Anyone have a pulley failure (not crank or supercharger)

[AudiC7Owners]

Update #1:

I did the water test on both belts (spray water on the ribbed section of the belt).

The serpentine belt has no issues.

But my APR supercharger belt (which has less than 10k miles on it) immediately started to squeal. So I've either got a belt that has loosened up, or my tensioner pulley is acting up.

Gonna change the belt first to see if that fixes things.

Original Post:

So I just noticed my car making a chirping sound from the front of the motor that gets faster when you give it gas.

It seems to be coming from the tensioner pulley but it's hard to tell.

My motor mounts are pretty shot, so the engine moves around quite a bit (replacing them this weekend), and i'm worried the movement is causing one of my pullies to fail.

Has anyone else had to deal with this or knows about this sound?

Sent from my Llama using Tapatalk

[A6sport]

I've had the hebe-jeebies about my OE crank pulley failing, it's mostly happened to the mad scientists S4 guys beating on and trying to extract every bit of power from their 3.0t motors. The failures have also been on higher mileage examples. I'm at 45k and for good measure, I'm adding a fluidamper and vdamper for the overdrive pulley. It's also supposed to smooth things out a bit. Not so convinced a fluidamper can make my car any smoother than it already is...


Oops, just reread you post... never mind my response.

[Valpo A7]

I have only ever had a belt tensioner fail 20 plus years ago on a 1987 Chevy Blazer.

I just replaced both belts on my 2012 A7 and to be honest I am not sure the serpentine has ever been changed as I can only find reference to the supercharger belt in the maintenance history from the previous owner. The old belt was still in tact and looked good but when I compared length it has probably 2 inches of stretch after 205,000 miles. if your belt is chirping it might be time for a new belt due to stretch or maybe some spots have glazed and are slipping.

The belts are fixed onto the motor and while a bad motor mount will allow the engine to move around the belts are not moving around because all of the pulleys are in a fixed position on the engine. The belts are moving around with the engine but relative to their location on the engine there is no movement.

[Jake@JHM]

I've had the hebe-jeebies about my OE crank pulley failing, it's mostly happened to the mad scientists S4 guys beating on and trying to extract every bit of power from their 3.0t motors. The failures have also been on higher mileage examples. I'm at 45k and for good measure, I'm adding a fluidamper and vdamper for the overdrive pulley. It's also supposed to smooth things out a bit. Not so convinced a fluidamper can make my car any smoother than it already is...


Oops, just reread you post... never mind my response.

We have 3.0Ts in all the time for crank pulley failure. From Stock cars to full tilt. Our Crank Pulley options are popular because they are lighter than stock, and solid billet aluminum with no chance of coming apart.

[ANMS4]

My tension pulley seized a few months ago, ( SC. Belt snapped) and I just had my drives side motor mount replaced under warranty today.

[BobbyWatts]

Had this issue about 6 months ago. Tensioner and another pulley were replaced and I also had a hairline crack in a coolant line that was leaking onto the belt/pulleys but only at high rpm. Car has 43k miles.

[AudiC7Owners]

I have only ever had a belt tensioner fail 20 plus years ago on a 1987 Chevy Blazer.

I just replaced both belts on my 2012 A7 and to be honest I am not sure the serpentine has ever been changed as I can only find reference to the supercharger belt in the maintenance history from the previous owner. The old belt was still in tact and looked good but when I compared length it has probably 2 inches of stretch after 205,000 miles. if your belt is chirping it might be time for a new belt due to stretch or maybe some spots have glazed and are slipping.

The belts are fixed onto the motor and while a bad motor mount will allow the engine to move around the belts are not moving around because all of the pulleys are in a fixed position on the engine. The belts are moving around with the engine but relative to their location on the engine there is no movement.My car is at 105k so it's probably time to swap the belt out as well. Plus that's a cheap place to start in trying to fix it.

Sent from my Llama using Tapatalk

[AudiC7Owners]

Had this issue about 6 months ago. Tensioner and another pulley were replaced and I also had a hairline crack in a coolant line that was leaking onto the belt/pulleys but only at high rpm. Car has 43k miles.Was it the line right under the SC?

Sent from my Llama using Tapatalk

[BobbyWatts]

Was it the line right under the SC?

Sent from my Llama using Tapatalk

Yes. Not 100% sure which line, but the shop had to remove the supercharger for the repair. Looked sort of like a white chalky substance on my pulleys which was to coolant steam+engine heat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mpressive6]

Had this issue about 6 months ago. Tensioner and another pulley were replaced and I also had a hairline crack in a coolant line that was leaking onto the belt/pulleys but only at high rpm. Car has 43k miles.This sounds allot like what I'm dealing with now. Coolant leak and then a high pitched noise started the other day, somewhat intermittent. I'm leary to drive the vehicle. Would I cause damage to the vehicle if I drove it while making that noise? Is it a sign that a belt/pulley was about to break?

I took a video of the sound but I'm unable to attach it to this post. It's like a high-pitched wine.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[mpressive6]

Yes. Not 100% sure which line, but the shop had to remove the supercharger for the repair. Looked sort of like a white chalky substance on my pulleys which was to coolant steam+engine heat.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkIf you don't mind me asking how much was the repair, est?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[AudiC7Owners]

Update:

I did the water test on both belts (spray water on the ribbed section of the belt).

The serpentine belt has no issues.

But my APR supercharger belt (which has less than 10k miles on it) immediately started to squeal. So I've either got a belt that has loosened up, or my tensioner pulley is acting up.

Gonna change the belt first to see if that fixes things.

Sent from my Llama using Tapatalk

[christianb5s4]

KwikStix, did you notice any smells coming from the engine after doing longer WOT pulls? I've noticed a slight smell after long WOT pulls in my car that smells like burnt rubber but no noticeable performance issues. Car is right on the verge of the 55k mile service which replaces the V-belt.

[jrhgto]

This sounds allot like what I'm dealing with now. Coolant leak and then a high pitched noise started the other day, somewhat intermittent. I'm leary to drive the vehicle. Would I cause damage to the vehicle if I drove it while making that noise? Is it a sign that a belt/pulley was about to break?

I took a video of the sound but I'm unable to attach it to this post. It's like a high-pitched wine.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


Yeah I had a coolant leak under the supercharger at 120K miles, there is a plastic coolant pipe under there. Its possible that coolant is maybe getting on the belts causing the noise maybe?
It was about $600 2 years ago to do the fix. THey also replaced the supercharger belt while they had it off.

[mpressive6]

Yeah I had a coolant leak under the supercharger at 120K miles, there is a plastic coolant pipe under there. Its possible that coolant is maybe getting on the belts causing the noise maybe?
It was about $600 2 years ago to do the fix. THey also replaced the supercharger belt while they had it off.Thank you!!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Audizine Forum mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87676)

[AudiC7Owners]

KwikStix, did you notice any smells coming from the engine after doing longer WOT pulls? I've noticed a slight smell after long WOT pulls in my car that smells like burnt rubber but no noticeable performance issues. Car is right on the verge of the 55k mile service which replaces the V-belt.Other than my gutted cats stinking up everything, no [emoji23]

Sent from my Llama using Tapatalk

[christianb5s4]

Other than my gutted cats stinking up everything, no [emoji23]

Sent from my Llama using Tapatalk

Ah ok, thought I'd ask. Probably best to replace the accessory belt if you're doing the V-belt IMO since all the disassembly is done to replace anyway, along with any of the belt accessories that might be iffy like the tensioner.