Anyone made their own cam locking plate???

Hi there

I had my tb replaced recently but am in doubt that the cam was properly lock as I cannot see that the tappet cover was removed. The shop that did the job say's they've got a specail tool that bolts to the vac pump holes to lock the cam. I havent asked to see the tool, so how true this is I dont know.

My actual question is, has anyone made their own cam lock tool and if so can you please post your "design and how to build it" for me. I drive a mk4 Jetta non-pd
I'm in South Africa and cannot find a shop that even knows about these tools, VW's spares dep dont know what I'm talking about even when I give them the part nr.

you can find it all for sale on ebay

you can find it all for sale on ebay

you can find it all for sale on ebay

There's a version of the camshaft lockdown tool that doesn't require removal of the valve cover... (naturally, it's the more expensive option)... If they use that one, then it shouldn't fit if the camshaft was 180 degrees out... (not to mention that the pump pin wouldn't be in the right hemisphere...) of course, whether or not they did things properly is something at which we can only guess... Other than this suspicion, do you have any other cause to question the quality of work performed ?

You can find designs for making your own camshaft tool here (somewhere on this site), but if you're going to re-do part of the TB procedure, you may need a few additional tools as well... ("stubby" 5 mm allen bit, for instance...)

All the best,

Yuri.

Sorry forgot to mention I did find one paint mark on the cover at the cam wheel flamming my suspicion but the tech said they do that to double check themselves and making sure nothing moves???

TDIFanatic1.9 said:

Sorry forgot to mention I did find one paint mark on the cover at the cam wheel flamming my suspicion but the tech said they do that to double check themselves and making sure nothing moves???

Click to expand...

Uh oh. Mark and pray method. Make DAMN sure they set the tensioner properly. It's commonly over-tightened by TDI-incompetent mechanics. this *WILL* lead to total destruction of your engine in less than 12k miles if it hasn't been set properly.

Search the forums, there's many sad cases where this has happened.

One mark doesn't necessarily mean Mark & Pray... They could have used it as a check to see that the camshaft was rotating the correct number of turns... maybe...

Mark & Pray usually entails visible marks on the camshaft sprocket (and belt), fuel pump sprocket (and belt) and a few other choice spots...

If you want anything done properly... do it yourself, find someone (like a TDI-Club Guru) who has done it properly before, or else educate your mechanic with the correct ways to do this (not so easy...)

Good luck,

Yuri.

If you can't find someone who truly know what they are doing, order the tools from metalman.com and check it yourself. If there are enough of these vehicles in your area, you could turn this into a career...

The first thing I checked was the tensioner and its spot on. No other paintmark is visible.
I dont know if metalman will ship to South Africa and in anyway this will be too expensive to do.
Im looking for someone who made their own tools and can give me an idea of what they did.
There is no guru's listed for South Africa is there?

Small correction:

Metal Man is one of the parts suppliers here in the U.S. who also rents out the lockdown tools... (he's also one of the TDI-Club "Gurus" when it comes to fixing these cars...) www.metalmanparts.com

MetalNerd is the one who makes these tools... He sells direct or through (at least) one of the other parts suppliers. www.metalnerd.com

Once in a while, these tools come up for sale used here... perhaps you can get a set shipped out to South Africa...

Yuri.