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DIY: TSI Timing Chain Tensioner Update

BAM its mitch

Go Kart Champion
I just finished swapping mine out today. I must say that after seeing the old one, the failure makes sense now. Overall, I would rate this about a 6 in difficulty. Just a few notes for anybody who is going to do it.

1. The crank pulley is indexed, it will only go on one way.

2. The dipstick tube should go back on BEFORE you start bolting the engine mount bracket on (DOH!)...however, it is possible to snake it into position after the fact but it is a bit of pain in the ass.

3. I would definitely recommend acquiring the "Counter Hold Tool" http://vw.snapon.com/specialtoolsdetail.aspx?itemid=17090006 for the crank pulley. I made something like erball did, but unless you have a welder, you will be shit out of luck.

4. The bolts that hold the cover on are technically TTY as well, but they weren't included in the kit I ordered from HSTuning. I'm not worried about it, but if you are super anal about being 100% correct, order 15 of them.

5. A good floor jack is really necessary because I was raising and lowering the engine constantly. If I didn't have the nice jack that I have, it would have sucked a lot more.

6. It took an hour and a half to remove the tensioner, and if I had the crank pulley tool it probably would have been similar amount of time to put it all back together. This is WITHOUT rushing. If I had to do it again and I were to rush...it would be easily a 3 hour job.

Now I can breathe easy.


How is the clearance on the crank pulley bolt for the impact gun?

The crank bolt should be replaced shouldn't it?

I think i saw in your other thread that you had PNs for the sealant, cover, bolt, etc. Can you provide those here?

Thanks a lot for doing this!

There is plenty of clearance, pretty much wide open as long as you have the passenger side of the engine dropped down.

The crank bolt should be replaced yes. It is a TTY bolt.
 

chapusin1

Go Kart Champion
How do you know if you need to replace it?


Sent from my iPhone with typos

You don't. It can happen at 10k, it can happen at 60k. The only thing for sure is that when it happens, your engine is gone.

Personally, I have 2k miles left on this car, I'm jumping ship at 60k. I know it happens very rarely but I'm not risking it. The way I see it, it's like a russian roulette-time bomb. I think one way to make your car less prone to happening is to always use the e-brake when you park, that way the chain doesn't slip because of your engine leaning against it (or something like that).
 

GTIProject

Ready to race!
I've completely torn down and rebuilt probably 30+ EA888 TSI motors in the past 3 years and I have some input...

Overall the DIY is good, but missing a few critical steps, and a few small notes.

-ALWAYS re install the crank center bolt (loosely) once you remove the crank pulley. The sprockets that drive the cams and the balance shaft assy are only held together by the center bolt and the serrations in the mating surfaces. Once you release tension on the cam chain, the sprockets like to jump 1-2 teeth if the bolt is not still in place.

-There are TWO marks on the crank pulley, one at 12 o'clock and the other at 4 o'clock. At TDC they help align the pulley sitting correctly on the sprocket.

-I highly suggest replacing the front cover if you remove it, since they tend to leak once removed and put back on (even with new sealant).

-On top of that, a new cover comes with a new front crank seal - which again I recommend replacing.

-You can remove the center bolt with a good 1/2 impact, but tightening it does require quite a bit of elbow grease (150nm + 90 degrees).

-The front cover bolts are TTY and are coated with a hydraulic thread sealant to prevent oil from making its way around the bolts on the upper part of the cover. Failure to use new bolts can sometimes cause oil leaks that seem to come from the mating surface of the timing cover, but actually come from around the bolts. Many guys in my shop have been screwed by this when they re used the bolts.
 

zrickety

The Fixer
I've completely torn down and rebuilt probably 30+ EA888 TSI motors in the past 3 years and I have some input...

Great info, especially about the bolts, thanks. I will be tackling this soon as I've already passed 60k.
 

dave80

Go Kart Champion
TENSIONER [Part#: 06K109467K] $53.44
BOLT cover bolts x15 [Part#: N91096702] $0.38
SCREW crank center bolt x1 [Part#: WHT001760] $2.68
SEALANT [Part#: D174003A2] $23.79
TIMINGCASE cover [Part#: 06H109210Q] $106.14

Lower timing chain cover - tightening sequence for version with 15 bolts
– Tighten bolts -1 to 15- in two stages in the sequence shown:
– 1. Tighten bolts to 8 Nm.
– 2. Turn bolts 45° further



Cover with 15 bolts
– Apply silicone sealant -D 174 003 A2- onto clean sealing surface of new cover, as shown in illustration.
t Thickness of sealant bead: 2 ... 3 mm
 
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timneedscoffee10

Go Kart Champion
Awesome write up - great info here and the other threads about this issue. My 2011 has an 08/10 build date, and just rolled over 50,000 miles yesterday. Going to pick up the kit from hstuning and see if I can get this done over the weekend. Hope to drive this car until she falls apart under me; hopeful that'll be well past this 50k mark!
 

boki

Ready to race!
Sorry to thread jack but if I wanted to swap the timing chain with this too (I'm at 88k miles now - '09 GLI TSI) what part number would that be and is there two chains or one? Thanks.
 

dave80

Go Kart Champion
Sorry to thread jack but if I wanted to swap the timing chain with this too (I'm at 88k miles now - '09 GLI TSI) what part number would that be and is there two chains or one? Thanks.

:readthethread:
 

boki

Ready to race!
^Thanks for the helpful post, I did read the thread and there's no mentioning of timing chain itself...is that a part (or parts since there are two chains I think) that's supposed to last for the lifetime of the engine and it never has to be replaced? Sorry for the noob questions here but have a little patience please.
 

dave80

Go Kart Champion
^Thanks for the helpful post, I did read the thread and there's no mentioning of timing chain itself...is that a part (or parts since there are two chains I think) that's supposed to last for the lifetime of the engine and it never has to be replaced? Sorry for the noob questions here but have a little patience please.

you just change the timing chain tensioner, not the chain.
 
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BAM its mitch

Go Kart Champion
TENSIONER [Part#: 06K109467K] $53.44
BOLT cover bolts x15 [Part#: N91096702] $0.38
SCREW crank center bolt x1 [Part#: WHT001760] $2.68
SEALANT [Part#: D174003A2] $23.79
TIMINGCASE cover [Part#: 06H109210Q] $106.14

Lower timing chain cover - tightening sequence for version with 15 bolts
– Tighten bolts -1 to 15- in two stages in the sequence shown:
– 1. Tighten bolts to 8 Nm.
– 2. Turn bolts 45° further



Cover with 15 bolts
– Apply silicone sealant -D 174 003 A2- onto clean sealing surface of new cover, as shown in illustration.
t Thickness of sealant bead: 2 ... 3 mm


*Note You should also replace the motor mount bolts in the process. I don't have part numbers though.
 

timneedscoffee10

Go Kart Champion
So I'm going to do this this weekend... just want to make sure I understand the sequence of events before I get too far into it - I'm a little confused about removing the crankshaft pulley and the cover.

Do you use the counter-hold tool and an impact gun to pull the crankshaft bolt so that you can remove the pulley, then replace the bolt loosely before removing the cover? Or, does the pulley come off, and then you have to use the counter-hold tool and an impact to remove the crankshaft bolt so that you can remove the cover, and then you replace the bolt loosely?

Sorry for the newb-ish question - better to ask before I'm under the car, haha. I'll take a ton of pictures and see if I can supplement this with an "idiots guide" - but it seems pretty straight forward already.

BTW - I bought the counter-hold tool for this job, but don't ever expect to use it again. If anyone wants to buy it, let me know -- it'll be in the classifieds next week.
 

BAM its mitch

Go Kart Champion
The bolt is what holds the pulley on.
 
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