i've looked up at other videos on youtube and others have said it was the tensioner. Some guy at audiforums.com had his alternator replaced and he still had the whining sound. Im not phasing out the alternator problem. I havent gotten around to replacing the tensioner yet cuz of ECS lied about their inventory in their website so i didnt get the part shipped before the holidays


i appreciate all the input though

your car looks sweet....

 

Sucks, dude... Ecs has done that to me twice so far!

 

make sure to let us know if the tensioner is the problem. i'v only been a mechanic for 2 years so i guess i havent seen everything yet. still, it really sounds like a bad alternator.

 

Will do mate

 

is there any way i can remove this tensioner without having to remove the bumper? It is freaking tight in there. So close but the condenser fan is on the way.

Will i be able to remove the fan that's just in front of it?

 

i have no idea, iv never worked on an audi before, lol. sounds weird, i know. maybe try from the bottom?

 

i think in the grand scheme of things it will make it easier on you to go ahead and remove the bumper. if you end up having to change the alternator, you may need the bumper off anyway.
you should get yourself a bentley manual.

 

i have the haynes manual and it never mentioned to remove or put the bumper in service position. Does anyone know the thickness of the threaded rod i need to put it to service position?

 

So it turns out it was the serpentine belt tensioner that was causing the whining sound.

This is what I did to repair this. I am not responsible for any damages if one wishes to follow my write up.

*** a few pictures arent mine...i was too lazy to go back and take other pictures.

Item:
1 v6 2.8 serpentine belt tensioner from ebay. $70 shipped.

Tools used:
- you have better luck if you have thinner arms. It was pretty damn tight
- Torque Wrench (breaker bar if you have one)
- 17mm socket wrench
-10mm allan key
- Flat head and philips screwdriver (and a stubby philips screwdriver too)
- vice grip or bench vice or channel locks if you got really strong hands (you'll see what you'll use it for later)

1. Turn engine off. Pop open hood and let it cool off. If you are impatient and start removing the tensioner you'll find out it is pretty hot.

2. Remove the engine plastic cover using the screwdriver and strip off the weather stripping around the front.





3. Remove the 2 screws (circled in red) from the air intake. Remove air intake.





4. Remove the 1 philip screw using the stuby screwdriver on the electric fan. Careful not to strip it. There are some wires wedged into some channels of the fan. Pry them out so it gives out slack so you are able to move the fan away later.




5. Now remove the hose, which i believe goes to the SAI. Wiggle the circle in red, down and away from the circle in green. Put it off to the side or use something to hold it away from where you want access.






6. Back to the fan...There is this tab... Right at the very bottom...Circle in red. You have to pinch that. My arm managed to get far enough down there... You have to pinch it, WHILE you turn the fan counter-clockwise.






7. This picture is a close up of what you want it to do...When you pinch or move the tab to that direction, it brings up the little latch so it will free the fan and allowing it to rotate counter-clockwise.



8. Position the fan away from where you want access...You cant really disconnect it. There are cables that you just have to fiddle around to unclip from mounting clips allowing you to move it away.




******BEFORE REMOVING BELT. BE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE THE BELT LOOPS ON WHICH PULLEYS******





9. The red circled area is the tensioner. Place the 17mm socket wrench where circled in the green and turn as shown. This will relieve pressure permitting you to remove the serpentine belt. It is easier if you have someone holding the wrench while you remove the belt. (I didnt really took it out of the engine...I just put it aside. If you take it out, they say to mark it which direction so you can put it back to what it was)





10. Now take your 10mm allan key and remove the single bolt from the tensioner. (When putting back the new tensioner, the specified torque is 18ft/lbs. I do it just a tad tighter just in case my torque wrench is off.)



11. Remove tensioner from engine bay.





12. New and Old tensioner. On the new tensioner, there is a little pin that you have to remove (circled in red). Use a vice grip to squeeze the 2 holes together so you can push out the pin. BE CAREFUL when you remove the vice grip. When i removed mine, the tensioner snapped into place. I would have preferred that it didnt....




13. Install you tensioner, install belt, and put everything back together. Make sure you remove ALL tools before starting your engine...

 

Good to hear. Oddly I had a truck in the shop today that had a idler pulley that sounded like a bad power steering pump.