Noise in pulley area

[piotrowr]

Hey we noticed a concerning noise coming from the pulley area of the engine bay yesterday and when hood is open, definitely from the front of the engine area. When I started up this afternoon there was sort of a tapping clanking sound, rhythmic in a sense.

Does this sound like any familiar symptom of something that's about to fail? Left a message with my dealer to schedule a check as the turbo was replaced about 2-3K miles ago. Possibly something is coming loose? Do they go into this area to replace the turbo? It's a 2010 with just under 55K miles.

[van462]

It could be the timing chain slapping the lower cover. Clanking sounds from the front of a motor and you should think about having the car towed in. Things going wrong in the timing department get exponentially more expensive when parts fail.

[pierreb]

Check your power steering level although I think van462 has it right.


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[nycaudi]

Hey we noticed a concerning noise coming from the pulley area of the engine bay yesterday and when hood is open, definitely from the front of the engine area. When I started up this afternoon there was sort of a tapping clanking sound, rhythmic in a sense.

Does this sound like any familiar symptom of something that's about to fail? Left a message with my dealer to schedule a check as the turbo was replaced about 2-3K miles ago. Possibly something is coming loose? Do they go into this area to replace the turbo? It's a 2010 with just under 55K miles.

Can you please post a vid of this noise? Thanks

[b6Hate4]

Double check the noise you are hearing isnt just the evap purge as well. That can make a noise that may be alarming to some.

[piotrowr]

Tried to take a vid but noise is not present. Seems to be intermittent.

[b6Hate4]

Tried to take a vid but noise is not present. Seems to be intermittent.

The purge valve I mentioned above would cause intermittent ticking, FYI.

[nycaudi]

Tried to take a vid but noise is not present. Seems to be intermittent.

Is it on cold start?

Like after hav8ng the car sit overnight then you hear it when driv8ng first time the next day?

[piotrowr]

Not just on cold start. After driving home and pulling into driveway for example. On a couple occasions it did get more pronounced when steering left or right while backing out of a parking spot.

[piotrowr]

The purge valve I mentioned above would cause intermittent ticking, FYI.

I would call it more of a clanking or tapping rather than ticking or clicking. I'll try to get a vid today if it's happening.

[piotrowr]

So the tapping noise seems to occur when I shift into drive or reverse but nothing when in park or neutral. I was not able to take a vid on my own for obvious reasons so will try this evening with someone at the wheel while parked with shift in reverse and drive.

[piotrowr]

The tapping/rumbling noise can be heard into the vid attached. It occurs when the car is put in drive or reverse. I thought the noise was coming from the pulley area but it's possible the noise is behind the engine area. Any thoughts?

[B8_Jim]

Any thoughts?

This sounds more muffled than mine, but since you asked for "any" thoughts...

My '09 A4 had an idler pulley fail - suspect the bearing went out but it would run fairly true most of the time and make no noise - occasionally it would not and would wobble on the shaft making a popping type noise.

I saw the wobble and knew the pulley was bad - took it to the dealer and showed them the exact pulley that was bad. They said they checked all of them and they were "solid" and I was "good to go" - pulley completely sheared the web and created a 2 piece pulley about 45 miles later - luckily I was at idle and there was no ancillary damage due to the belt being thrown off... The dealer got the car back on a flatbed billed to AudiUSA.

Watch your pulley's very closely when the sound happens - if it's what I had and it's bad enough you will be able to see them wobble...

[OzeyeruZ]

My alternator pulley/seal was going bad when it was making a similar noise a few months back. Replaced under warranty and no more noise.

Oz

[poweredbyaudi7]

It could also be the belt tensioner. Watch the belt and see if it is flapping around.

[piotrowr]

It could also be the belt tensioner. Watch the belt and see if it is flapping around.

What do I look for? Would Audi need to take all this apart to replace the turbo? No one has feedback on that yet.

[piotrowr]

Why is it only when in gear? Transmission or is stress on the transmission pointing to another issue. Any pro's out there?

[piotrowr]

My alternator pulley/seal was going bad when it was making a similar noise a few months back. Replaced under warranty and no more noise.

Oz

Oz what's your year and mileage? did you get any codes? I have not had anything to tell me somethings up..

[OzeyeruZ]

Oz what's your year and mileage? did you get any codes? I have not had anything to tell me somethings up..

I am a 2013 A4, at the time my mileage was around 52k. My car was towed into dealership because of severe misfires and CEL's. Long story short, my 2 of my injectors/seals were shot. Upon diagnosis they also found my alternator pulley/seal to be shot as well, but as I recall there were no codes that I pulled on my APR dongle to lead me to believe they were bad. There was a noise similar to the above that I had noticed for about 3 months though before my injectors crapped out that was now gone once I got the car back.

Oz


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[piotrowr]

Was at indy shop to diagnose my upper control arm bushings (need to be replaced, causing terrible tire wear) and asked tech to listen to this engine bay noise. He thinks it could be engine mounts and said when he installs the new control arms on the lift will take a better look. Does this sound like it could be the mounts? How often do they go?

[D21burggraf]

The tapping/rumbling noise can be heard into the vid attached. It occurs when the car is put in drive or reverse. I thought the noise was coming from the pulley area but it's possible the noise is behind the engine area. Any thoughts?

I'm noticing this same noise starting to occur on my car also. Its typically only upon initial startup for a few minutes and then goes away.

Did you ever confirm what the actual culprit was (pulley, tensioner, engine mount, etc)?