2004 Volkswagen GTI rattle at idale

1.8T or VR6?

Thomas

Sludging of the oil pickup screen is common... this causes low oil pressure (at idle or higher rpms).

Removing the oil pan on these engines is easy, so you might want to do that first to check for a restricted pick-up screen.

The other cause is a bad Chain Tensioner (have to remove valve cover and camshafts to replace it.

I removed one on a Passat no too long ago to change the gasket under it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdz2BDudmk0

Make sure that enough oil is in the system (don't over fill, and use VW Approved Synthetic oil) as low oil level will cause the lifters
to also be noisy (it's the hydraulic lifters that you are hearing).

Thomas

Forgot to mention that at the 6min mark of the above video, you see the Chain Tensioner between the two camshafts.

Thomas

Here's a clip I found of a noisy tensioner at idle, but ok at higher engine speeds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArT4UYcmlik

Not my video.

Thomas

Don't worry, no need to donate any money.

Just wondering if I was of help.

Thanks,

Thomas

Good luck, post back with what the fix was (most likely the tensioner from what you described).

If you don't already have a VW Garage that you trust, do a search for shops in your area via this link to find someone:

http://autorepair.iatn.net/

Thomas