HELP !! HELP !! HELP!!

[damo.h]

Hi Guys can someone please give a little mechanical assistance... was driving the S3 today and the LOW OIL PRESSURE warning light came on, another mile down the road a loud rattle/ vibration noise seemed to be coming from the engine ( kinda like a diesel car type sound) in 4th with low revs and when changing gear it was at its loudest, in 3rd with a little more revs noise still there but not as loud.. is this serious or an easy fix??? Thanks in advance for any help..

 

[s3dave]

Hi Guys can someone please give a little mechanical assistance... was driving the S3 today and the LOW OIL PRESSURE warning light came on, another mile down the road a loud rattle/ vibration noise seemed to be coming from the engine ( kinda like a diesel car type sound) in 4th with low revs and when changing gear it was at its loudest, in 3rd with a little more revs noise still there but not as loud.. is this serious or an easy fix??? Thanks in advance for any help..

i certainly would stop driving it !
sludgy oil pick up maybe?

 

[mk1chopper]

Hi Guys can someone please give a little mechanical assistance... was driving the S3 today and the LOW OIL PRESSURE warning light came on, another mile down the road a loud rattle/ vibration noise seemed to be coming from the engine ( kinda like a diesel car type sound) in 4th with low revs and when changing gear it was at its loudest, in 3rd with a little more revs noise still there but not as loud.. is this serious or an easy fix??? Thanks in advance for any help..

Could be a damaged/failed oil pump the rattle/vibration being the tappets and cam not getting the required oil into the head hence the low oil pressure. Have you checked your oil level? You've also run the risk of doing further damage by not stopping when the warning light came on.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Either that or low oil.... have you checked the oil level?

<tuffty/>

 

[damo.h]

yeh i had low oil warning last week so filled it up ( be it slightly over the full mark) with shell synthetic, checked it had the code of VW 502.00 on the back of the bottle. Car now in the parked awaiting a mate to have a listen he thinks (worst case) it could be something to do with the crankshaft shell casings in the bottom end or something like that, Maybe the veins got blocked which could of caused the low oil pressure warning to come on before the noise started the the lack of oil could of split the casing... i think that's what he said i don't have a clue if being honest, hopefully not as its a big job and a lot a wonga apparently.

Either that or low oil.... have you checked the oil level?

<tuffty/>

 

[mk1chopper]

Have you had any blue smoke from your exhaust as it sounds like your losing oil if you had the warning last week. You could either be burning oil (blue smoke) or you have a leak somewhere. If its burning oil this might be at the turbo but this wont be shown from your exhaust gas or it could be valve seals or piston rings.

 

[Welly]

Low oil pressure warning light means stop the car NOW! Thats what the warning should actually say IMO. Anyway, then a rattling after continued driving sounds like top end oil starvation to me.

Next to impossible to say without hearing it, but low oil pressure normally makes the heads rattle like a bitch.

Blocked oil pickup pipe, or knackered oil pump are where my money is.

 

[damo.h]

No not loosing oil checked it again last night still the same from when i filled it.not noticed any smoke nor lack of performance its just one noisy biach.

Have you had any blue smoke from your exhaust as it sounds like your losing oil if you had the warning last week. You could either be burning oil (blue smoke) or you have a leak somewhere. If its burning oil this might be at the turbo but this wont be shown from your exhaust gas or it could be valve seals or piston rings.

 

[damo.h]

Yeh i know dude i was literally 1.5 mile from home so thought id chance it..(silly boy) .will post up what i find out. nice thred on the rebuild welly looking fwd to seeing the results when done. good look with that dude.

Low oil pressure warning light means stop the car NOW! Thats what the warning should actually say IMO. Anyway, then a rattling after continued driving sounds like top end oil starvation to me.

Next to impossible to say without hearing it, but low oil pressure normally makes the heads rattle like a bitch.

Blocked oil pickup pipe, or knackered oil pump are where my money is.

 

[mikes3]

Please DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR ANY FURTHER !

2 yrs back, exactly the same happened to me. Low oil pressure light - drove it 1/2 mile home - loud rattling noises etc.
Turned out to be failed oil pump.
£4000 and 3 months later, it was back. Don't make the same mistake !

 

[damo.h]

Could this have anything to do with me topping the oil up to just over the full mark on the dipstick?? or the fact i used shell helix synthetic 5W-40 which has code VW502.00 and VW503.01 plus others on the back, as i have just realised the car was set to long service intervals on first service and according to the manual the oil type is VW 503-01 only would this cause a problem?? It just seems to much of a coincidence..

 

[s3dave]

Could this have anything to do with me topping the oil up to just over the full mark on the dipstick?? or the fact i used shell helix synthetic 5W-40 which has code VW502.00 and VW503.01 plus others on the back, as i have just realised the car was set to long service intervals on first service and according to the manual the oil type is VW 503-01 only would this cause a problem?? It just seems to much of a coincidence..

I put that oil in mine about 5 weeks ago and been fine.... quality oil imo

 

[damo.h]

No worries there it aint going anywhere dude,will need to fire it up tomorrow so a mate can have a listen to her.. what was the extent of the damage mike ???

Please DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR ANY FURTHER !

2 yrs back, exactly the same happened to me. Low oil pressure light - drove it 1/2 mile home - loud rattling noises etc.
Turned out to be failed oil pump.
£4000 and 3 months later, it was back. Don't make the same mistake !

 

[A3Tom]

Blocked oil pick up is also where my money is if there was no smoke or puddles etc.

Drain it and whip the sump off and have a look.

 

[mikes3]

Hey Damo

Damage was fairly extensive.
Crank was cracked and bearings destroyed.
Seemed to attack #2 cylinder more than the others - but had everything replaced, and block machined / polished etc.
Turbo destroyed.
Had a new clutch put on while engine was out.
A few new hoses here and there.
A LOT of heartache.

Sorry ....

 

[Matt82]

oh dear. what warnings did you get on the dash?

 

[mikes3]

Don't want to hijack the thread ...
... when this happened to my car I had the same warning as Damo, red flashing oil can on the centre display. Low oil pressure.

 

[damo.h]

same as... mike did yr engine stop all together or was it still running and drivable

Don't want to hijack the thread ...
... when this happened to my car I had the same warning as Damo, red flashing oil can on the centre display. Low oil pressure.

 

[mikes3]

Was still running (sounding like a tractor) and still drivable. As soon as I got the light on I stopped the car, and dipped the oil. When I knew I had enough oil, logic told me it wasn't getting to the top end somehow, so I dropped in a bit more oil to get me the 1/2 mile home. I sincerely hope you haven't done anything too drastic. Good luck.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Could this have anything to do with me topping the oil up to just over the full mark on the dipstick?? or the fact i used shell helix synthetic 5W-40 which has code VW502.00 and VW503.01 plus others on the back, as i have just realised the car was set to long service intervals on first service and according to the manual the oil type is VW 503-01 only would this cause a problem?? It just seems to much of a coincidence..

Overfilling with oil will typically cause it to be hoofed out the PVC and back into the intake... Oil spec is fine but I would imagine the car was on AVS (Audi Variable Servicing) which is an engine killer IMO... Long life oil is supposed to go over 20k between services... that is just complete **** especially on a performance turbocharged car like an S3

The oil pumps don't fail so much as the oil pick up becomes blocked and causes oil starvation... It typically cheaper/easier/less come back to replace the oil pump than to clean it out which is why dealers replace them...

If the knocking noise gets louder under load then it sounds like the big ends have gone and no doubt the main crankshaft bearings to which rumble more than knock IIRC...

If the noise is more tappety then you may have just got away with it as that could well be the followers not able to fill with oil... either way it doesn't sound good news sadly... lets hope all is not that bad..

<tuffty/>

 

[damo.h]

cheers for the info tuffty i will be getting it switched back to normal service intervals only noticed it was on long life last night...sound more like the crankshaft bearings from what your saying which is what my mate is thinking. will post up results when fault found. Anyway's i think ill go hang my self now

Overfilling with oil will typically cause it to be hoofed out the PVC and back into the intake... Oil spec is fine but I would imagine the car was on AVS (Audi Variable Servicing) which is an engine killer IMO... Long life oil is supposed to go over 20k between services... that is just complete **** especially on a performance turbocharged car like an S3

The oil pumps don't fail so much as the oil pick up becomes blocked and causes oil starvation... It typically cheaper/easier/less come back to replace the oil pump than to clean it out which is why dealers replace them...

If the knocking noise gets louder under load then it sounds like the big ends have gone and no doubt the main crankshaft bearings to which rumble more than knock IIRC...

If the noise is more tappety then you may have just got away with it as that could well be the followers not able to fill with oil... either way it doesn't sound good news sadly... lets hope all is not that bad..

<tuffty/>

 

[Welly]

cheers for the info tuffty i will be getting it switched back to normal service intervals only noticed it was on long life last night...sound more like the crankshaft bearings from what your saying which is what my mate is thinking. will post up results when fault found. Anyway's i think ill go hang my self now

These sort of things happen mate, don't beat yourself up about it.

One thing is for sure, you'll never drive a car with an oil pressure issue anywhere ever again!

 

[damo.h]

welly you aint wrong there dude....big thanks to all !!

 

[damo.h]

quick update a mate had a looksee tonight and is pretty sure its not the big end or the casings, thinks it could be top end starvation. thank foook for that.....said the head will prob need to come off though and its going to pull my pants down and bend me over.. is there any other (cheaper) way like draining it and blowing it through to check for blockages?? please excuse my mechanical ignorance.

Damo