AUDI 3.0 TDI V6 TIMING CHAIN RATTLE! - WHAT'S BROKE?? 😳

Since buying his Audi A7, Scott has been cursed with timing chain rattle, that has progressively gotten worse!
It's time to take the engine out and dig in to diagnose the problem!
Audi A7 Full Spec - www.darksidedevelopments.co.u...
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[@andydelassus2734]

The thought of having to remember how all that goes back together is terrifying. I will leave it to the pros!

[@eddiemuratagic]

we have photo memory when you doing this for long time but then i look for my cell phone all day lol

[@RTC057]

Impressive work and knowledge. A company full of 'Pauls' would be an impressive achievement in assembling and retaining.

[@himwiththehair]

Nice detailed breakdown of the job there lads, cheers. Top soundtrack too 👌

[@TurboChild]

Bravo! We finally see the A7! 🎉 Great video, keep these coming 🙌🏻

[@mk7gti911]

Done this job for a customer, did take me 1 week because I only had like 3-4 hours a day to work on it. Total 20 hours. Was a FWD and only took the gearbox off, so a little less work than taking the engine out. I agree with the oil change intervals. Doing max 5000 km or 6 months with my 2.0 TSI. And every time flushing the engine. Done 165.000 km with the original chain

[@SaqibKhaliq]

These are my favourite type of videos. Awesome work. Wish the timelapse was a tiny bit slower so I could see the detail.

[@sonyae9790]

You are a surgeon,....absolutely unreal! Beyond impressed, mad respect 🙏

[@FPVForLife]

A friend of mine bought a A6 4G, and I told him about these issues. Aaanndd of course he didn't listen. They started to rattle at 85 or 90k miles. So he went to the dealer (was still under warranty) and they approved it as warranty work. It was a 7k bill that went to Audi. But they did all this work and they only replaced ONE !!! tensioner.😂😂😂😂 Then they couldn't make it go straight down the road, for whatever reason. They tried four times. Four alignments, still pulling to the left.😂😂😂 And then the best part, two weeks later it started to rattle again. He was so sick and tired, he just traded it in for a Hilux.

[@Yannick13C]

When my chain was replaced @ 170k km the chain was not stretched. But the tensioner was faulty and the "gliders" (?) were worn. After replacement, it droves fine. Driven the car almost 60k km my self. Just sold it yesterday (2012 a6 3.0tdi quattro, full s-line, air suspension) ... Man, I do miss the car already. It was really on point and driver really great. But a (almost) new a6 55tfsi e softens the pain :)

[@FPVForLife]

Very good advice, even with expensive oil, its done at 6k miles/ 10.000km.

[@chrisp4899]

I always change my oil at half the stated intervals

[@andyhunt457]

Long service intervals are an a absolute winner for car dealers and manufacturers...of course its not deliberate 😂😂.

[@carlitto17]

Great video, really informative

[@steweavy]

I had the same issue with my A4 3.0 TDI when it was still in warranty. Took it to Audi, first they said it was normal to make that noise. In the end they said it needed new cams, which they replaced. Guess what, still had the same issue. Got rid not long after.

[@danielmarshall4587]

Aways a pleasure to see machines getting care and attention..14:01 PRAISE BE.

[@davog1946]

Including the clutch and flywheel that’s got to be a 3.5-4K job?

[@The4Z]

Great video.

[@juspe9953]

Got A5 2010 with 310.000 km on it and no rattle at all and the chain has never been replaced. The only noise comes from the flywheel when the engine is turned off and it was replaced only 50k ago and it seems that it needs to be replaced again.

[@justingrainger6627]

Mega video, what a massive job. I got quoted 3k by a local garage to fix.

[@jamescurley5062]

In the words Paddy Depp 'Sauvage' 😂. Class video lads 👍

[@thepharcyde8285]

I think the A7 is one of the best looking Audis. I do like quite like the sound of the idle even though I drive bmw with n57 engine. Unfortunately these engines are very complicated and even if simple thing inside goes wrong can cause massive bill.

[@piovo5222]

I6 vs V6 for you

[@rendaninthai4739]

So in SA I have onwed two A7 and now RS7, u just have to have audi plan active to protect your pocket

[@alancobbin]

Ryan be like Scott usually sets his brakes on fire in a morning lol,good video chaps,one silent A7 👍😉💪

[@danielmarshall4587]

These are the geezas you want working on your car, real deal car guys.

[@alancobbin]

@@danielmarshall4587 indeed they are,everyone just loves Ryan’s Humour 👍😉💪

[@KennethAberg]

Bought a touareg that had this rattle (only noticed it once i got home and started it the next morning) just lived with it for a couple months until I did an oil change, put in 5w-30 vw spec liqui-moly, rattle went away and engine runs like a swiss clock, guessing the rattle was caused by extended "longlife" service interval and subpar oil quality. It has 325 thousand km's on the clock.

[@alaindunkerque59]

Belle vidéo 👌 😉

[@jasonl34]

I have a 2015 A6 TDI. 60k miles on it. I even emailed you once asking some questions. I wish I knew if I brought my car in the same care would be taken. For some reason I imagine if I brought my car in for the timing chain, they'd do the job by just replacing the chain and that's it. Granted I don't really know. I'm in NY and I used to have a Jetta TDI I'd bring to Massachusetts because the guy always did a great job. I bought this car wanting to do a turbo, fuel pump, ect. But knowing I'd lose the diesel warranty is such a big trade off since it should be covered until 120k miles. But then again, if I deleted all the bullsh*t off, would the warranty be needed anyways? So far I only used it twice since 20k miles..for O2 sensors.

[@RealGX]

Have you had trouble with the camshafts? All CRT engines are affected, its why I went for the DCPC (EA897evo2) with 286 bhp.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

We've not had any problems with them

[@richardmills5450]

Just reminds me of the trumph stag. That had a gret long timing chain that wa crap.

[@JohnEvans-ct6mz]

Did this same repair on a gen 1 3.0 TDI on a Touareg. I like the gen 2 chain setup much better . That old 4 chain design is a pain. I left the engine in though, just pulled the trans. This job isn’t as terrible as people think. Just time consuming. However, not something I want to do frequently. I’ll stick with VW/Audi 2.0T EA888 chains. 😂

[@jaredwalker8685]

How long did this take you?

[@JohnEvans-ct6mz]

@@jaredwalker8685 All totaled, about 24 hours, spread out over a period of a month. It was an employee’s vehicle so I had to attend to customer cars over his.

[@DeTodoYMasYT]

Hello, I don't know if anyone will read it. I have a rattle around 1500-2000rpm. It only makes the noise when hot. When cold the chain doesn't make any noise. The chain does not make a sound when starting. Nothing sounds during cold running. It only makes a rattle when the oil heats up. I have a specific Motul 507vw 5w30 oil. Can this problem be solved with a 5w40?

[@auk7150]

What that rattle comes step up the weight if you have deletes done and I’m changing 3-5 .. world of a difference in noise and wear

[@seedsaboveitall608]

I've said it all along for years change your oil every 5000 miles it's the most important thing in the engine!

[@yareq5555]

Remember to rise oil pressure to 2.8ish.

[@danielmarshall4587]

OH-FUCKING-HELL ........I had a 3.0TDI and it sounded like that. However used the "local spanner man" to fix it, different fault, sadly had to scrap it, cos the local Spanner-Man didn't do a good job. HOWEVER hearing that one tells me it wasn't just the local guy that had miss treated it. As always gentlemen, thank you for your time and effort filming this and sharing it.

[@MattCSLnut]

I'm watching this with invested interest as my 2015 A7 3.0 V6 TDI (272 HP) "Black Edition" just had the very same open heart surgory a week ago for the very same reasons. Even the main timing chain upper left guide was damaged in the same way 🙈 with the inner edge worn / missing completely. Mine's a one owner car with Full AUDI main dealer service history all of its life, last serviced few months ago at the very same AUDI main dealer (who has serviced it all of its life) ... however the first 3 years under the original AUDI warranty, the oil change intervals were 18K miles "long life" nonsence and as mentioned in the vid this must be what cases the timing chain tentioner failier later down the line. After the first 3 years the oil change intervals on my A7 were dropped to 9K miles hance why the chain started to rattle at around 136K miles and replaced at 142K miles last week. I'm glad it's done as the rest of the car is mint.👌

[@thepharcyde8285]

I have very very similar story - bought my bmw on 50k with only 3 services (330d n57 engine). I am on 100k now and the car was in the garage every 8-10k for oil change. Zero issues so far. I have zero trust in main dealer as well :). Unfortunately when the car is leased the main dealer has no interest to change the oil regularly as they want the car to fall apart so people spend money for expensive repairs.

[@keyboarddancers7751]

@@thepharcyde8285 One of the main reasons why we cannot have nice things.

[@martincassels7995]

Changer your oil with nanodrive or similar every 4500 miles with an engine flush

[@mrAudisubaru]

Yeah timing belt"s are better then this chain setup on VAG engines but if you look first Gen. M57 or old mercedes duplex roller chain engines there are some who make a million km on the first chain also the tensioner can be replaced from outside and costs a few quid if necesseary. Also the chains are on the front if they ever need servicing😁 the winner here is touareg and T5 2.5TDI 5.0TDI PD timing gears engines yes they are loud yes they have other problems but no maintence required around timing

[@DarkAttack14]

The 5.0 has its own timing issues, and there's absolutely no chance you're not dropping the engine for that one

[@komtgoed8330]

My dad had an A4 with the same issue at 146.000km. Had it fixed at the Audi dealer. They only did the tensioner. Can you imagine that? It was a Quattro as well.. all that work and they didn’t replace the guides, chains etc. Only the tensioner… they charged 40 hour…

[@DarksideDevelopments]

They do charge through the roof! Definitely not a 40 hour job though

[@komtgoed8330]

@@DarksideDevelopments I know….

[@datazndood]

Don’t they give the customer an option whether they want to change out everything once the engines out? That’s insane.

[@toeknee2u]

Im pretty sure vag updated that oil filled tensioner at some point (id like to know when), originally it was a plain fit onto the block, the modified version came with an o ring, supposedly to stop the oil draining out. Problem is you wouldn't change it unless you have the rattling chain 🤔

[@MattCSLnut]

You may be right about that as the New / replacement main timing chain tensioner part number is: (O59 109 467 BB) which is almost the same as my old (2015) main timing chain tensioner (059 109 467 AE) except for the last two letters. I'm hoping the last two letters confirm a revision but I'm not 100% sure. FYI ... I've just had the very same open heart surgey (as per this vid) on my 2015 A7 3.0 V6 TDI (272 HP) last week 🙈🤣😉

[@thefamilyrobbo]

​@@MattCSLnutOuch. Poor wallet 😮

[@MattCSLnut]

@@thefamilyrobbo Tell me about it 🤣 … it hasn’t stopped screaming for a week 😉

[@barcode6297]

@@MattCSLnutmine SQ5 TDI is also waiting for chains to be changed soon. Have Been rattling on cold starts for about 8k km. Sounds horrible but soon It will be fixed. It will cost but I knew that when buying the car so no problemo. :)

[@Sj1bby]

The quick fix for this is: drain the oil and put in thicker oil like 10w40, then sell it. I know cause a mate bought one without the noise, he did a preventive oil change in week one... Put in 5w30 and noises were there.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Its not ideal is it!

[@ayj636]

Perfect, I'm gonna do that!

[@Autodign]

5w30 castrola

[@simontist]

I wonder if thick oil would slow down the wear.

[@ayj636]

@@simontist always use the recommended oil grade. Mine has been poorly looked after that's why I use a higher grade and why I got it so cheap.. If you use the recommended oil, it is the perfect oil for minimum wear.

[@andyhunt457]

Belts are better than chains....Ecoboost enters the chat...hold my beer 😂😂

[@DarkAttack14]

When it comes to vw belts are better than chains for sure, doesn't apply everywhere lmfao

[@tasty2choc]

wow. i dont have the money for a new A7 3.0tdi and i dont have enough for a used one. that repair looks costly in work hours.

[@stephenwilliamson1491]

Big cars big bills

[@alfreddafku230]

Hi, I have a 2013 Audi a6 3.0 bitdi, does a stage 1 tune cause these engines to wear more quikly and also is it true that doing the tune imreases the fuel economy a bit ? Thanks in advance

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Not if it's a custom tune, done correctly and well maintained afterwards. We always make sure each car leaves safe and reliable. It can sometimes improve fuel economy but it's not something we tend to measure

[@hayderjumaah2992]

@darksider development, could you please answer my question? I am about buying an A7 2016 BiTDI has done 60 km would you recommend buying it? This car has been always serviced on time without major issues. Should I buy it? I am worried about the fact of changing timing chain and I dont believe we have a good mechanic like you in Australia or at least where I am living in western Australia..

[@DarksideDevelopments]

They are good cars, especially when looked after well! You've just got to be prepared for the cost if anything like this does go wrong

[@bisi3082]

I have a ticking noise when the car is warm only from one bank of the v6 - no codes or lights on dash - could this be a camshaft issue that I hear is an issue on these engines - if so, how many hours labour to replace approx?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Drop us an email to [e-mail]

[@SalimKhan-gk1fh]

Very good video. What year is the vehicle

[@DarksideDevelopments]

2015

[@AdamNajak1]

Any idea what the time timing adaptations were at before the swap?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Didn't check that!

[@Halffast719]

Do you guys sell this kit? Timing chain, guides, bolts and seals?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

We don't have them listed unfortunately

[@loyd4you]

Waching this after i got called mad for wanting to change the oil on my 535i after 8k miles😅 I just don t trust long services no matter what oil you use...

[@excaliber32]

Hi guys, great job by the way. I have the same car and the chains are silent and its running sweet as, but if i put it in eco mode i get a logged fault for camshaft loss of synco. Dynamic and comfort its fine any idea guys i was thinking maybe its had a bad eco map 🤔

[@DarksideDevelopments]

put to stock and see!

[@excaliber32]

@DarksideDevelopments thanks for the reply mate. Or just pop up to you guys and have a remap 😆

[@rnldmanuel88]

Whats the reason to put the timing chains at the back of the engine ?. My r36 has 3.6 vr6 it was pain doing the chains on that so i think this would have been worse

[@DarksideDevelopments]

All about crash safety with a lower nose.

[@rnldmanuel88]

@@DarksideDevelopments never thought about that cheers !

[@scorpyto]

It is running from 2:41 to 2:46. In which exact second you can hear the rattle? Is it right after the start (2:42) or just before the end (2:45)? I think I can hear something like metal scratching at 2:45 but I don't think this is the rattle sound?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

it kicks in at 2:43, it's only a slight rattle as it was caught early enough

[@kevinpedersen5290]

how much does it cost to get a timing chain change on that engine? Audi quoted me 10.000 euros. which seems quite pricey for such an old car lol.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

at least half that!

[@JayAOnline]

Would a B9 2017 A5 3.0 TDI suffer this problem too?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Believe it would yes

[@user-oy4hi8ln1c]

I heard the rattle sound at may 3.0 tdi, I replaced only one tensioner, silence now.

[@alexriera3836]

Does this problem affect the Volkswagen Amarok 3.0 tdi?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

We've not come across any with the Amarok's as of yet

[@RogerM88]

As someone that works on his cars, watching this video gives a bit of anxiety. For this time of job, rather give it to a Technician or avoid those type of cars. Too complex and not much space to work on.

[@raulguzman7945]

So I have to drop the engine out , to do the timing chain??or can I take off the front rad and fans to make space? I’m doing it at home with no lift lol

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Ideally it needs to come out. There isn't much space at all in the bay to be able to do it

[@golfr604]

What price would i be looking at to replace timing chain on a 2016 SQ5?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Drop us an email to [e-mail] with reg/vin and we can give you costs including labour

[@VXRretro]

I fully agree no more than 6000 miles If you have an engine with a timing chain. Oil is key to keeping it in good order for lubrication and tension. I do my cars every year or 6k miles as all have chains never had any issues. I have the SQ5 with a variant of this engine, very easy to do just no damn dipstick! 😂

[@trains-et-bagnoles_fr]

Audi France : change oil = 30000 kms or 2 years...😂😂👎👎 I do it myself each 10000 kms A5 V6 TDI...👍

[@GGXjimmy]

you can buy the dipstick separately. just get the correct part number for that engine. I must have got the wrong one so i made a new mark for full

[@kosmass]

I see many problems with timing chain in v6 TDI engines. It's a good idea to buy an Audi after 2017 with v6 TDI or with 2.0 TDI ????

[@RealGX]

Just keep on top of the servicing. It's not as bad as the internet makes out.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

As above, aslong as it's serviced well, should be fine with a V6 TDI. However if anything does happen and it has to be an engine out job, it can get very pricey

[@stefan_jank]

I dont now why Audi cant make it last like every 3.0 Tdi hast these problems

[@FPVForLife]

The chains are like bicycle chains because of cost (corporate greed), and insane emissions standards. Small chains don't need as much power to be spun around and make less friction. Every parasitic load on the engine means burned fuel and thus emissions. That's also why there are no more hydraulic power steering racks. Or why variable oil pumps, AC compressors and high pressure fuel pumps became standard. Or low tension piston rings for less friction (which allow oil burning) with specially treated cylinder linings. The list goes on and on. Like 90-95% of this complicated crap on modern engines is just there to meet these ridiculous emissions standards. The WHO just came up with some numbers, and the EU just made them the law. Done. Ridiculous long life maintenance schedules (as he said, the oil is done at around 6k miles) do the rest.

[@timothyfindlay6253]

Whats the engine code on that ?! CZV?

[@MattCSLnut]

CRTD for the 3.0 V6 TDI (272 HP)

[@rnldmanuel88]

Nice background music.

[@kristianbjrge3209]

Does the amarok v6 engines have the same issues?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Not come across any with the amaroks of yet

[@taydencornish]

Engineering masterpiece of an engine.. Injectors shitting themselves as low as 100k km leaving you stranded, timing chains slapping as low as 200k km, all the plastic coolant items filling the valley with coolant, plastic water pump, oil cooler internal/external leak.. Ask me how I know 👀

[@jakefalk6350]

For me the best 3.0d engine is Mercedes 350cdi engines they do have some issues but not as bad as what you have experienced.

[@AbsolutesausageJockey]

@@jakefalk6350M57 beemer best 3.0d

[@FoookOff]

My CAPA has more than 200k and I’ve had non of those problems

[@taydencornish]

@@FoookOff doesn't mean anything

[@Cristi3453]

Bmw has the worst engines,the garages are fully with them

[@hallga007]

What are you charging for this job currently pls?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Drop us an email to [e-mail] with reg/vin and we can give you a breakdown of costs including labour

[@thefamilyrobbo]

Hope you've taken the repair bill out of Scott's wages 😂

[@richardjudge1955]

Did you not find that the cam gear teeth were worn as well? Seems to be a common issue as well with the teeth wearing out and you can't just replace the gears you can only buy new cams with the gears press fitted on from Audi cost for both banks £4k!! terrifying given how many cars use this engine from VAG range.

[@DarksideDevelopments]

No, the cam gear were fine on this

[@richardjudge1955]

@@DarksideDevelopments lucky wonder which years seem to be affected by this seems to be common issue for certain Audi specialist that’s constantly replacing them along with the timing chains guides and gears.

[@the-eye-in-I-am]

How much is it to fix the rattle

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Drop us an email to [e-mail] with reg/vin and we can give you full costs including labour

[@tidysampler585]

I feel like I finally have to say.. After all the years of watching your videos, I had to leave the petrol world, and get a large diesel. A 2008 Ford Mondeo 2.2D Titanium X estate (Manual). The torque of a 2.2 is well worth it. But is the Ford Q4BA engine tuneable ? On 135,000m. Another interesting video btw 👍

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Probably is a tuneable engine however we only do vag/bmw/mini/porsche diesels. There will be plenty of places to tune a ford though

[@tidysampler585]

@@DarksideDevelopments ok. Many thanks for your reply on my question. I’ll see who can tune my particular car..? Keep up the great work you do by the way. The content on your channel is very inspiring & interesting to watch 👍

[@LMAO2510]

Ford diesel engines are horrendous.

[@tidysampler585]

@@LMAO2510 i understand various types of engines have their inherent disadvantages. But care to elaborate on your experience or example?

[@kenrossaukrsa]

Welcome to Ryan toy world 😂 (me again)

[@MadRex22623]

How much did it all cost to fix the timing chain rattle? Labor and parts?

[@GLH8]

Darksides website say they charge £60/hr. Ryan said this took 26hours, so £1560 in labour, +VAT

[@jamesmccracken185]

My mate got his done at audi. Cost him 7k

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Drop us an email to [e-mail] for cost including parts and labour

[@ukvette]

Are they the same engine unit as the 2013 V6 Touareg?

[@stefanbatorypolskikrol]

Yes

[@ukvette]

Thanks

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Yes pretty much

[@RealGX]

No that is a different engine. That one is similar to the Audi A5 V2 they did. The chain design is slightly different.

[@jahimmfundombombi7653]

I am sorry I don’t understand the point of this video. I was hoping that you would show us how to disassemble and assemble the engine with torque specs

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Was to show you what a common cause of the issue is

[@tonkatoy2879]

if that was a paying customer what sort of cost would they be looking at ??

[@DarksideDevelopments]

For costs, drop us an email to [e-mail] with reg/vin

[@derrelcarter9401]

How many miles do those parts have on them?

[@DarksideDevelopments]

120,000+

[@richardmills5450]

Triumph lol

[@kamilianos]

''what's broke????'' . the owner's wallet mate.

[@GLH8]

I still don't get why Audi have the reputation they do when they keep churning out flawed engines like this.

[@andy110492]

BMW are just as bad though but it also goes to how the car is treated and sercived the audi 3.0tdi is genuinely a good strong engine

[@MattCSLnut]

@@andy110492 ... I'd say BMWs are worse in this respect... at least the AUDI timing chains don't snap... unlike the BMW's N47 & the N57 engine timing chains which do 🙈with catastrophic results 🤣

[@martincassels7995]

Still sounds like a bag of nails

[@DarksideDevelopments]

An actual sound clip will be in the next A7 video...might change your mind

[@prrrakrrra]

There was no issue at all. Waste of time and money

[@DarksideDevelopments]

Not really a waste...would be more expensive if it failed completely