Anyone have any problems with using a non-OEM camshaft in the BRM? I ordered what I thought were OEM followers and camshaft from one of our respected online vendors, however I received the German made black lifters (not OEM), and a camshaft that is made somewhere I hope in Europe. I ordered these too quickly I guess without reading the rest of their description - I saw the OEM part numbers, added them to my cart, and click...on their way. I really wanted all OEM parts, should I return or sell these and go with VW parts or should these be fine for the next 95k miles?
PD camshaft: OEM vs. non OEM
- Thread starter n2carz
- Start date
TdiRacing
Vendor
As much trouble as there is with these cams, why risk non-VW parts? The money you will end up paying for a failure sure outweighs the few hundred $ you might save...
Bob S.
Top Post Dawg
ON the other hand... With all the trouble with the OEM ones, the non-VW ones maybe superior to OEM.
Any way to get the vendor to give us information?
Any way to get the vendor to give us information?
GoFaster
Moderator at Large
n2carz, how did you establish that they are NOT "oem"?
As with ALL auto manufacturers, Volkswagen buys parts from suppliers, and they get parts made under subcontract from suppliers who are in the business of making parts similar to what they are buying. Volkswagen themselves make very few parts. No doubt they are buying valve lifters from a company that is in the business of making valve lifters, and they are buying camshafts from a company that is in the business of making camshafts.
For an example, I know for a fact that the tensioners for the timing belt are made by a company called Litens. Some of them get sent down the VW parts distribution chain, and others get sent down the aftermarket distribution chain - but they all come off the same line and are made from the same raw parts. I know this because I've seen the line in question ...
As with ALL auto manufacturers, Volkswagen buys parts from suppliers, and they get parts made under subcontract from suppliers who are in the business of making parts similar to what they are buying. Volkswagen themselves make very few parts. No doubt they are buying valve lifters from a company that is in the business of making valve lifters, and they are buying camshafts from a company that is in the business of making camshafts.
For an example, I know for a fact that the tensioners for the timing belt are made by a company called Litens. Some of them get sent down the VW parts distribution chain, and others get sent down the aftermarket distribution chain - but they all come off the same line and are made from the same raw parts. I know this because I've seen the line in question ...
sdk131
Veteran Member
I tend to follow GoFasters line of thought (that they likely came out of the same plant anyway...some went into VW boxes, some didn't), but I'd certainly like to hear from anyone else that may have any information on this.
40X40
Experienced
Bob S. said:
If only there were a way to contact a vendor when one has a question.. alas, no one has invented the web page, e-mail, snail mail, or even the telephone yet.
If the vendor is one of the ones from the TDIclub, all you have to do is ask them and my experience has been that they will tell you anything you want to know.
Bill
oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
The replacement lifters, even from Volkswagen, ARE black, and those are the ones you want. They will be different looking. This has been discussed, very much, before. There are even pictures posted.
Before all the hoop-la, I was forced into vw1stparts.com and oem parts. That was prior to all the good vendors on the forum putting out packages for hundreds of dollars less then VW.n2carz said:
If you purchased a cam and cam followers from a vendor on the TDICLUB you can be certified as having the correct cam, correct followers and superior quality then that of the original parts that came equipped with your car on purchase.
Who wants direct replacement anything from VW?
Perhaps Bleached Bora knows, he's got both EU and OEM (+ $100) for sale on his site. https://www.boraparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=104n2carz said:
Ski in NC
Top Post Dawg
I think nockenwelle is simply german for camshaft.
oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
'Ina' is the company that makes lifters for Volkswagen, as well as bunches of other parts, since before many of us were born.
And AGAIN, let me say those black lifters ARE the updated units as Volkswagen will sell you. The old ones were gray.
And AGAIN, let me say those black lifters ARE the updated units as Volkswagen will sell you. The old ones were gray.
D-Cell_Mekanick
Veteran Member
I can't read that, its in German!BrianCT said:
Click for info
40X40
Experienced
D-Cell_Mekanick said:I can't read that, its in German!
I Understand you are kidding, but for the clueless among us, scroll down a ways and click on 'english' on the left of the page.
Bill
GoFaster
Moderator at Large
Can't speak for the camshaft, but INA is the OEM supplier of the lifters. INA makes all sorts of precision machined products - bearings, rollers, cam followers, etc.
No worries.
No worries.