A3 2.0tdi ticking noise

Martintl

Martintl

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Cars has a very loud and very annoying ticking noise. Im not very familiar with the CR engines but ive narrowed it down to this. Seems to tick louder as you rev it. Had my cambelt done last night with all new tensioners etc so i know its not that.
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Post a video of it?

That part is the high pressure fuel pump.

Nearly £1000 from Audi, however, refurbished ones available on eBay for around £400 and they'll want your's as exchange.

My car is beginning to do the same, but only at idle. When you rev it the noise goes away?
 
Sayam said:
Post a video of it?

That part is the high pressure fuel pump.

Nearly £1000 from Audi, however, refurbished ones available on eBay for around £400 and they'll want your's as exchange.

My car is beginning to do the same, but only at idle. When you rev it the noise goes away?
Click to expand...

When i rev mine, the noise continues!


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That part is the fuel pump and mine does it too...I'd look there first.
 
Ill get a video up soon. Ive done some digging and the part is a "fuel tempature sender" but im undecided whether the noise is coming from that or the fuel meter below it


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Can you circle the part you mean on the pic?

Get a stethoscope or a screwdriver and put your ear to it.
 
Same thing happened to my car when I had the timing belt replaced its been over a year now and I've had no issues gone to multiple mechanics to get an opinion they all said don't worry about it unless I start experiencing issues like misfires or loss of power etc
 
Funny you should say that. Mine loses power down hills? Seems to like bog down and the noise seems to be getting louder. Driving me mad.


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Ive been told its an inline fuel filter with a tempature sensor on the end


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So you were told that the inline fuel filter is making the noise? Cause last time I checked the fuel filter and temperature sensor don't have any moving parts in order to make the ticking sound
 
No, i said it sounds like that thats ticking, but then i got told it was an inline filter..


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I still think it's the part below it, the fuel pump as this has a cam inside that surely must wear...
 
Im 99% sure its the high pressure fuel pump mine started ticking after having the whole timing kit done I've took it to multiple garages and they all said its the pump they also one of the garages gave me a stethoscope to listen to the part ticking away to verify its not the injectors I hear also what rpm is the ticking most audible mine is around 1200rpm any higher the engine starts drowning the noise out
 
Mine does the same, I spoke to a tech and he said not to worry about it as there loud diesel engines anyways, I just had my timing belt done at the time but noticed it before .. It is annoying but I only hear it if I open a window and your driving past parked cars etc. I think its the metal part below the circle in the pic

I think its the characteristics of the car (well im hoping) lol

Car drives perfect so im not going to worry to much that's for sure

Mine is a 2011 2.0TDI 170
 
But I've heard of them collapsing and sending metal fragments through the whole fuel system?!

Mine is only metallic rattle at idle, soon as you raise rpm to even 1000 rpm the noise goes away...there must be some mechanism that takes the slack up or the fact it's moving faster?

3 nights ago, purely by chance, a guy pulled up at the petrol station with exactly the same car as mine, his engine was so quiet when I went over to ask him to start it (so I could listen to the fuel pump I explained) he told me it was running!
 
Sayam said:
Mine is only metallic rattle at idle, soon as you raise rpm to even 1000 rpm the noise goes away...there must be some mechanism that takes the slack up or the fact it's moving faster?
Click to expand...

The HP pumps are radial piston type. So if you're getting a rattle at low rpm that disappears at speed this could be worn pump piston springs..i.e. bottoming out when given time.

Healthy radial pumps should not rattle (to state the obvious).
 
My rattle stays all the way through the rev range!


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I checked mine again last night, you can't really hear it on tick over just when you put you foot on the throttle ... It's not excessive, it's most likely me as when I get a new car I hear for noises that should not be there.

I'm getting mine mapped soon so I will let you know what the tech says as they told me they check the car over before they do anything
 
vag-tech said:
The HP pumps are radial piston type. So if you're getting a rattle at low rpm that disappears at speed this could be worn pump piston springs..i.e. bottoming out when given time.

Healthy radial pumps should not rattle (to state the obvious).
Click to expand...

The car has done motorway mileage all it's life and certainly while in my ownership I'm not afraid to open the taps on the motorway and enjoy the car.

I can only assume (having zero mechanical knowledge) that this has lead to a higher wear rate on the springs and hence they're knackered.

The metallic rattle is really awful, even people that know nothing about cars can identify something isn't right lol!

What is your opinion on the reconditioned ones available on eBay? Because they range in price from about £350 all the way up to nearly £1200 for a brand spanking one...
 
Did anyone get to the bottom of this. As my a4 does the same along with a slightly uneven idle.
 
Well from what I've gathered on them is that they're run on the timing belt and they might be timed much like the piston and cams so could be a chance the timing is out of sync for the pump
 
King720 said:
Well from what I've gathered on them is that they're run on the timing belt and they might be timed much like the piston and cams so could be a chance the timing is out of sync for the pump
Click to expand...

That's the case with the old style diesels. The newer common rails don't require pump timing.
 
King720 said:
Im 99% sure its the high pressure fuel pump mine started ticking after having the whole timing kit done I've took it to multiple garages and they all said its the pump they also one of the garages gave me a stethoscope to listen to the part ticking away to verify its not the injectors I hear also what rpm is the ticking most audible mine is around 1200rpm any higher the engine starts drowning the noise out
Click to expand...

Did you ever get this sorted?

I think I have a similar tappy, ticking noise, only once the engine is warm, that's most apparent at 1200-1400 rpm (Audi A3 2.0 TDI). I can't say for sure that it's not there at higher revs. but it isn't apparent at less than 1200 rpm. It's present both on the road and at a standstill.

However, looking under the bonnet it seems more like its coming from around the top of the engine where the injectors are.
 
Many CR diesels have this ticking after a new perfectly time timing belt, been there with that worry
 
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aqibi2000 said:
Many CR diesels have this ticking after a new perfectly time timing belt, been there with that worry
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply aqibi2000. I'd noticed that people in this thread had also said they'd just had timing belts done. "Coincidentally" mine was done less than a thousand miles ago. I've just bought the car so I really couldn't say if it was there before the TB change or if it began directly after. It wasn't something I noticed on viewing/test drive as it isn't apparent at idle or higher revs (is that fitting with the TB issue?).

But the sound is pretty distinct between 1200-1400 rpm and really doesn't sound healthy. Do you know what the ticking/timing belt issue relates to/what causes it? ..or do you know where I might get more info?

Also, "been there", did you experience it? Did it go away?!
 
So read a post somewhere where 1 person had a wrecked hpfp. Other than that my 2 experiences with this on CR Engines and 3-4 posts from others I've read either the noise dampened slightly over use or just lived with it.

Don't have anything particularly factual to say why precisely it happens on a perfectly timed with locking tools and vcds torsion value checked on for the timing belt.

Btw your description matches with mime, while in neutral you press throttle and let go, it makes the evident ticking/tapping/clicking

Wait for some clown to jump in and say I've done 787448866 of these and never had the issue ... "Mate it's installation error"

Still bugs me as to what it is
 
I found threads referring to the HPFP too, that was what worried me (total fuel system rebuild if it fails). However, the sound in my engine seems to come from up near the fuel injectors whereas they all say the sound is coming from the common rail pump. Then, I just found this video, somewhat similar sound to mine I think but he also says it comes from HPFP (in comments):

Do you know if yours sounds like its coming from the HPFP?

I hear mine while driving too (in first and second mostly and in the 1200-1400 rpm range), that's what started annoying me. I have receipts for the TB, it was done in an Audi garage so you'd think they would have picked up if there were any problems ..although I know what a lot of people on here think of the dealer mechanics.

So anyway, you've decided to live with yours? Did you ever get a second opinion on it at a garage?
 
I have the exact same noise on my A3 2011 but I do not have any of the bad symptoms such as loss of power, car struggling to start etc...
I decided to bring the car to a Diesel specialist to get the car diagnosed and have piece of mind, they checked the pump by removing the head and didn't find any metal bits in the pump neither on the head (they even used a microscope for the head), they also checked the readings with their software and all reading seemed to be matching requirements, the only thing they have found was that the fuel filter has not been changed since 2013, changing the fuel filter didn't remove the noise.
One thing they told that was interesting was that they disconnected the plug from the pump head and the noise was gone (doing so will introduce a error code), so they tried to fit a new head on the pump but the noise came back so that got them confused as they have seen that and can't really fault the car, they said to me that I could change the pump if I wanted that would an expensive bet as they are not even sure it will cure the problem (if it is a problem).

So I guess what I have learnt from that is that a ticking sound coming from the high pressure pump does not mean you are in the worst case scenario, as I can read here some people just drive with noise and doesn't seem to cause any issue, as for me I have decided to drive the car a bit longer and see if the new fuel filter could potentially cure the problem ( i will this thread updated) , on the other hand I will keep googling for answers.

I could potential replace the pump but we are talking about £922 + 20% VAT (that is pump (£422 + VAT), cambelt and labour)

Almost forgot, another thing the guy from the garage suggested was to bring the car at Audi for diagnostic as he said that the pump head communicates with the sensor on the fuel rail (which made me feel better as the pump the noise was gone when disconnecting the plug from the head, which means there is nothing wrong with the internal pump components movements as it is driven by the cambelt) and that it might need a software/firmware update but I am not too sure about that, knowing Audi they will just try to take as much money as they can from you and tell you to change the pump.

I hope it will give you guys some more info and I wait for your comments
 
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vinee59 said:
I have the exact same noise on my A3 2011 but I do not have any of the bad symptoms such as loss of power, car struggling to start etc...
I decided to bring the car to a Diesel specialist to get the car diagnosed and have piece of mind, they checked the pump by removing the head and didn't find any metal bits in the pump neither on the head (they even used a microscope for the head), they also checked the readings with their software and all reading seemed to be matching requirements, the only thing they have found was that the fuel filter has not been changed since 2013, changing the fuel filter didn't remove the noise.
One thing they told that was interesting was that they disconnected the plug from the pump head and the noise was gone (doing so will introduce a error code), so they tried to fit a new head on the pump but the noise came back so that got them confused as they have seen that and can't really fault the car, they said to me that I could change the pump if I wanted that would an expensive bet as they are not even sure it will cure the problem (if it is a problem).

So I guess what I have learnt from that is that a ticking sound coming from the high pressure pump does not mean you are in the worst case scenario, as I can read here some people just drive with noise and doesn't seem to cause any issue, as for me I have decided to drive the car a bit longer and see if the new fuel filter could potentially cure the problem ( i will this thread updated) , on the other hand I will keep googling for answers.

I could potential replace the pump but we are talking about £922 + 20% VAT (that is pump (£422 + VAT), cambelt and labour)

Almost forgot, another thing the guy from the garage suggested was to bring the car at Audi for diagnostic as he said that the pump head communicates with the sensor on the fuel rail (which made me feel better as the pump the noise was gone when disconnecting the plug from the head, which means there is nothing wrong with the internal pump components movements as it is driven by the cambelt) and that it might need a software/firmware update but I am not too sure about that, knowing Audi they will just try to take as much money as they can from you and tell you to change the pump.

I hope it will give you guys some more info and I wait for your comments
Click to expand...

Any luck with getting it away?

I was looking after the ticking noise this morning, and yes, it led me to a fuel pump. Tbh for me it sounds more electric than mechanic.. when I start the car and rev it a bit for 2 minutes theres no ticking sound at all. But after it gets warmer the noise starts (only when you rev it). Problem is its super annoying. And goes on all the way up with the revs. As you were saying that non of the mechanics can really explain the reason feels really frustrating. I can bet it should not be like that. Anyway Ill try to get rid of it soon and let you know whats the expanses of doing that . Also getting the vcds cable on Monday, so we’ll see does something appears when the noise starts after 2 minutes of engine is on. And Ill try to unplug the socket on the top of the pump.

Ill update it next week
 
Well I have spotted that sound on a lot of cars now, even on new cars so I have stopped looking for solutions and just live with it. It is a shame though as the sound is annoying especially during the summer when driving with opened windows.

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Hey guys. Just found this tread. I am driving 2016 a4 2.0tdi. Had my timing belt done and ecu update (recall) few months ago in Audi and since then car has the ticking noise when accelerating at low rpm. Before TB job engine was extremely smooth and refined at least in the cabin. Outside noise at idle is the same. I have also noticed that the ticking is less audiable right after start at cold engine. Pretty much non existing when engine is in dpf burn mode. This makes me think that there is some fuel/ air ratio problem.
 
Hey guys. Just found this tread. I am driving 2016 a4 2.0tdi. Had my timing belt done and ecu update (recall) few months ago in Audi and since then car has the ticking noise when accelerating at low rpm. Before TB job engine was extremely smooth and refined at least in the cabin. Outside noise at idle is the same. I have also noticed that the ticking is less audiable right after start at cold engine. Pretty much non existing when engine is in dpf burn mode. This makes me think that there is some fuel/ air ratio problem. Not sure if mine ticking is the same but would love to find out if anyone got it sorted and how
 
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