How long would a new camshaft last on a BEW PD?

When my belt broke in my bew with 130km since the previous change, I had to rebuild my head. I put a used camshaft in to save money, and new lifters. I didn't know this would cause premature wear. Camshaft lasted 70,000km then chamfer was gone and edges of the lobe were sharp to the touch.

When i bought my car it had its original cam already worn out at 60k miles.
PO serviced the car trough VW and of course they used Castrol 5-30W for the oil changes. The car also had a turbo on its way out. Did i say the DMF rattled ?..

Since i didnt have the cash to fix everything and have the car on the road i put a used turbo and a used cam with new lifters.

I knew the cam would not last long.
So far, i have put 60 kmiles and the cam is still good.
I ve been using Rotella T6 and a bottle of lucas Zinc on rvery oil change at 10k miles.

So i believe for cam wear there are four factors
A design factor for the PDengine where the need to add the cam lobes driving the injectors left the intake/exhaust lobes too narrow for the temperatures/loads.

A a metallurgy factor on the cam. There are cams that last for a long time and others that have shorter lives with similar circumstances...


The third would be oil, where the 5-40w oil can help protect the cam at high temperatures.


Fourth would be driving habits.
By driving habits i mean avoid lugging the engine (high engine load with lowerish oil pressure)

Since i do my own labor on the car a cam swap is not the end of the world for me. However, i am looking forward for a colt cam....

Lots of experts out there.

I can only say from keeping lots of notes, asking for feedback, avoiding CRAP cams, and paying close attention to detail, we have designed around the cam issues in the PD's.

I agree, there are a lot of variables with the cams. The aftermarket cams can be quite vexing. The low-life leader lasted a grand total of 17,000 miles. On average, the original cams, in the US, last 160k-180k. We have seen some over 450,000 on the OEM cams, but most often, it's in Northern States or Canada. Proper driving habits and the best oil sure helps, but the cam failure is heat related. The biggest contributing factors are incorrect oil, poor oiling and wrong cam design.

The biggest issue... The PD cam has much more lobe pressure on it than the ALH engine, but the cam is 20% narrower. On top of that, they cut a 3mm chamfer to further reduce cam width.

Now, take a look at that replacement aftermarket cams you get. We have seen cam widths another 5mm narrowed and then, add a 9mm chamfer! It's not wonder they wear out so quick! They cheated that cam, compared to an ALH, 20% and then by poor construction, they cheat another 10% off the cam, which it cannot afford.

Add to that the cam profile is a solid lifter profile and you got nothing but trouble.

To add insult to injury, we find some are touting a 'billet cam'. Guess what? THEY ARE ALL BILLET. Don't get suckered to buy a more expensive cam that is exactly the same thing. The reason the companies no longer make a cast steel cam is because billet cams are cheaper to build. Not necessarily better, but definitely lower cost production.

So, if you don't want your cam to wear out, pay attention to what you are buying and get a cam that has a true hydraulic profile on it... Like ours, which has proven extreme long-life, fuel economy and efficiency.

great thread, answered lots of my questions. was the oem supplier Kolbenshmidt? should I use stock lifter or the black Nitride? I have lots of other parts to purchase for this car see my post, "they told me all it needs is a turbo".