what the issue is!

Does the mechanic tell you what the code is?

Has the mechanic verified its not an electrical issue? Instead of simply changing components...

Seems you "suspect" the mechanic is not doing his job properly!

[blueinnewyork]

You cannot "suspect" a CEL!

You need to get a code reader and get the code numbers to make certain what the issue is!

Does the mechanic tell you what the code is?

Has the mechanic verified its not an electrical issue? Instead of simply changing components...

Seems you "suspect" the mechanic is not doing his job properly!

I don't have a reader but after looking at the ECU codes he told me timing was off.

[blueinnewyork]

Is it making noise at startup?
This could be a sign of sludge as mentioned by diagnosticator.

Do you know if the shop uses genuine audi parts or other brands?
There are some story's of bad aftermarked CCT.
The sensor for the cam position can also cause problems.
this sensor is at the front of the engine and can be easely replaced.

If your mechanic is good he not only changed the tensioner but also the chain.
Removing the chain means taking out cams and the cam sensor.
Maybe something went wrong there.
Sensor damaged, cams not correctly timed.............

It does not make noise during startup. First time around he used aftermarket part but second time he used OEM part. I am not sure if he changed the chain because he did not take out the cams for sure.

[walky_talky20]

We really need to know what exact codes you have to give good advice.

Can you explain more about "at one point the car came to stand still". I've never known a bad cam chain tensioner to make a car fail to move. Generally they either make loud clanking noises or throw codes, but the car continues to run ok.

If your codes are actually to do with intake cam advance setpoints, I would be highly suspect of the oil pressure getting to the adjuster (or lack thereof). I would recommend checking the oil pressure at cold start, as well as with oil at 200F+ at various rpm points (idle, 1500, 2k, 3k, 4k, 5k, 6k). That information should give you a good idea if there is any clogging of the oil pickup.

[MikTip]

The cam chain tensioner also has an electrical soleniod that are know to go bad and give the light...even though its mechanicals are fine.

Also there are cheap chinese cam chain tensioners out there...where is your suspected mechanic getting the tensioners from?

[blueinnewyork]

ok folks - finally got around finishing this. Performed compression test and it came out good. readings for all cylinders were between 167 and 180. No major leaks were found. Coolant leak was fixed by replacing the coolant tank (lad a leak) and changing coolant sensor. Camshaft looks good - no worries. Got refund for the old cam adjuster and got new one from Audi (genuine OEM) personally this time around. Car runs very smooth now. Ultimately no big issue found and the mystery remains sadly. Thank you all for your replies.

[DiertyEuroSpec]

We'll see how long it lasts