Timing Chain FAIL

[Mattb22006]

Not a huge fail but I just finished the Timing chain DIY and everythings back together and the car starts up and runs fine, drives great through first and second gear but once I get above 30mph the engine starts reving high and going no where. Seems as though I might be half a tooth off on my chain install but I just want to get some expert advice to confirm that before I perform surgery again.

FYI - I installed a 80k mileage tranny about 5 month ago that ran 100% perfect prior to this install so I know its not the trans.

Car is a 1999.5 Jetta VR6 with 140k on it.

[Philip J. Fry]

When was the last time you checked/cleaned your throttle body?

[Mattb22006]

When was the last time you checked/cleaned your throttle body?

Did that when I did the chain ironically. I cleaned it totally spotless.

[Philip J. Fry]

Did that when I did the chain ironically. I cleaned it totally spotless.

Hmm... if you turn the crank by hand, does everything seem right?

[Mattb22006]

Yeah I quadruple checked all the timing marks and rotated the crank two rotations and slid the cam locker in, then did that procedure again.

I did however come across an anomaly when doing my chain, the crank pulley marking did not line up when the crank tooth did. Originally I have timed the engine to the crank pulley and tested the rotation and that failed. I then read on here to always go by the crank tooth so I changed the timing to match the crank tooth. Which is when I successfully got 4 rotations out of the crank (which is hard to accurately do without the crank pulley timing mark.

I think it might be a simple matter of where I had the slack in the chains....

Also like I said, the car runs/idles no problem. Its sound the same as it did before I did the timing chain. (My chain was not destroyed nor was making alot of visible noise. Just sounded like the chain was loosing tension and rattling the motor) Plus the mileage, it needed to be done anyway because the upper guide was cracked but not broken.

[Soundwave_vr6]

Not a huge fail but I just finished the Timing chain DIY and everythings back together and the car starts up and runs fine, drives great through first and second gear but once I get above 30mph the engine starts reving high and going no where. Seems as though I might be half a tooth off on my chain install but I just want to get some expert advice to confirm that before I perform surgery again.

FYI - I installed a 80k mileage tranny about 5 month ago that ran 100% perfect prior to this install so I know its not the trans.

Car is a 1999.5 Jetta VR6 with 140k on it.

this screams clutch.

[Mattb22006]

How so>? I mean I did have to remove the tranny to get at the chain so its possible I reinstalled something incorrectly but its a brand new flywheel, clutch, and a tranny with 80k miles on it that worked perfectly one week ago....

[Philip J. Fry]

Yeah, unfortunately at this point, I'd say take it back apart and see what it looks like. I don't know enough about clutches to speak on a possible clutch issue.

[Soundwave_vr6]

maybe some oil or some **** got on the clutch?

[Mattb22006]

Well I have to take the **** apart anyway so I will investigate, but I did spray it down with brake parts cleaner. I guess I just don't understand how it would be possible for the clutch to work at low speeds then just stop working around 30 mph. Theoretically I shouldn't be able to engage the clutch at all because of slippage if that were the problem?

[Soundwave_vr6]

yeah,more load in 3rd. but same goes for timing , if its off it should be off no matter what gear you are in.


post in the 12v tech forum, might have more luck

[Mattb22006]

I'll give it a shot. See if I can get some answers.

[ryanmiller]

take a video of this happening.. sounds fishy.

I can not visualize any reason why your timing being off one tooth would cause your car to rev up and not further accelerate

sounds like a clutch problem to me

[Mattb22006]

All this talk of oil being on the clutch/flywheel tickled my memory and now I remember loosing the thermostat housing and coolant dumping everywhere. Bet some of it got it there....

[BornBlue82]

All this talk of oil being on the clutch/flywheel tickled my memory and now I remember loosing the thermostat housing and coolant dumping everywhere. Bet some of it got it there....

Not Good...

[Mattb22006]

Not Good...

Seems like more of a PITA to me, I've pulled that tranny out about 4 times now so its becoming really easy to do!

[BornBlue82]

I believe you... Atleast you know what your up against.. Keep us posted as you find the problem.

[Mattb22006]

Now here a possibly stupid hypothetical question, would it burn off it I drove it? I'm going to take it for one more test drive today to verify that the slippage is infact the issue.

Or would I be doing more damage than its worth?

[02gtiburl]

Now here a possibly stupid hypothetical question, would it burn off it I drove it? I'm going to take it for one more test drive today to verify that the slippage is infact the issue.

Or would I be doing more damage than its worth?

can't really 'burn' liquid off something unless it's really high temp. does it even get that hot in there? i think you'd be better off taking it apart as much of a pain in the ass it is. just imo though.

[Mattb22006]

Well the only reason I say that is because coolant never got onto the clutch, it got on the flywheel, which I coated in brake parts cleaner prior to installing the clutch and flywheel back in. Not sure if some residue could be making it slip. Everything I'm reading online though says I need a new clutch if it got coolant on it........

[REVoKED DuB]

i had the same problem when i swapped o2o's on an old mk3, after dealing with it for two weeks eventually the clutch began to act normal

[Mattb22006]

i had the same problem when i swapped o2o's on an old mk3, after dealing with it for two weeks eventually the clutch began to act normal

Thats reassuring, basically just drive the **** out of it and hope if goes away. If it doesnt then I'll pull her apart.

[REVoKED DuB]

Thats reassuring, basically just drive the **** out of it and hope if goes away. If it doesnt then I'll pull her apart.

thats what i did... didnt feel like repulling the trans on the side of a city street

[Mattb22006]

thats what i did... didnt feel like repulling the trans on the side of a city street

Don't blame you on that one!! I'll give her a good drive today and test out all the gears. See what happens.

[Mattb22006]

Just gave her a test drive and I am not having that problem at all anymore. No slippage whatsoever. When I laid into the gas a bit though at a left corner I heard some rattling. Sounded like timing chain noise......?? Could have been something else. I also have a serious coolant leak somewhere so thats going to postpone any further test drives until I get that fixed.

[Soundwave_vr6]

well fix that and take some video.


you ever change the shift rod bushings? maybe your chains are quiet now so you can hear new noises.

[steakinator]

crackpipe is most likely leaking

[Mattb22006]

well fix that and take some video.


you ever change the shift rod bushings? maybe your chains are quiet now so you can hear new noises.

Is that the flappy thing in the intake manifold, if so then yes it has been replaced.

crackpipe is most likely leaking

Thats probrably why its leaking because I just changed it when I did the timing chain. Probly a hose I put on ****ty.

[mkivdubbin]

just to eliminate the clutch as a possible problem I would test to see if it's slipping. Park the car, set the brake, put in second gear and release the clutch without giving any gas. If the engine stalls your not slipping, if it continues to run then it is. Just my 2 cents hope it helps

[Mattb22006]

just to eliminate the clutch as a possible problem I would test to see if it's slipping. Park the car, set the brake, put in second gear and release the clutch without giving any gas. If the engine stalls your not slipping, if it continues to run then it is. Just my 2 cents hope it helps

Thanks I'll give that a try once I get the coolant leak fixed. I think its a cracked hose pissing everywhere because the coolant was all over the engine compartment but none really on the ground pooling. Just means to me that pressure is forcing it out, not necessarily a dripping leak somewhere.

[Mattb22006]

I took a video of the noises my ****s making, I've already begun disassembly to retime the timing chain, but here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqAQAtjxtYM&feature=plcp

[Pasquallies]

I took a video of the noises my ****s making, I've already begun disassembly to retime the timing chain, but here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqAQAtjxtYM&feature=plcp

**** sounds like a lawn mower, how about that plastic intake runner?

[Mattb22006]

What plastic intake runner?

[Mattb22006]

Update - so I finished tearing the car apart again today and Quadruple verified the timing was right one and it was. I tighted up the lower tensioner on notch and bled the upper tensioner perfectly. However I am experiencing the same noise.

My thoughts at this point are that its the shifter rod. I only experience this rattling noise at upper RPMS, however does anyone know if the shifter rod can cause the car to struggle to idle? My car is very slightly puttering. Let me know your thoughts.

[FaelinGL]

The car will run without the shifter rod. Pull the end cap off with the actuator and remove it, then reinstall the cap. Take it for a ride and see what it sounds like.

Mike