Hi All, just created an account on here as I've got an issue with my 2018 Leon's 1.4 ecotsi engine which seems to have been mentioned a couple of times on this forum before, e.g. here:

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/517966-loose-bolts-on-camshaft-pulley-just-a-heads-up/

 

Basically, exactly as in that thread, some of the bolts holding the cover plate onto the end of the exhaust camshaft pulley came loose and one disappeared competely, scoring the inside of the belt cover before presumably falling into the belt well.  I retightened the bolts and replaced the missing one but now the engine is very tappety and almost sounds like a diesel.

 

I'm struggling to understand what's causing the engine to run badly now really as the dropped bolt doesn't appear to have fallen into any pulleys as there's no apparent damage to them or the belt and if the timing had been affected in some ways I'd expect a warning light.  The loose cover did leak a small amount of oil but not much.  Any thoughts on this?   I desperately need to sort this quickly as I can't do my job without this car!

Edited 22 May, 20242 yr by T0MMY

Welcome.

If you had just posted in the thread you linked you might have got a reply.

 

Maybe @ApertureS  or @Crasher  will spot it here now and can help.

Apologies, I wasn't sure I should resurrect an old thread.  I did a lot more googling last night and found references to a technical bulletin for this engine suggesting if those bolts come loose (which is common) you should replace the camshaft adjuster as well as loctiting the bolts.  I'm not really clear how the camshaft adjuster works and why the bolts coming loose would cause it to fail (the loss of oil pressure??) but I wonder if that could be causing my symptoms?

Speculation on my part but it seems to make sense.

 

The bolts come loose because engine oil leaks from the actuator which either softens any thread sealant if it was used or more likely reduces the frictional grip between the flange and pulley allowing it to fret backwards and forwards due to the clearance holes for the bolts, there is no drive dowel and they are not fitted bolts (possibly for timing set up), I am assuming its a clamped flange and not a cover plate, without seeing it I may be wrong.

 

Fitting new bolts does not stop the underlying problem of the oil leak which if severe will prevent the actuator from adjusting the valve timing or maybe its simply the flange having worked loose immediately.

 

It is telling that VAG say the actuator has to be replaced, oil and timing belts are not a good combination, I would remove the belt cover and look again, if there are any signs of fresh oil then replace the actuator ASAP.

Well I had another look today and have found the timing belt is slack between the camshaft pulleys, over an inch of up and down movement.  I'm going to assume that isn't meant to be the case right!?

 

My thinking is that the repeated "tug" on the belt as the loose bolt clattered into the timing belt cover on each rotation has knackered the tensioner, is that a reasonable theory?

If engine is now thought to be not running as well as previously, it is very possible that the belt has 'jumped' a notch on the pulley - the lost bolt could well have fallen between the belt and pulley when it was displaced. It also sounds as if the tensioner has failed. These issues need to be checked immediately before any further damage occurs.   

Edited 26 May, 20242 yr by Warrior193
correction

Yes absolutely, I think I've been extremely lucky here, or at least I hope I have.  It's booked in for Thursday at the garage so I'll get the belt and tensioner etc. changed and get them to check the camshaft adjuster.  

Just to round this off in case anyone with a similar issue in the future finds this thread, it was indeed the cambelt tensioner.  New belt kit sorted it and it now runs perfectly again so all of the rattle sound was from the tensioner itself or the loose belt.  I also got the exhaust pulley changed just to be safe, although it didn't appear to be damaged.

 

Not very impressed that I came so close to a destroyed engine on a 6 year old car with only 54,000 miles that's never missed a service in its life but I guess I was unlucky (or lucky depending on how you look at it).

Just resurrecting this thread. 

My 2018 Skoda Kodiaq 1.4TSI (52,000 miles) has a very similar problem. 

Had the timing belt done at 5yrs old as recommended. 

A couple of weeks ago heard a noise but couldn't figure out what it was, noticed a significant oil leak a day or two. 

Now in the garage (that did the timing belt) and here's the issue:
One bolt is missing (red arrow) and another is loose (orange arrow). The missing bolt must have been loose and backed out, then ground to smithereens as the pulley rotated. The remains are sitting in the housing (teal arrows). The pulley has been squirting out the empty bolt hole, the timing belt is soaked in it.

 

Think I need a replacement variable timing pulley and seal behind it, plus a new timing belt. Does that sound about right? (I'm not going to do this myself).

 

Second question - could this be related to the timing belt replacement 18 months ago? Sounds like it's an oil leak that causes the bolts to loosen, but that was not an issue previously. 

 

The garage have just told me they don't want to do the work.... from what I've read, I'm wondering if they may be at fault or is at one of those things?

 

Thanks

15 hours ago, PTV said:

Second question - could this be related to the timing belt replacement 18 months ago?

As a non-expert I would be thinking yes it absolutely could.

It's also very suspicious that the garage doesn't want the work to put it right.

I think you need an expert second opinion from a mechanic that can inspect the vehicle, and if they tell you the garage is at fault, chase them up for repair costs.

Who last worked in that area? - the garage that changed the timing belt.

 

Who should have noticed loose bolts or didn't tighten bolts correctly while working in that area? - the garage that changed the timing belt.

 

As @EnterName says it's very suspicious that they don't want to put it right. I also agree that you should get an expert second opinion and if he/she agrees with us then "have a discussion" with the garage that changed the timing belt.

 

BTW the Skoda UK advice to change the timing belt every 5 years was withdrawn earlier this year - it was totally out of step with the rest of the VAG empire and made no engineering sense.

Edited 4 October, 20241 yr by PetrolDave

Thanks both. It's a small independent garage who have always been pretty good so don't really want to kick up a fuss but I'll get an opinion from where I take it.

 

Thanks for the info re timing belt change - mine was done 18 months ago so just before the guidance withdrawn 🙈

7 hours ago, PTV said:

Thanks both. It's a small independent garage who have always been pretty good so don't really want to kick up a fuss but I'll get an opinion from where I take it.

Any garage that rejects work and doesn't put you in touch with another garage who can & will do the work are failing you.

Good luck sorting this out, do let us know how you get on.

 

Incidentally, today I took a box of chocs into my preferred garage.

I'd had to take my wife's car to another garage for a cambelt change and a big service.

The other garage did a the work, but they'd over-filled the brake fluid and under-filled the coolant without providing additional coolant to top it up.

When I contacted them about the coolant problem, they told me to top it up with water, which I found unsatisfactory.

Anyway, it made me appreciate my usual garage a little more, hence me dropping in with a box of chocs and my appreciation for their attention to detail.

There appears to be a couple of other related posts to this on this fourm and

I have a VW (sorry I know) Tiguan 2018 1.4 TSI

My camshaft adjuster bolts have also come loose. VW are refusing to admit any manufactuer fault due to the incorrect torque being used. Oil and metal shavings have gone in my engine.

I'm building a case to the motor ombudman. Do you have any further information about this? I've also seen 2 other related posts and people are saying they've seen the same things too on my reddit posts.

Same here, same engine, VW Passat 2018. Happened yesterday at 107700 km.

Timestamp on belt is 2018-01-15 - last 6 numbers, meaning noone been replacing it before.

Going to loosen bottom cover tomorrow to see if the bolt has fallen down.

On 31/01/2026 at 12:35, techen said:

There appears to be a couple of other related posts to this on this fourm and

I have a VW (sorry I know) Tiguan 2018 1.4 TSI

My camshaft adjuster bolts have also come loose. VW are refusing to admit any manufactuer fault due to the incorrect torque being used. Oil and metal shavings have gone in my engine.

I'm building a case to the motor ombudman. Do you have any further information about this? I've also seen 2 other related posts and people are saying they've seen the same things too on my reddit posts.

How do you know that shavings gone into engine?

The whole construction of cogs, wheels and the belt are hanging outside the engine with 2 plastic and 1 metal covers barely sealed, dust and other particles are getting inside all the time, but they never reach inner engine.

I'm mostly worried about shavings damaging the belt itself, creating tiny cracks that could get larger with time..

Edited 2 February2 Feb by FearDC

Thanks FearDC. Yet another one...

Apologies for the terminology, by in the engine I meant all over the timing belt and gears.

It isn't just a replacement of the timing belt and cambshaft gears, it requires a good clean to remove any contamination too.

UK related, previous VWŠkoda UK robbing b*stards con about the general timing belt needing changing in the UK at 50,000 miles or 5 years when elsewhere it was 180,000 miles or 15 years.

"The new advice is to use the intervals recommended in ElsaPro for all engines. For some variants, this means that there is no service interval at all, with 'fitted for life' items that can be considered as 15 years or '18O,000 miles. Because of the disparity in intervals, you must check the relevant literature for each case and advise the customer accordingly."

CamBeltchangechange.pdf

Where did you manage to get that from? Thank you for this!

Very freely available in many posts on Briskoda (this) website somebody put it up and I've reposted it a good number of times. Unfortunately I saw it after and not before my wife had paid out £429 for the replacement from the conning robbing b*stards at out local VWŠkoda Dealership. The Technicial Bulletins (or whatever they call them) are well hidden but can be very good to get your hands on with secret (non) Recalls and knowing issues but still conning customers to pay for the repair.

Good luck. It's a pity people in the UK didn't get together to get the money back on the belt and other scans but that's how it is here which is why the likes of VW know they can get away with stuff here they can't elsewhere.

22 hours ago, techen said:

Thanks FearDC. Yet another one...

Apologies for the terminology, by in the engine I meant all over the timing belt and gears.

It isn't just a replacement of the timing belt and cambshaft gears, it requires a good clean to remove any contamination too.

I did this myself today, was hard to get the bolt out without disassembling alot of stuff, but managable.

The shavings were soft aluminium flakes from the middle cover and plastic from the top cover. The bolt was not too damaged, meaning it didn't drop many flakes of hard stainless steel.

I guess I was very lucky that bolt didn't hit somewhere hard. But I did stop the engine as soon as I heard the knocking sound and never started it again until fully cleaned up.

The bottom plastic cover has 3 top screws, but it partially lays behind the largest wheel that rotates the generator belt. So I could just bend the plastic in order to get the nozzle with compressed air inbetween, then used a small telescopic magnet to capture the bolt. It took a while, blowed at many different angles, and finally it got stuck.

Then total cleanup with alot of compressed air again, moving the camshaft manually by hand, centimeter by centimeter. The belt looks good, so I'm skipping the replacement this time, don't really have 1500 euro to throw away right now. But yes, if the belt got damaged, then I might be fu*ked up at some point 🤦‍♂️

Also contacted local VW dealer here in Sweden, asked if there were any recalls on this issue - nope, nothing on recall or guarantee list. Fu*k them! =)

Edited 3 February3 Feb by FearDC

Hi

I just had this same failure on my VW Passat - the bolt backed out and started catching the aluminium casing just below the timing cover. The cover hadn't started leaking so I reinserted the bolt with a small amount of thread lock. The other bolts were all loose. It has had a timing belt done about 3 years ago. Would it be worth replacing the bolts, or just check they're torqued to spec?

Ben

26 minutes ago, bbroadbent said:

Hi

I just had this same failure on my VW Passat - the bolt backed out and started catching the aluminium casing just below the timing cover. The cover hadn't started leaking so I reinserted the bolt with a small amount of thread lock. The other bolts were all loose. It has had a timing belt done about 3 years ago. Would it be worth replacing the bolts, or just check they're torqued to spec?

Ben

Put locktite on before tightening.

If you’ve caught it that early I think you’d be fine just tightening the bolts to spec like you suggested just use some thread lock on.

My case has been accepted with the ombudsman and waiting an adjudicator. Thanks for posting I will include another report of this to the case.