BS failing, maybe?

[igiveup]

Had the car running the other day with the hood up. Seemed to be making more of a racket then usual. I was suspecting that the BSM was staring to go. I have 300K on the car. I dropped the pan, from what I can see without digging too much deeper the BSM looks good. The chain looks fine, the cog doesn't show any noticeable wear.
Should there be some visual indication if it is going bad?

 

[oilhammer]

It was going bad the day it left the factory. But usually the chain tensioner casting breaks on the passenger side between the block and the front sealing flange. Often you cannot even tell until you get it apart then it comes out in two pieces. And the part that breaks off is so consistent that one broken chunk will fit against another broken chunk from a different engine almost like a puzzle piece.

And if it gets bad enough, it falls down and wedges itself between the crank sprocket and sealing flange, and explodes outwards:

All from different engines, but they all break the same way.

 

[igiveup]

Thanks Oilhammer. good to hear it from the master. Pictures are helpful, exactly what to look for. I'm a little wary of tackling this job. I've collected all the bits and pieces to do the delete years ago, they've just been waiting for the noise. Putting a lot of miles on the car lately, would suck if it broke 200 miles from home.

 

[zzdiesel]

Getting the oil pan off is the hard part. The delete not too bad.

 

[igiveup]

Yep, broke in the exact spot that Oilhammers pictures show.

 

[igiveup]

Is it T40 bolts that hold the accessory belt pulley on? I may have just stripped them. Don't have my front end slid out far enough to see well inside.
was hoping not to take the whole rad off, but might have to now.

 

[igiveup]

Thanks, was just going by feel. The rust wouldn't let the 6 go in. Took the rad off so all good now

 

[igiveup]

Done, deleted. Finished bolting everything back up last night. Drove it to work this morning. Would not have even been that bad of a job if I wouldn't have busted the rear main seal in the process of pulling the pan off. (Wife was rushing me and I missed those 2 bolts, thought it was just the gasket sticking the pan. D'oh!!). Didn't have the short oil pick up tube so I cut the middle bit out of mine and welded it up shorter. Next on the list Fan Clutch Bearing.

 

[Drewser]

Would not have even been that bad of a job if I wouldn't have busted the rear main seal in the process of pulling the pan off.

You're a better man than I. I did the same job this weekend and found it to be a royal PITA. Much more annoying/challenging than swapping engines on a MKIV. Getting the oil pan off was a doozy, though was easier going on when we pried the subframe down more and wedged it. I have back issues too, so I think my body is just letting me down now. Thankfully, my son and his friend came to the rescue on day 2 and 3.

 

[igiveup]

Unfortunately I've become a bit of a master of removing the transmission from my Passat. Between TC failures and valve body issues, I've pulled that damn thing out at least 7 times. (probably more) got it down to science now. So subframe was the first thing out when I started down the BSM road.

With the BSM gone I do get a bit of vibration right in the 1800-2000 rpm range but nothing that you can't live with. At least a bit of piece of mind that's not what is going to detonate this engine.

Went to pick some parts off a BHW at my local yard. As I was picking the stuff off it I realized that this engine must have been a recent rebuild. bolts weren't all rusted. Thought about pulling the whole thing, then some monkey went and butchered it to get at the exhaust lifters.

 

[oilhammer]

I would imagine this type of thing would be challenging on the ground. With a rack, the B5 is pretty cake easy to work on.

 

[igiveup]

Yeah, it sucks on the ground. Even just tipping the front end up high enough to roll the tranny out can be a pain.

 

[Drewser]

I would imagine this type of thing would be challenging on the ground. With a rack, the B5 is pretty cake easy to work on.

Yes...this is my issue. A lift would make it way easier. Need a maker type shop where you can just rent a lift and specialty tools for a day...or 2.

 

[igiveup]

I've developed a pretty bad oil leak since doing the BSM delete. After lots of searching I think the source of it is from between the camshaft and the tandem pump. Was a slow leak before but now with the increased oil pressure it is really flown'.

I was reading something about a metal crush seal between the head and the tandem pump. Is that what would be the culprit?

 

[DeliveryValve]

The seal could be the issue. I also had an issue with my valve cover. It was slightly warped and would leak near the tandem pump. I only found out after I replaced my tandem pump and it was still leaking. Couple of valve cover gaskets later of various brands, I replaced the cover with a straight used one and the leak stopped.