2013 Audi S4 Engine Ticking Noise

[nathizzle]

Good evening, I am wondering if someone can tell me what this ticking noise might be that is coming from my engine bay. The ticking noise started about a week ago and I brought my car into the dealer about a month before the ticking happened for a completely different reason. On cold start I hear rattling for about 1-2 seconds and then it goes away. There is a TSB from Audi for new tensioners that should fix the problem but the TSB states the noise itself doesn't cause harm to the engine. On the other hand, Audi tells me that the timing chain should be fixed soon or it will cause problems down the road. I am wondering if the loose tensioner is causing the ticking noise or if this is an entirely different problem. At first I thought the noise was a lifter that was stuck, but my mechanic told me that he thinks that it might be a VVT Solenoid that is going bad. Took it to the dealer and they put some BG110 oil in it to see if that will fix the noise if it happens to be a lifter. I've driven the car about 20 miles since the BG110 was added and I am still hearing the ticking. The service manager there said that whoever had the car before me had a methanol kit on the car and thinks that my 5th cylinder might be going out. He said that he wanted to perform a compression test to rule that out. I'd hate to throw a bunch of money at the car and not fix it, so was trying to get an idea from the someone in the community who has had experience with this. Below, I have attached the video of the sound. I've started to the hear sound every time I drive the car now, but sometimes its quiet and other times it's loud. I have driven the car for about 500 miles since the ticking noise and I've made it to my destination every time. I am just afraid that it is a matter of time before the car decides to give out on me and break other components costing me more money. Thank you in advance for any help.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/forBa7igcpH5GT12A
Or

[Avant_Garde]

My car is in the shop for this exact same reason as we speak, 2013 as well. It ended up being tensioner issue, along with a guide problem. Top two tensioners were bad, and one of the guides was completely gone, I guess it gave way and then caused my chain to rub metal-on-metal. My initial plan with my mechanic was just to replace the tensioners (with the engine still in the car) but when he found that the guide was completely missing, we decided it was best to just replace everything. New chains, guides and tensioners. Main issue was that he needed to take everything apart to find the pieces of the guide which were at the bottom of the case, and in the oil pan. At that point, smartest option was just to replace it all since the engine was out. I would get it checked out, because you don't want any one of those chains giving out on an interference engine. Going to be a lot more expensive later if you don't address it now.

Also, my car wasn't really that loud on startup (the 1-2 second rattle which is normal). It got loud once the engine heated up a bit. I think the reason for that is because everything in there wasn't as tight at that point, and there was less tension on the system. With the tensioners not doing there job, coupled with the busted guide, that's why I was hearing that chain rattle.

[nathizzle]

I was afraid that it might be the guide and tensioners. How much did they quote you for labor and parts altogether and is it at the dealer?

[nathizzle]

Also forgot to ask, how many miles are on your car? Mines at 85k miles which doesn't seem like that many miles to me to be fixing something of this magnitude. Seems like every week something else is wrong with the car so just curious if it's due to higher mileage, how the cars driven, or if that's just how it's supposed to be to generate more money by having customers spend money at the dealer? Very frustrating when my daily doesn't act like a daily 😅

[Avant_Garde]

Mine is only at 118k kms (73k miles). They quoted me around $7k CAD for everything, at a private shop, not the dealership. Its quite a big job unfortunately, and most of the cost is in labor due to the fact the engine has to be dropped

[nathizzle]

The quote I received from the Audi Dealership in Peoria, AZ totaled $3426.14 USD. The description says, "Technician verified concern and found that the timing chain tensioners have collapsed and recommends replacing the rear timing chain tensioners." It sounds to me like you are getting everything replaced as opposed to just the tensioners which is where I am torn. I feel like I should get the entire thing done rather than just the tensioners so I know everything is new and don't have other parts failing well before they are supposed to. Spending more money upfront but less money down the road in the long run. I plan on having this car for a long time and don't want to have to deal with this again while I own the car. I am going to take my car to the dealer again this week so they can run a compression test and scope my cylinder walls to see if there's any damage. Fingers crossed that there isn't, but if there is then going to have to bite the bullet and rebuild the engine. Will keep you posted whatever I find out.