That rattle for a second or two when you fire it up? Don't let anyone tell you it's just a cold engine. I've heard it a hundred times and it's the timing-chain tensioner — the fault that made the EA888's name. On the Gen 1 and early Gen 2 (the 2010–2014 Mk6 GTI, CCTA/CBFA) it bleeds down and lets the chain go slack, usually on a hot restart or when you switch it off.
Here's why I won't let it wait: if that chain jumps a tooth the engine loses timing, and on an interference engine I'm looking at bent valves. That's the difference between a cheap morning and a rebuild.
What I do:
- I fit the revised tensioner that supersedes the original — that's the cure, and I do it at the first rattle, not the tenth.
- If the chain, guides or sprockets show any wear, I do the full chain kit while I'm in there. It sits at the flywheel end, so the labour's the same whether I change one part or the lot.
The Mk7 (Gen 3, 2015-on) reworked the design and I see far fewer of them — but I still put my ear to a high-mileage one before I sign it off.
So take a start-up rattle on an EA888 as the tensioner until it's proven otherwise. It's cheap today. It is not cheap if you leave it. See EA888 Water Pump Thermostat and VCDS Basics.
You'll want the revised tensioner, and if the chain or guides are tired, the full timing chain kit — I've put both below.