T5 174 Caravelle engine noise.. 152k

i'm no expert on these things, but i would've pointed to worn camshaft anyway.

Happens on 04-06ish? models mostly AFAIK.What's yours?
My 04 is ok, 150K km

VW's Pump Deuse means high cam pressures, and if wrong oil is used, or changes not done, means bad things can happen.

Also, with worn cam, there will be a definite pulsing of the intake pipework at idle.

Think there's a few posts on here about it.Search




Edited by Rebuild - 10 Oct 17 at 03:59

Popping back though the inlet like that means it will be the cam worn out and also the followers/tappets will be worn into holes.   Make sure whoever you use has done these cams before because the 2.5 engines are not conventional.  The backlash of the gears needs to be set up correctly as well as the usual injector adjustment.  I haven't had to do one yet but I have read about a few pitfalls for the unwary.  It also needs dedicated locking tools that aren't the usual VW ones.  

Hi,
Having had a similar experience to which you describe it is without doubt a cam/follower issue.....engine performance goes 'flat', the clacking noise (as it appears to me anyway) is not too bad at first but obviously develops and the 'pulsing' in the inlet plumbing gets worse. Mileage was 115k approximatley. The upshot was a £2600 bill from Cheltenham Van Centre for remedial works. The T5 was at the time owned by my disabled son and as such was insurance company sponsored so me wallet remained intact but it was very disappointing to have this occur on this vehicle as we had 'owned' it since new in 2005 and which we, as a family had tried to look after with due diligence. But, this does not cover the way the care staff drove it or the quality of the oil used for service. This I believe was the crucial issue, the oil is very specific 504.2 or 507.0 spec I believe. This would explain a lot as the servicing was done at non-VW specific outlets. A lesson there of course but we had no say ultimately costing the money side a lot more than it really should have.

Sorry to state the above but if you are good with the spanners the bill might be more reasonable. Hope this is of some help.