225,000 miles and camshaft bites the dust.

Well, it's been a good run, but lately the car has gotten sluggish, smokey, and noisy. After checking all the component suspects, today I pulled the valve cover to see a wiped cam. #4 intake lobe suffered the worse and the follower has fully worn through as well. 4 other followers are deformed and wavy, but not torn up yet. Franko6 will be hearing from me tomorrow. Check your cams BEW brothers.

Thanks, good reminder. I've noticed that my 05 NB BEW (203K mi) has been leaving the rear bumper by the exhaust a little dirty after a while. I'll have to take a look.

Yeah, I'm at 210K miles on my 2004 BEW - prompted to take a look at the Cam due to a MAF P0101 check-engine light. I couldn't find any other cause, and someone emphatically suggested the issue is due to a worn cam.

Whether or not the P0101 is due to a worn cam, the cam is worn. (With my luck, even after changing the cam, I'll still get the stupid light).

Make sure you run 5w-40 and not 5w-30 on your next cam.

Been running 5w-40 since 2004, never deviated from that.

jcboulware said:

Been running 5w-40 since 2004, never deviated from that.

Click to expand...

Which?

The oil will not make much or any of a difference, assuming both your 5w30 and 5w40 is VW spec. This cam problem is the nature of the beast. Good oil maintenance and you will last longer, but eventually you will have problems. BEW I have seen fall apart as early as 275 000km, but more typically in the 350 000 - 400 000km range.

A few different brands (never Castrol) but always 5W40, 505.01 spec.

Been running Valvoline MST 5W40 myself - granted, bought the BEW used at 165,000 miles, and can't say what was being used prior.

I have read and read and read - more anecdotes to shake a stick at that suggest improper oil will lead to quick failure, but proper oil is no guarantee.

ie - jump off a 100 foot cliff, and you are certain to die. Don't jump off a cliff, and you'll still die, just might not be within seconds.

I have recently had to do a lot of idling, in very hot weather, with the a/c on. I would guess this contributed to the recent demise of my cam

I was hesitant to even post any additional information about oil because it's such a hottly disputed subject; no matter what you do, you're always wrong kind of deal. I figure a quarter of a million miles on an engine with known cam shortcomings isn't bad. Just wanted to remind my BEW bros to check their cam before other things go bad. Got my cam ordered today from Frank and looking forward to getting back on the road for another quarter million.

I'm at 216k miles - just pulled the cam cover tonight since it's been a while and I'm starting to see a small amount of spider webbing on a 2 of the lifters. A few of the lobes have a rougher edge as well. I've had the car since 78k miles and have always run M1 TDT and have had a good number of oil analysis done with very minimal wear reported. It's been almost 25k miles since the last analysis, so it might be time for another to see what's happening. I did get the oil analyzed right after buying it from the previous owner knowing of the issues and he last had the dealer put in 30w - the wear was much higher, but came right down with TDT afterwards.

I think a full cam/lobe/lifter job will probably will be in my future - I might try to make it to 250k or 275k though when my timing belt will be due.

What is everyone recommending these days? I saw a Titan II Stage kit from Frank on Bora's site. Is that recommended over the Colt?

Also, anyone considered cryo treating the cam and the lifters? I know this does wonders for all sorts of steel parts in terms of wear prevention and longevity. Maybe the chrome lining is enough?

Mavrick said:

The oil will not make much or any of a difference, assuming both your 5w30 and 5w40 is VW spec. This cam problem is the nature of the beast. Good oil maintenance and you will last longer, but eventually you will have problems. BEW I have seen fall apart as early as 275 000km, but more typically in the 350 000 - 400 000km range.

Click to expand...

I'm putting your theory to the test, currently just under 400,000kms. Cam and lifters are in minty shape (using Rotella T6). I'm hoping they still are at my next TB interval

I just popped the cover the other day on mine. Last time I did it I didn't see the chamfer; this time it dawned on me, since the lobes were made so narrow, the chamfer must be smaller too. Looking more closely I can see the same chamfer all the way around the lobe, on all lobes. I see more issues on the injector rollers--copper looking streaks on those. I didn't stare hard at the lifters but the few I looked at looked ok. Just shy of 299kmiles. Been mostly 505.01, except for a couple of changes of 506. Might have seen 507, plain don't remember. But the bulk of the oil was 505.01.

LNXGUY said:

I'm putting your theory to the test, currently just under 400,000kms. Cam and lifters are in minty shape (using Rotella T6). I'm hoping they still are at my next TB interval

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LNXGUY, I seriously wish I was this lucky!!
<apologies for the thread-jack>
Are you the orig. owner?
As far as you are aware, has the cam been replaced previously?
Not doubting here, just trying to figure out why (and if) my cam @170kms was said to be warn out ALREADY by a VW specific mechanic, and yours has over double that with minty cam and lifter condition!!!
I just bought my 2006 and as I troublshoot the issues, I'm beginning to figure out why it was sold in the first place...
<end thread-jack>

orignl said:

I just bought my 2006 and as I troublshoot the issues, I'm beginning to figure out why it was sold in the first place...
<end thread-jack>

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Is your 2006 a BRM, or a BEW?

It seems the BRM models are prone to much earlier failure than the BEW's.

Even with a BEW, I have found, failure can still occur. There are just a hoopload of variables - oil spec, oil change interval, driving patterns (inner-city stop & go, or highway), ambient weather, and to some extent - possible luck of the draw (some batches of factory cams may have better than others, some engine assembly & break-ins may have been better than others).

orignl said:

LNXGUY, I seriously wish I was this lucky!!
<apologies for the thread-jack>
Are you the orig. owner?
As far as you are aware, has the cam been replaced previously?
Not doubting here, just trying to figure out why (and if) my cam @170kms was said to be warn out ALREADY by a VW specific mechanic, and yours has over double that with minty cam and lifter condition!!!
I just bought my 2006 and as I troublshoot the issues, I'm beginning to figure out why it was sold in the first place...
<end thread-jack>

Click to expand...

Not the original owner, from what I can tell it's the original cam. Like it was mentioned above, I could have lucked out and had a previous owner that actually used the correct oil for this car instead of worrying about what VW spec it met

puntmeister said:

Is your 2006 a BRM, or a BEW?

Click to expand...

puntmeister, it's a BEW and I love it... not quite as much love for the checklist of things that I've got to fix, ...

LNXGUY said:

Not the original owner, from what I can tell it's the original cam. Like it was mentioned above, I could have lucked out and had a previous owner that actually used the correct oil for this car instead of worrying about what VW spec it met

Click to expand...

LNXGUY, Do you go with CT Rotella?
Either way, it's good that you don't have to worry about the cam... or lift pump replacement... or erratic starting... or broken front springs... <wait>?!?! did I say all that out loud?!?!?!

I ended up buying a Princess Auto Diesel compression tester on sale and it tested 400 psi across all cylinders with all glow plugs removed, so at least I'm hoping I have a good engine to start this journey with.

carry on.

Yup, Rotella T6 is what I've been running since I bought it.

I've had to put a starter in it, liftpump and I got the glowplug/GP module/ECU relfash recall done for the hard starting in the winter. That's about it beyond everyday maintenance (Which it hasn't required much of)

LNXGUY said:

Yup, Rotella T6 is what I've been running since I bought it.
I've had to put a starter in it, liftpump and I got the glowplug/GP module/ECU relfash recall done for the hard starting in the winter. That's about it beyond everyday maintenance (Which it hasn't required much of)

Click to expand...

LNXGUY, That's awesome.
I'll keep that in mind when at CT.
Thanks for the input!

My BRM went at about 150,000 miles. Couple of worn lobes and at least two followers seriously depressed or cracked.

My 1Z, ALH and AHU cams wore enough to warrant replacement at just under 200k miles. My one PD, a BHW Passat, also needed a cam at about 200k.
I really don't think the PD design is any more prone to lobe wear than the other, non-PD cams.

Here's a BIG caveat: The BHW had nothing but VW approved 505.01. The others did not have sufficient maintenance records to determine the oil used before my purchase of them, but 505.00 only during that time.

If it's a VW505.01 5w30, it's still not the right oil for long cam life. I don't put much clout int the VW approved oils to be honest.

I bought mine used with 80,000 miles on it. Not sure what the previous owner used. I would not be surprised if they DID use spec oil.

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server5...s/149/vmo_2__67146.1410924204.640.640.jpg?c=2


Really looking for a VW 505 spec. Made in Germany for PD diesels. I agree six of one 12 of the other. Revenol since 1946, manufactures and sells oil rated for all VW specs. The link above shows current Revenol 505 spec oil for PD's. Just thought I would add this to help, if your looking at your oil for help. Like I said six of one half dozen of the other. If any doubt on possible motor oil as a cause here is the right spec stuff.

out of curiosity, for all components involved :
cam replacement price for shop?
DIYer?