Loose bolts on camshaft pulley - Just a heads up

[DB72]

Hi.... Just a bit of as heads up....

 

I got in my Superb 1.4 TSi 2018 (50,000 miles) on Friday night and the engine started making an almighty rattling / clattering / knocking noise.  When I took it to a local indy garage the next day they said it sounds exactly like another Skoda they had in the previous week.

The one they looked at before wasn't a Superb (can't remember which model they said), but it had done similar relatively low mileage and a bolt was loose at the camshaft pulley.  When they investigated mine further they found all the bolts were loose and one of them was just about ready to fall out.  The mechanic's exact words were.... "You have been very very lucky".  It sounds like if the bolt had fallen out it could have dropped down and trashed the timing belt (or other associated timing gear I expect).

 

Not sure if this is a common problem but I've seen a few discussions about when to get the timing belt changed and I can't help feeling that getting it changed at 4 years or 50,000 miles, even if overkill, could possibly mean this being spotted.

 

[J.R.]

Does yours have a belt or a chain?

 

Loose bolts I believe are as a result of an oil leak from a cam actuator, if this has not been resolved the same will likely happen again

[DB72]

2 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Does yours have a belt or a chain?

 

Loose bolts I believe are as a result of an oil leak from a cam actuator, if this has not been resolved the same will likely happen again

 

It's a belt.  The garage removed all the bolts, cleaned out the threads, applied something (thread lock ?) and then re-fitted the bolts.

[J.R.]

Do you know for sure that the belt has not already been replaced?

 

If there is no oil then the loose bolts are almost certainly the result of previous work.

[DB72]

7 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Do you know for sure that the belt has not already been replaced?

 

If there is no oil then the loose bolts are almost certainly the result of previous work.

 

The car is five years old.  I've had it for three years and it had 12,000 miles on it when I got it, so although I'm not 100 percent sure the belt hasn't been replaced previously, it hasn't been done by me since it was 2 years old and had 12,000 on the clock.

[ApertureS]

Common problem.

 

normally caused by a timing belt being done and people don’t replace the bolts like they are meant to - sounds like your garage of choice has done the same.

 

get replacement bolts and refit with medium loctite, no further issues  

[DB72]

26 minutes ago, ApertureS said:

sounds like your garage of choice has done the same.

 

I haven't had the timing belt done, and I've owned the car from 12,000 miles.

[Legacy]

6 hours ago, DB72 said:

 

I haven't had the timing belt done, and I've owned the car from 12,000 miles.

@ApertureS is saying that the bolts are stretch bolts, i.e. one time use only.  New ones are required to prevent the problem reoccurring

[ApertureS]

From the manual

 

[DB72]

33 minutes ago, Legacy said:

@ApertureS is saying that the bolts are stretch bolts, i.e. one time use only.  New ones are required to prevent the problem reoccurring

 

OK.  The mechanic did say at first that new bolts might be needed if they were stretch bolts, but when I went back to pick the car up he was confident that they weren't going anywhere now that he'd used thread lock or whatever it's called.

I'm now wondering how easy it would be to remove them to replace, or do I just leave it for now until the mot and service are due in March and see if I can get them replaced then.

[ApertureS]

32 minutes ago, DB72 said:

 

OK.  The mechanic did say at first that new bolts might be needed if they were stretch bolts, but when I went back to pick the car up he was confident that they weren't going anywhere now that he'd used thread lock or whatever it's called.

I'm now wondering how easy it would be to remove them to replace, or do I just leave it for now until the mot and service are due in March and see if I can get them replaced then.

Thread lock isnt amazing under heat, it softens up. It still works, but less so. 

 

You also have the added risk with stretch bolts of simply the head snapping off the bolt leaving just the threads. 

 

Personally id replace them, can be done in about 30 minutes really, top timing cover and one at a time whilst you rotate engine. 

 

N10546403 is the part number and you need either 5 or 10 depending if you have twin camshaft control or single. Roughly £1 each.

A cheap 1/4 US PRO torque wrench can be had on ebay for £15.

Couple of £ for a tube of loctite.

You could quite easily do it yourself for £30 if you wanted.