"Slush, slush" noise on cold startup

\"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Hi all,

I have a Skoda Octavia TDI ALH MY2003 with 60.000Km on bord. My car has developed a strange noise on cold startup. The noise is very annoying and came from TB area.
Periodicity of the noise is one “slush” per engine revolution and disappear after engine is well warm up.
I take two pictures of the timing belt, witch seems to be the source of the noise, first one is from a zone of the belt witch seems to touch some parts of the distribution kit, and the other one is from the "normal" belt area.
I know that belt in my car is longlife one, 150.000Km TB change interval, but I'm afraid that milage will not be possible to attain.
What you recommend me to do, to change the hole distribution or is something else more simple and ease to repair?

Thank you very much,
Mihai

http://vwforum.vwforum.ro/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=3201
http://vwforum.vwforum.ro/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=3202

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

I think the slush slush noise is a tensioner, either accessory belt or timing. Mine was timing, and I was glad I did the replacements, as the tensioner was spewing lube all over the timing belt area.

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

So, what can our foreign friend test?

Remove the accessory belt and see it still makes the noise.

Inspect the timing belt area for any indications of failing tensioner.

I notice that oldpoopie says that he will travel to work on cars. I wonder if he has a maximum mileage?

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

I don't know if oldpoopie will fly for 12 h (12000 km)

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

"I don't know if oldpoopie will fly for 12 h (12000 km) " ... You are a very funny guy

The noise is not coming from the accessory belt. I know that because few days ago I sprayed some belt dressing compound and nothing happened.
The timing belt is tracking well and it sits ok on the TB tensioner pulley, the only thing that seems to be wrong is belt itself.
Please look at the pictures attached before and you will see some differences on color and texture in belt margin.

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

?

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

I had that same sound and it was the timing belt tensioner. The sound didn't go away when the car warmed up though. The dealer replaced the tensioner under warranty and I went ahead and had them replace the TB for the price of the parts while they were in there.

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

The pics don't show up for me.
It's gotta be something else than the belt itself. Tensioners or waterpump ...

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Sorry, the website www.vwforum.ro is down

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Ender, the problem with just looking at the belt is that the swish-swish sound is the tensioner itself, not the belt. Here's the worst case scenario:

You're driving your car for a long time after you start hearing the swoosh (I don't want to say a specific time, because I don't want you furious with me when your problem starts before I said it would). As you are driving, the tensioner is spewing lube inside the timing compartment. Finally, the tensioner runs out of lubricant, and CHUNK! It stops turning. When the tensioner seizes, it will rip the hell out of the timing belt, and cause the much-discussed timing catastrophe.

The fact is, I don't have anywhere near enough experience to tell you how long it will take before something nasty happens. If you're going to replace the tensioner, IMHO, you should replace the whole timing series: belt, tensioner, rollers, I don't know about the water pump, it seems a bit early to be having problems with it. Is your car under warranty? This is definitely a warranty issue if you're still covered. If the Skoda engines are similar to the US TDI's, 40k miles is a very short time to have problems with the tensioner.

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

You sure that's the 80/100k mile belt? Doesn't look like it...

I had a similar noise.. turned out to be one of the idler rollers for the timing belt. I know this because I had the belt changed @80k for the 100k belt kit, which includes all new rollers. One of them had a definite chirp to it.

Mine was making the noise for at least 10k miles before I changed it, and it really didn't show any signs of impending failure when it came out (aside from the noise).

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Actually, it does look like the 160,000 km belt...

I also had a (lower small) idler go out on me... at 153,000 km... They can go bad in a hurry!! Sometimes a leaking water pump can cause other problems as well...

I would consider going in some time soon...

Yuri.

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Is something wrong with timing belt, because the sound disappeard when I touch the edge of the belt with a piece of soap . Isn't the rollers or TB tensioner because the sound period is identical with engine rotation period .

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Did the sound go away as soon as you touched the belt with the soap or did the belt make part of a revolution before the sound went away?

The difference would be the difference between moving hte belt changing the sound and the soap itself changing the sound by acting as a lubricant.

I am assuming that the sound came back. So take a ponder on when it came back. then maybe touch the belt with a pen or something that wouldn't act as a lubricant.

It maybe be that the belt is running in one place and touching the side of it moved it jsut enough that it put a different load on the tensioner bearings causing the sound to change or go away.

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

The soap act like a lubricant but the sound come back after few days.
The sound isn't continuos, is a short "slush", frequency of the noise is approx. 15-20% from Tbelt revolution time

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Wierd. I had this same sound for a while last fall and I think into the spring.... but it has since just gone away. I heard it on a damp morning last weekend for the first time in a while and havent heard it since.

I think the sound has something to do with dampness. When my car is parked in the garage I dont get it, but when its left out all night I tend to get it.

\"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Ok Guys, I think I've figured this one out once and for all. There's at least half a dozen threads on this noise floating around these boards. Each time there speculation about timing belt vs accessory belt vs tensioner vs roller yadayadayada.

At at TDI GTG, "DieselProgrammer" showed me how to figure out what was making the noise. While the engine was running, we popped my TB cover open, and carefully placed a flathead screw driver on the engine-block-side of the belt. He gently guided the belt away from the block-side of the TB cover, and VOILA, NOISE WENT AWAY.

It was pretty convincing that the TB was rubbing somewhere, and that it was rubbing on the engine-block side.

Of course, the noise came back the next day as the TB went back to tracking it's usual way.

So, in this case, I'm more than certain that it's NOT the accessory belt nor accessory belt tensioner.

I check my belt regularly and see no rips or tears. I've had the noise for 60,000kms (in the cold only).

\"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

... He gently guided the belt away from the block-side of the TB cover, and VOILA, NOISE WENT AWAY.

It was pretty convincing that the TB was rubbing somewhere, and that it was rubbing on the engine-block side.
...
So, in this case, I'm more than certain that it's NOT the accessory belt nor accessory belt tensioner.

Click to expand...

It is not my case - the sound disappear only when I lubricated the belt on the intake plastic hose side, not on the engine side.

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

Up, please!
Any other ideea?

Re: \"Slush, slush\" noise on cold startup

bump / up

I've got the same problem on my 02 Golf. It doesn't happen every time, but there's a loud swoosh noise about twice every second after some cold start ups. The noise is coming from the belt area near the firewall side of the engine.

Will someone please post a link to a thread that shows how to access and check the timing belt?

I've got 68K miles on the original 80K mile belt. Should I go ahead and schedule a TB change now?

Should I include a new water pump just to be safe?

Me too. I've checked the belt and it looks OK. The noise only happens when the engine is quite cold - It started last winter, went away completely during the spring, and is now back.

68K on it right now, and this is an 03 so supposedly it is a 100K mile belt.

3wl, don't do anything to touch the belt like some of these guys unless you REALLY know what your doing. you could accidently destroy the engine. I'd schedule a TB soon as a lot of the time the noise is the tensioner. Especially if it's as loud as you say. Better safe than sorry.

have the same problem but i think its my alternator belt making the sound. I was filling my window washer bottle and water splilt on the belt when running and the noise disappeared.

Also can be the small idle rollers to. Had one in for intake #81 today and since I had to adjust the tension on the TB anyway I loosened it to check the top roller. If you can spin it free and there is ANY play in it, replace it. It's done. This one was for sure. No more noise.

Here's the thread on what was found this past weekend on Brian's belt which was making that swoosh, swish noise on start up. It was a combination of two things. The top timing belt roller was trashed, perhaps for over 15,000 miles and the serp tensioner pulley roller has bad bearings and loads of play. It was a long life belt 100k mile OEM kit belt replaced at 78,000 by HermTDi in Maine April 2003. Herm did the perfect TB change over, water pump, all rollers and intake cleaning. Changed everything and anything those belts came in contact with ...and with his mechanical perfectionism.

Oddly at 60,000 miles into the new timing belt Brian started hearing noises, noises similiar to what he heard just before he changed the belt at 78,000 miles. I inspected it, found a lot going funky and Oldpoopie drove up to Brian's and replaced it. I don't think the car would have made the trip up to Herms place in Maine. The car sat for 11 days before the TB replacement last Sunday. I use his car regularly and it was a bummer.

M.D.

Mine was doing making the same sound last winter. I tracked to the timing belt(somewhere) spring came and it went away. At 80K I replaced the TB and all rollers. The noise has not returned. None of the rollers looked to be the cause of the noise. So I never really did find it.