My Cam Chain Tensioner Seal Replacement

[mopower]

Yesterday I finally got around to replacing my valve cover gasket and cam chain tensioner seal / gasket. This is pretty straight forward and was less trouble than I had thought at first from reading some posts. The car is a 2000 1.8T with around 130k miles on it. The cam tensioner was not making any noise so I was not replacing it. What I was getting was a smell of burning oil, I hope this at least reduces that problem. There was a good amount of oily buildup on the back of the head around the cam chain tensioner.

I removed the valve cover, then removed the 4 T30 screws holding the cam chain tensioner down, that allowed the body of the tensioner to move up about a half inch. I removed all old gaskets, cleaned the surfaces well, and installed the new gaskets and sealants. First I installed the cam chain tensioner gasket and half moon (the half moon was the hardest part since space is so limited), using RTV sealant on the edges. I then retourqued the cam chain tensioner. Valve cover gasket was a breeze with sealant in the edges, and then retorqued it down. Added the coils and covers and it was all done. Now I just need to drive it and see if the smells are all gone or not!

Here are some pictures.
Everything removed:


Cam chain tensioner raised up half inch:


Top view of cam chain tensioner:

[Beinet]

Seems pretty straigth-forward! Please let us know if you have got rid of the burnt oil smell....I have the same problem

[woodardhsd]

So you didn't have to compress the chain tensioner at all? I like the sound of that.

[mopower]

Just lift up on the tensioner and it moves.

Looks like I need to do a little more work to get this car to stop smelling completely. Stay posted for more pictures...

[aqua70]

I have the same vehicle, engine(ATW), and same smell. But my tensioner did not move up when I removed the 3 bolts. Can you provide us all with more insight as to how you were able to remove it and the gasket.
Thanks.

[aran]

I've been putting this off for a year, I was under the impression that the intake cam(I think) had to be removed for the cct to move up enough to rplace the gasket...interesting

[arpad]

'But my tensioner did not move up when I removed the 3 bolts. '

Maybe because he said FOUR bolts not three !

[TwoManyPassats]

You'll get more movement by clamping it. There are two tings keeping it expanded, oil pressure and a spring. When unbolted, the oil pressure will go away. The spring isn't really that strong, but depending on the cam positions when the engine was shut off, the amount of play will vary.

[TwoManyPassats]

Originally Posted by aran

I've been putting this off for a year, I was under the impression that the intake cam(I think) had to be removed for the cct to move up enough to rplace the gasket...interesting

It can be done, but is a lot more awkward and increases the chance of accidentally getting RTV in an oil passage.

[mopower]

Originally Posted by TwoManyPassats

You'll get more movement by clamping it. There are two tings keeping it expanded, oil pressure and a spring. When unbolted, the oil pressure will go away. The spring isn't really that strong, but depending on the cam positions when the engine was shut off, the amount of play will vary.

I didn't need to clamp anything. Once the screws were out I just lifted up on it until the housing was all the way up on the tensioner shaft. Once there is stayed up. Pushing it back down actually took more effort as there was resistance from the spring, but you push it back down and start the screws to hold it in position. It is really easy to do.

You need to remove the cam to remove the tensioner, but you can change the seals without touching the cams.

[mopower]

Here is another leak area. I have looked at this from the top and the bottom but I don't know what to think. there is only oil on the hose leaving the leaving the turbo going down to the pipe that goes to the intercooler. You can see the oil on the top of the hose in the picture, and the oil drips off the hose at the bottom to the belly pan. I can't see oil on the turbo, atleast nothing looks wet. Where is this coming from??

[NoLagWag]

x2. Same year and same oil on hose.

[mopower]

Has anyone else had this problem?

[Nussbaum]

I just changed my valve cover gasket today (AEB 1.8T engine). I had also purchased the 2 seals for the cam chain tensioner, hoping to replace them as shown here. I slowly leak oil in that area. But I could not compress the tensioner, and I could not lift it at all. I ended up not using the 2 seals, and just replaced the valve cover gasket. Wondering if there is a difference between AEB and Mopower's ATW.

Things did look good under the valve cover. No sludge, some varnish on the cover, a slight bit of wear on edges of the exhaust cam lobes.

[l1tech]

I have done tons of these over the years and your description of it just doesn't sound right. I have never been able to get enough room by simply just unbolting the cct, granted by doing just this you can wiggle the gasket in there but I can't see how you could replace the half moon as well. I have never tried compressing the cct and replacing the half moon without removing the cct also, maybe next time I'll give it a look and see.

[l1tech]

Originally Posted by TwoManyPassats

You'll get more movement by clamping it. There are two tings keeping it expanded, oil pressure and a spring. When unbolted, the oil pressure will go away. The spring isn't really that strong, but depending on the cam positions when the engine was shut off, the amount of play will vary.

The oil pressure is maintained in the cct by a check valve, simply unbolting the cct will not relieve the oil pressure. Just coutious but how does the cam position when the engine is shut off have an effect on the amount of play in the cct and or the chain.

[mopower]

Originally Posted by l1tech

I have done tons of these over the years and your description of it just doesn't sound right. I have never been able to get enough room by simply just unbolting the cct, granted by doing just this you can wiggle the gasket in there but I can't see how you could replace the half moon as well. I have never tried compressing the cct and replacing the half moon without removing the cct also, maybe next time I'll give it a look and see.

Getting everything cleaned was a by feel process. Getting the half moon in place, I used my hand to position it from the rear of the engine, and a large flat screw driver to position/brace it from the inside, behind the cam gear. It was a tight spot. I had a light setup so I could see the half moon from the top. The gasket was easy to position.

[Nussbaum]

I was only able to lift the CCT a bit. I saw the holes in the flat seal, and was thinking they went over dowel pins. I guess the holes are for the bolts. I don't think I lifted the CCT enough to remove the flat seal, and getting the new one in and positioned would have been very hard.I was able to wiggle the CCT but that was all.

[basilao]

Hey guys Im kind of new in this, but my passat has the cam chain tensioner failing, and I dont know if I will repair it myself though but, I took it to the local VW and before opening it they told me it would be over 1200 dollars as they would change chain tensioner and some other parts.
Im a student and Im not rich so, how do I know If I should change the chain too? And the valve cover/ gasket?
By the way I live in Mexico.

[PZ]

The part can cost about half of that depending on the model. There is no need to change the chain. You should change the valve cover gasket and the cam chain tensioner gaskets since it will be apart anyway.

The CCT is not hard to change, but you have to be certain to keep the cams in time. There is a writeup in the info forum. Read through that and then decide if it is something you would feel comfortable with.

[Last Triumph]

Greetings from the UK! I have a 107k miles, 1999 1.8 20V (non turbo, ADR) with more oil leaks the Exxon's tanker fleet.

I slowly went round it leak by leak - the main ones being the front exhaust cam seal, rocker gasket and sump plug.

It was still leaking from round the rear, so I decided to bite the bullet and pull the rocker cover off again and do the tensioner seal and half moon.

I was dreading the job as I didn't want to go to all the hassle of removing the cams and disturbing the front housing seals again etc.

I found this article and had a go myself.

All I can say is thank you very much - you saved me all sorts of time and trouble.

Just to give a little more feedback for people having difficulty in using this method, I found it much easier to create freedom of the tensioner body if I put a socket on the crank sprocket and wound the motor back and forth a few degrees (with the tensioner bolts removed) which releases all the oil pressure behind the tensioner piston. Once all the hissing and gurgling has stopped and the pressure released, wind the crank back a few degrees again and this produces a decent amount of slack on the tensioner chain allowing the tensioner body to move upwards by upto about 15mm, but more importantly, once it has been raised, it can be rotated counter clockwise about 20 degrees (limited by the chain on the guide) giving much better access to the half moon.

I used cottom buds on sticks (for your ears) dipped in brake cleaner to get between the two making surfaces to get them properly clean.

So, thanks once again - it CAN be done and doesn't take long once you know how. If I was doing it again, once the rocker cover was off, I think I could remove, clean and change the seals within about 20 mins.

Remove the cams? Nah.

Now my motor is almost oil tight with just two small leaks. One I can do, the other I can also do, but am not going to bother. The front crank seal is leaking a touch - not dripping, but enough to leave a little run down the front of the sump after 30 mins running - nothing major. I just can't be bothered stripping the cam belt off and all the belts and pulleys, to do it with what is a difficult seal to replace anyway, that could leak even worse when done, so it can stay that way - no biggie.

The other leak I will do which I could do with some guidence on, it the little O ring between the solenoid and the cam tensioner body. Can these seals be replaced by themselves and is it easy to get the old one out?

Any experience?

[TwoManyPassats]

Originally Posted by l1tech

The oil pressure is maintained in the cct by a check valve, simply unbolting the cct will not relieve the oil pressure. Just coutious but how does the cam position when the engine is shut off have an effect on the amount of play in the cct and or the chain.

It's not actually the play that varies. It's the amount of play attainable. If the upper tensioner piston is extended, pushing it down will create a lot of play on top. If the lower is extended, the available play is hidden. Rotating the exhaust cam will bring it around.

Are you sure about the check valve? I thought it was just a flow restrictor. If so, how does the tensioner "unadvance" itself?

[mdtoney]

Originally Posted by Nussbaum

I had also purchased the 2 seals for the cam chain tensioner.

Are there 2 cct seals or 1? VW told me mine was leaking and I told them I'd fix it myself. An online parts source said 2 seals were requred, but the VW dealer sold me 1 (a half moon piece with a black plastic part). Do I need to get another one before tearing into this?

Thanks!

[aran]

There should be one half moon gasket and one flat gasket that is about six inches long(or close anyway).

[Last Triumph]

Originally Posted by mdtoney

Are there 2 cct seals or 1? VW told me mine was leaking and I told them I'd fix it myself. An online parts source said 2 seals were requred, but the VW dealer sold me 1 (a half moon piece with a black plastic part). Do I need to get another one before tearing into this?

Thanks!

WHS^

The half moon sits in a recess in the top of the cylinder head the black METAL strip is used to sit on top of this half moon to help it seal.

1 kit containing 2 seals - metal strip and rubber half moon.

[Nussbaum]

Fortunately, most or all of my leaks stopped just from changing the valve cover gasket. I never replaced the CCT seals.

[trev0006]

Thanks for the howto and pictures, I think I can do this myself.

Originally Posted by mopower

Yesterday I finally got around to replacing my valve cover gasket and cam chain tensioner seal / gasket. This is pretty straight forward and was less trouble than I had thought at first from reading some posts. The car is a 2000 1.8T with around 130k miles on it. The cam tensioner was not making any noise so I was not replacing it. What I was getting was a smell of burning oil, I hope this at least reduces that problem. There was a good amount of oily buildup on the back of the head around the cam chain tensioner.

I removed the valve cover, then removed the 4 T30 screws holding the cam chain tensioner down, that allowed the body of the tensioner to move up about a half inch. I removed all old gaskets, cleaned the surfaces well, and installed the new gaskets and sealants. First I installed the cam chain tensioner gasket and half moon (the half moon was the hardest part since space is so limited), using RTV sealant on the edges. I then retourqued the cam chain tensioner. Valve cover gasket was a breeze with sealant in the edges, and then retorqued it down. Added the coils and covers and it was all done. Now I just need to drive it and see if the smells are all gone or not!

Here are some pictures.
Everything removed:


Cam chain tensioner raised up half inch:

tires cars audi bmw
Top view of cam chain tensioner:

[toplessvw]

I would go out and buy the tool to comprese the tensioner only for the reason that it rides on a plasitic saddle wich wears out and it should be inspected, ithe saddle also gets brittle and can crack causing failure. it is a 10 doller tool to remove the tentioner well worth it to do the job knowing that it was done properly

[luvmypassat]

Has anyone had any issues with exhaust leaking into the engine area on the side where the exhaust is? It then comes into the cabin when you turn on the outside air. It has become a really problem of making us sick. We have had the CCT replaced twice now, with no difference is smell.

[PZ]

Originally Posted by luvmypassat

Has anyone had any issues with exhaust leaking into the engine area on the side where the exhaust is? It then comes into the cabin when you turn on the outside air. It has become a really problem of making us sick. We have had the CCT replaced twice now, with no difference is smell.

If it truely is exhaust, you need to fix the exhaust leak. If it just stinks like exhaust, check you PCV tubing as it is probably cracked. Look at the larger plastic tube under the 2nd intake runner. It cracks right along the seam and stinks up the car. Replace it along with the rubber T hose it attaches to and the PCV valve that is inside the rubber T hose.