Should I be worried?

[visabroke]

I have a 3.0 v6 tip 2003 a4 b6 quattro, currently on around 115k miles and serviced reguarly. I drive it most days approx 30miles to/from work.

My issue is on startup after being left overnight or if I leave it while at work for approx 2-3 seconds on startup I get from the drivers side/left bank of the top of the engine what sounds like no oil in the head/ a tapping sound and then it goes away, sometimes its better than other days. That side of the engine has always seemed a bit more noisy compared to the other side.

I was wondering if its something that I should look into more, engine starts fine, runs fine etc. I just want it to last to the point that I can swap in the v6tt lump I have but that could be a while off yet.

What oil do people run in this engine so I can check what the garage puts in when they do the service.

[diagnosticator]

Pull the valve cover off , and check for flattened cam lobe tips. If the cams are good, it's most likely just a noisy cam follower, due to sludge or other dirt accumulation in the engine.

[visabroke]

Thanks. I'll check into that.

I have had a garage change the seal on the valve cover as I didn't have time recently. I will get that checked out and also see if I can find any previous history for the car.

[DarkoNova]

That's not normal for the 3.0?

Mine does that, too, but only for one second tops. Just sounds like there's no oil, so it's noisy until oil gets to the top end.

Is there any way to clean out the sludge other than physically disassembling the heads?

[visabroke]

That's not normal for the 3.0?

Mine does that, too, but only for one second tops. Just sounds like there's no oil, so it's noisy until oil gets to the top end.

Is there any way to clean out the sludge other than physically disassembling the heads?

looking online at threads and i've heard mixed views. People say they replaced one of the tensioners at the front of the head and it still does that afterwards and others say they are like that.

At least I know its not just mine

[road_tripper]

mine makes a similar noise... my cam lobes looked great when I did the timing belt at 200K miles. not as noisy as a diesel, but definitely a noise reduction after a few seconds.

I use 'german castrol' (0w-40 synthetic, says 'made in germany' on the bottle). Takes a bit less than 7qts to fill.

just re-read your original post... if you're doing an engine swap in the (near) future, probably no need to spend $$ extra on oil changes, especially with only 115K on the odometer.

[visabroke]

thanks for the reply

I picked up a s4 v6tt engine/loom/ecu and some other bits a while ago for a swap into a passat but ended up not getting the car I was looking at so thinking it might be better in the a4. Just not sure when i'll be doing the swap.

Took the car to work today, its been sitting since friday and had the usual noise on startup, after a couple of seconds it was fine, same on driving home. Sounded fine when I got home tonight.