[Irinikus]

Earlier this year my Audi TT Quattro's engine broke and cost me $4000 to fix, all because of this failure! (I only decided to take a close look at the failed part now)







Notice the cracked "tooth" on this hydraulic timing chain tensioner!

That's German engineering for you! :(

WHY OH WHY DIDN'T THEY DESIGN THE PART TO HAVE A "LINEAR RATCHET" ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HYDRAULIC RAM?

[johnnym]

Earlier this year my Audi TT Quattro's engine broke and cost me $4000 to fix, all because of this failure! (I only decided to take a close look at the failed part now)
[...]
WHY OH WHY DIDN'T THEY DESIGN THE PART TO HAVE A "LINEAR RATCHET" ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HYDRAULIC RAM?

It saved 2 cents per unit doing it exactly that way! ;-)

[Jacques]

Earlier this year my Audi TT Quattro's engine broke and cost me $4000 to fix, all because of this failure! (I only decided to take a close look at the failed part now)
[...]
WHY OH WHY DIDN'T THEY DESIGN THE PART TO HAVE A "LINEAR RATCHET" ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HYDRAULIC RAM?

It saved 2 cents per unit doing it exactly that way! ;-)

why did it cost $4000 to fix?! That's what bakes my noodle! I suspect 70% of that is 'Audi' or brand tax, 25% is labour and 5% is cost of the parts.

---

Earlier this year my Audi TT Quattro's engine broke and cost me $4000 to fix, all because of this failure! (I only decided to take a close look at the failed part now)
[...]
WHY OH WHY DIDN'T THEY DESIGN THE PART TO HAVE A "LINEAR RATCHET" ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HYDRAULIC RAM?

It saved 2 cents per unit doing it exactly that way! ;-)

why did it cost $4000 to fix?! That's what bakes my noodle! I suspect 70% of that is 'Audi' or brand tax, 25% is labour and 5% is cost of the parts.

Tell them you want to claim some of that money back!

http://www.audicomplaints.com/timing-chain/

[Irinikus]

The parts alone were R33000, excluding the re-machining of the head, labor and VAT!

8 valves were bent and the valve seats in the head were damaged as a result.

---

Earlier this year my Audi TT Quattro's engine broke and cost me $4000 to fix, all because of this failure! (I only decided to take a close look at the failed part now)
[...]
WHY OH WHY DIDN'T THEY DESIGN THE PART TO HAVE A "LINEAR RATCHET" ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HYDRAULIC RAM?

It saved 2 cents per unit doing it exactly that way! ;-)

It’s clear to me, that that part was designed to fail eventually, just to make them more money!

[jan-jaap]

why did it cost $4000 to fix?! That's what bakes my noodle! I suspect 70% of that is 'Audi' or brand tax, 25% is labour and 5% is cost of the parts.

Problems with the timing chain means the valves open at the wrong time and the pistons can hit them. An engine rebuild and/or a new cylinder head can easily cost that kind of money.

VW/Audi have a history of TSi engines with chain problems. The 1.4 TSi was particularly bad I believe.

[Jacques]

why did it cost $4000 to fix?! That's what bakes my noodle! I suspect 70% of that is 'Audi' or brand tax, 25% is labour and 5% is cost of the parts.

Problems with the timing chain means the valves open at the wrong time and the pistons can hit them. An engine rebuild and/or a new cylinder head can easily cost that kind of money.

VW/Audi have a history of TSi engines with chain problems. The 1.4 TSi was particularly bad I believe.

Hadn't realised you had the engine failure, thought it was a loose chain issue. So yeah $4000 is actually quite cheap then!

[Irinikus]

The car only has 64000 miles on the clock! When I asked as to when the timing chain should be checked, I was told that it’s not part of the service schedule to check this component, and that it should last for the life of the engine!

The car is also in immaculate condition and has only been served at Audi!

So clearly, Audi intends for their engines to last between 60000 and 70000 miles. As my brother had the same thing happen to his A4 at a similar mileage!

I will keep the TT as it’s a very nice little car, but I won’t buy another Audi again though.

[ghost180sx]

Yeah, welcome to the wonderful world of cars and the ways they break! And the way "stealerships" hose you. I only drive vintage units now, and prefer to fix them permanently and properly than risk getting a new machine with tons of issues. There's no clear best solution - but I prefer the "built not bought" philosophy myself. Dealing with known quantities.

[Irinikus]

My other car is also semi vintage, it's a 3.0L BMW Z3, and I love it! (The straight six in this car is a much better engine than the 2.0L TFSI Quattro in the TT)

[ghost180sx]

Yeah, BMW I6 engines are fantastic, usually.

Is there no aftermarket, better designed timing chain tensioner for your TT engine? Might be better value than the OE part. Surely someone has made a better one already.