I did something really stupid

I bought a brm camshaft kit from prothe! It has a two-year warranty and he said no one has complained about the kit in 2 years. What's the worst that could happen?

Is your timing kit from there too?


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No. The timing belt and water pump was done like 10,000 miles ago so I am just going to reuse it

Idk, Prothe has a very bad reputation around here. Personally I wouldn’t put it in my car. Worst case it isn’t manufactured to strict enough tolerance and your car doesn’t run well, I would at least visually compare it your old one to make sure they at least look similar. Probably won’t last as long as a reputable cam. Personally I’d try and get my money back but a lot of people have trouble with that. I’d use either franko6 or an IDParts billet cam.


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texanTDI said:

What's the worst that could happen?

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These are interference engines, so if the cam breaks valves will immediately meet pistons, with very expensive noises.

Yup, I was wrong, breaking cam is the worst case!


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I asked him for some reviews and he said that he hasn't received a complaint about these cams in two years. I think there would be a lot more posts here if someone broke a camshaft from him?

Most people here won’t buy anything from him. He has burned too many people here. It’s unlikely anyone here is going to give you any reassurances about his parts.


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texanTDI said:

I asked him for some reviews and he said that he hasn't received a complaint about these cams in two years.

Click to expand...

Not sure what you'd expect he'd say about his own product?

"Hey Mr Fox... any security issues with the henhouse?!"

You asked what could happen. If you're already convinced you're fine and are just wanting to validate your decision carry on.

Use it as a paperweight, chalk it up as an expensive lesson and get a good one from a reputable source. Idparts, frank06, metalmanparts, cascadegerman etc. Stay away from eBay and Amazon for parts like these.

May not have to eat the cost. Try and get a refund and if he won’t give you one then hopefully you paid with a credit card. You could do a chargeback or with Amex they would cover me with some sort of buyer protection.


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You guys are so right! But in my defense I didn't read about one failed camshaft in all my research.

Man!! Just look at all the names he goes by..... that should tell you something, why risk it, send it back and dispute cc charges, don’t be stupid.

Another weird thing was that he charged me sales tax. His business appears to be located in North Carolina? I only thought you were charge sales tax when you did business within the state?

Hey I wanted to give an update that I installed the camshaft and lifters and bearings according to various procedures and my car did not blow up

Yet*


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I will say some interesting differences about his camshaft is that there is no chamfer on the edges. I suppose you won't know how to judge when it wears unless you measure it with a micrometer? Also the total length of the camshaft is a little longer so the timing belt tries to sit closer to the flywheel side than usual. I don't know if it was just how I installed the belt or another reason? I also noticed that a few of the valve lobes Sit Close to the injector rocker compared to the old camshaft I hope there's no interference there? Come to think of it I don't know if the Rockers are locked in position left-to-right or if they float?

To summarize; I have been driving it around town today and it is running pretty well. It is the bew camshaft but I don't see any difference in driveability. I will update this thread with more experience after I put some miles on it.

These are the quality control issues you're seeing with the naked eye.. imagine if you did some measuring with a mike.

How accurate do you suppose the bearing clearances are for proper oiling? What do you suspect the actual hardness of the lobs is?

Not to be a Debbie Downer... but feel the need to confirm that you understand that if the cam goes (or if it prematurely wears out the timing belt that in your case sounds like is being driven at an angle) the head will grenade. If you're lucky it will not damage the bottom end of the engine as well when it does so, but it could.

It's also not going to go south the first time you start the car, or even the 10th...but it's a high stress component, particularly on a PD engine, and so time will take its toll.

Your car your rules of course, just making doubly-sure you're making an informed decision.

Per your other question: the rockers do not float... they all pivot on a fixed axis.

If you can see variances with the naked eye....

Keep posting as you put mileage on. I'd love it to be a good fix.

I took it on a 200 plus mile trip yesterday no issues yet

An OA might be a good move, if you have high iron content it might be a good indicator and you might be able to catch it..And a regular visual inspection of the cam might be a good move as well. Its fairly easy to pull VC and inspect once a month? good luck with and suggest stay on top of it so it doesn't bite you..

Curious if there's ever been an update

I ended up selling the car but only accumulated a 1000 miles on the new camshaft and lifters