1992 Audi 80 2.0E - ticking when warm

My Mrs has a 1992 Audi 80 2.0E (115hp if memory serves, with fuel
injection). At cold start it runs fine and smooth. When at normal warm
temperature, it sounds a bit rougher and there's a persistent ticking
sound that changes tempo with rpm. The engine runs evenly and
power/torque feel fine, and fuel octane is as instructed too. Any
ideas?

I drive a 1970 Volvo 130 with a Stromberg carb myself, so I'm not
familiar with the details of these early 1990's injected Audi engines
- do they have automatic valve clearance adjustment? Any other
diagnoses?

Thanks,
S.

(Please remove the anti-spam part in capital letters from my address
if you answer by e-mail.)

Guess... Cracked exhaust manifold or loose / broken studs for it.

Seppo Sipilä wrote:
> My Mrs has a 1992 Audi 80 2.0E (115hp if memory serves, with fuel
> injection). At cold start it runs fine and smooth. When at normal warm
> temperature, it sounds a bit rougher and there's a persistent ticking
> sound that changes tempo with rpm. The engine runs evenly and
> power/torque feel fine, and fuel octane is as instructed too. Any
> ideas?
>
> I drive a 1970 Volvo 130 with a Stromberg carb myself, so I'm not
> familiar with the details of these early 1990's injected Audi engines
> - do they have automatic valve clearance adjustment? Any other
> diagnoses?
>
> Thanks,
> S.
>
> (Please remove the anti-spam part in capital letters from my address
> if you answer by e-mail.)
>

"Seppo Sipilä" > wrote in message
...
> My Mrs has a 1992 Audi 80 2.0E (115hp if memory serves, with fuel
> injection). At cold start it runs fine and smooth. When at normal warm
> temperature, it sounds a bit rougher and there's a persistent ticking
> sound that changes tempo with rpm. The engine runs evenly and
> power/torque feel fine, and fuel octane is as instructed too. Any
> ideas?
>
> I drive a 1970 Volvo 130 with a Stromberg carb myself, so I'm not
> familiar with the details of these early 1990's injected Audi engines
> - do they have automatic valve clearance adjustment? Any other
> diagnoses?
>
> Thanks,
> S.
>
> (Please remove the anti-spam part in capital letters from my address
> if you answer by e-mail.)
>

Yes, automatic valve clearance. You'll only hear them when cold and for
seconds only.
No idea about your problem though.

Ronald

Tony wrote:
> Guess... Cracked exhaust manifold or loose / broken studs for it.
>
> Seppo Sipilä wrote:
>
>> My Mrs has a 1992 Audi 80 2.0E (115hp if memory serves, with fuel
>> injection). At cold start it runs fine and smooth. When at normal warm
>> temperature, it sounds a bit rougher and there's a persistent ticking
>> sound that changes tempo with rpm. The engine runs evenly and
>> power/torque feel fine, and fuel octane is as instructed too. Any
>> ideas?
>>
>> I drive a 1970 Volvo 130 with a Stromberg carb myself, so I'm not
>> familiar with the details of these early 1990's injected Audi engines
>> - do they have automatic valve clearance adjustment? Any other
>> diagnoses?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> S.
>>
>> (Please remove the anti-spam part in capital letters from my address
>> if you answer by e-mail.)
>>
That is a possibility, but it could also be a lazy hydraulic tappet (ie
the bit that does the auto valve clearance adjustment. The two sound
quite similar: A friend once had a Mk3 Escort, with hydraulic tappets,
and spent a lot of time with engine flush and the like trying to cure
the tapping. He was on the verge of changing them, but asked a mechanic
to look first. He found several loose manifold nuts.
If it is the tappets, it's not too bad a job. You have to remove the
camshaft, but then the bucket tappets just lift out.

> >> My Mrs has a 1992 Audi 80 2.0E (115hp if memory serves, with fuel
> >> injection). At cold start it runs fine and smooth. When at normal warm
> >> temperature, it sounds a bit rougher and there's a persistent ticking
> >> sound that changes tempo with rpm. The engine runs evenly and
> >> power/torque feel fine, and fuel octane is as instructed too. Any
> >> ideas?
> >>
> >> I drive a 1970 Volvo 130 with a Stromberg carb myself, so I'm not
> >> familiar with the details of these early 1990's injected Audi engines
> >> - do they have automatic valve clearance adjustment? Any other
> >> diagnoses?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> S.
> >>
> >> (Please remove the anti-spam part in capital letters from my address
> >> if you answer by e-mail.)
> >>
> That is a possibility, but it could also be a lazy hydraulic tappet (ie
> the bit that does the auto valve clearance adjustment. The two sound
> quite similar: A friend once had a Mk3 Escort, with hydraulic tappets,
> and spent a lot of time with engine flush and the like trying to cure
> the tapping. He was on the verge of changing them, but asked a mechanic
> to look first. He found several loose manifold nuts.
> If it is the tappets, it's not too bad a job. You have to remove the
> camshaft, but then the bucket tappets just lift out.

My 1988 Audi 100 makes a similar noise, and I was told it's from a
hydraulic tappet. They said I shouldn't worry, which is difficult. Is
it true that it doesn't matter?

Christoph
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Christoph,
Yes, it's true that it doesn't matter. My '87 5ktq had some noisy lifters
when I got it a few years ago, the switch to synthetic oil and proper filter
(with a check valve) helped somewhat - I also used an engine flush which
helped immensely, and I put a can of (IIRC) Wynn's Engine Restore in with
every oil fill. I've heard some Audis that sound like they have a
typewriter under the hood - the common advice is that it won't hurt the
engine, just your pride when every pedestrian turns to see your clattering
car. If it worries you so much, the hydraulic tappets are fairly easy to
replace (just pull the camshaft and replace the tappets), and not too
expensive to buy. Since the job involves releasing the timing belt - you
could change it as well while you're in there...
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

"Christoph Bollig" > wrote in message
...
> > >> My Mrs has a 1992 Audi 80 2.0E (115hp if memory serves, with fuel
> > >> injection). At cold start it runs fine and smooth. When at normal
warm
> > >> temperature, it sounds a bit rougher and there's a persistent ticking
> > >> sound that changes tempo with rpm. The engine runs evenly and
> > >> power/torque feel fine, and fuel octane is as instructed too. Any
> > >> ideas?
> > >>
> > >> I drive a 1970 Volvo 130 with a Stromberg carb myself, so I'm not
> > >> familiar with the details of these early 1990's injected Audi engines
> > >> - do they have automatic valve clearance adjustment? Any other
> > >> diagnoses?
> > >>
> > >> Thanks,
> > >> S.

8< snip

> My 1988 Audi 100 makes a similar noise, and I was told it's from a
> hydraulic tappet. They said I shouldn't worry, which is difficult. Is
> it true that it doesn't matter?
>
> Christoph
> --
> Important: Emails sent to me which contain my full name
> in the "to:" or "cc:" field will bypass my spam filter.
> With most programs "Reply" should do the job.

Hi Steve,

> Yes, it's true that it doesn't matter. My '87 5ktq had some noisy lifters
> when I got it a few years ago, the switch to synthetic oil and proper filter
> (with a check valve) helped somewhat - I also used an engine flush which
> helped immensely, and I put a can of (IIRC) Wynn's Engine Restore in with
> every oil fill. I've heard some Audis that sound like they have a
> typewriter under the hood - the common advice is that it won't hurt the
> engine, just your pride when every pedestrian turns to see your clattering
> car. If it worries you so much, the hydraulic tappets are fairly easy to
> replace (just pull the camshaft and replace the tappets), and not too
> expensive to buy. Since the job involves releasing the timing belt - you
> could change it as well while you're in there...

Thanks for the advice. I will probably try to play around with the
engine flush and type of oil. I don't feel comfortable (yet) to mess
around with the camshaft and valves yet.

Christoph

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in the "to:" or "cc:" field will bypass my spam filter.
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My 1988 A100 has the tappet problem occasionally. Strangely it always
does it on the journey home from Speedway! This particular journey is
usually at night (so cool) and starts with queuing. After I clear the
queue I can hear it clicking for about 1 mile before it clears. Don't
know if there's some theory behind that.
When I first got my car a mechanic said sounds like a cracked exhaust
manifold. So I investigated and indeed it was. A broken studd too.
Horrible job fixing that. This was many years ago but I seem to remember
that noise was a little louder than the tappets one. More of a slap than
a tap. This noise was worse when cold too. I'm guessing expansion in the
heat closes up any gaps.

Gary

Rather than experimenting with filters I would suggest that you buy the Audi OEM
filter (Mahle). They support a higher volume of oil flow than most after market
filters which may, very well be, be one source of the problem. They will cost
very little more than after market filters.

Tony

Christoph Bollig wrote:

> Hi Steve,
>
>
>>Yes, it's true that it doesn't matter. My '87 5ktq had some noisy lifters
>>when I got it a few years ago, the switch to synthetic oil and proper filter
>>(with a check valve) helped somewhat - I also used an engine flush which
>>helped immensely, and I put a can of (IIRC) Wynn's Engine Restore in with
>>every oil fill. I've heard some Audis that sound like they have a
>>typewriter under the hood - the common advice is that it won't hurt the
>>engine, just your pride when every pedestrian turns to see your clattering
>>car. If it worries you so much, the hydraulic tappets are fairly easy to
>>replace (just pull the camshaft and replace the tappets), and not too
>>expensive to buy. Since the job involves releasing the timing belt - you
>>could change it as well while you're in there...
>
>
> Thanks for the advice. I will probably try to play around with the
> engine flush and type of oil. I don't feel comfortable (yet) to mess
> around with the camshaft and valves yet.
>
> Christoph
>

Hi again,

Just to make sure I understand this correctly:

> Yes, it's true that it doesn't matter. My '87 5ktq had some noisy lifters
> when I got it a few years ago, the switch to synthetic oil and proper filter
> (with a check valve) helped somewhat -

Do you mean the oil filter? I didn't know there were any with or
without check valve.

> I also used an engine flush which
> helped immensely,

I asked someone at a spares shop today who used to work for Audi/VW.
He thought an engine flush is not a good idea at such a high mileage
(220 k km), since it would remove some of the carbon which holds the
oil in place.

> and I put a can of (IIRC) Wynn's Engine Restore in with
> every oil fill.

I don't know whether that's available here, will have to check.

Thanks anyway, I will keep you updated.

Christoph

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