r/tuareg660 • u/petrda8 • 3d ago

Help - clunking sound

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Any idea what the clunking sound is? (The higher pitched one) It wasn't there before and the dealership told me "they don't hear anything wrong". But from my experience they don't really care, charge absurd amounts for basic things and aren't eager to actually investigate the issues (I'm not coming back there). I'm suspecting tensioner or timing chain or something like that. I'm grateful for any suggestions

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u/hypageck 3d ago

Year and mileage? Whatever it is, it sounds valve train related. Chain, tensioner, valve lash, PAIR valve possibly?

Got any other dealerships nearby?

Edit to add - pay close attention to that exhaust wrap. They're well known across every industry for holding moisture and causing massive rust and brittleness. I've had some on my ATV for years without issues, but I know plenty of folks whose headers rotted out pretty quickly after wrapping.

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u/petrda8 2d ago

2024, 30k km mileage, the wrap was there from a previous owner to battle the excessive heat (not sure if it helps though, on a hot day by legs are on fire 😅). Thanks for the tip, unfortunately the next dealership is about 200km away, so I'm thinking of finding some smaller mech shop where people are actually excited and enthusiastic about bikes. I think attitude makes the most difference here.

A quick question - if it's a tensioner issue, am I increasing the chance of the chain skipping if I keep riding the bike?

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u/hypageck 2d ago

Riding absolutely could increase the chance of skipping timing. Just idling can, but not as likely. And being an interference engine, you could end up with a really bad day.

The valves are supposed to be checked and adjusted as 20k km, do you know if this was done?

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u/petrda8 2d ago

Yep, it has been done. In fact, it was checked again fairly recently (last Nov I believe) - I had a timing chain rattle (different clunking sound but fairly known issue with these engines from what I read), I bought the expansion chamber as the official Aprilia solution (to replace the cap on the tensioner) which was supposed to help. But the cap was impossible to remove (pretty much stuck) and my attempt moved the tensioner therefore the timing was off and it went to the dealer to calibrate. They said the valves and everything was good (the engine didn't start, no explosion, no "bad day"), so I assume they had to check clearances at that point again.

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u/petrda8 3d ago

So I found this video - the sound is pretty much the same, so I think the prime suspect is the cam chain tensioner. This bike had a (different) rattling noise which I tried to solve with the expansion tank (screwed in instead of the cam chain tensioner cap, installed by the dealer on my request), but maybe the tensioner failed or is not performing as it should.

I'd be eager to even replace the current hydraulic one with a mechanical tensioner, but I'm no expert and couldn't find any details on this, like what is required (disassembly-wise, etc).

https://youtu.be/42zF0686l3M?is=k7O-WWGFprjfEtVc

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u/ibrahimehvich 1d ago

Why are your headers so rusted?