Can or no cam

Wigstdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Location
Pa
TDI
Alh
I daily drive my car about 40 miles round trip have a bunch of upgrades but I am leaking oil around the valve on a few cylinders. I'm wondering if I should stick to the stock Cam or upgrade to a colt Cam. I do pull a trailer up n down the mountain in the winter to snowmobile and dirt bike in the summer it is my truck even hauled a ton of gravel several times so my question is the Cam worth having issues for longevity or will it actually make it better in the long run?
 
Last edited:

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
With your set up, dont see why not. It's a cheap power multiplayer when you have lots of other fueling and air mods like you do.
I would seriously suggest you pull the head and have it cleaned a light polish and a cleanup port you can do yourself. Check the valve play side to side. At high milage the valves have play that will not be happy long term with a bigger cam. Half a mm is max play wiggle on the valve.
Plus it's the only way to replace the valve seals.
Do not run your old lifter followers with the new cam. Yea it will go for a bit but it's always best to either polish or get new followers/lifters. Also gives you a chance to shim them for max flow with undercut valves.
Point is, head work is one of those, take the head off and do it all while you can.
Yea if your on a budget, just slap a cam in there but some of us dont have longevity success with them unless a few things are done first.
That and a retune
 

Wigstdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Location
Pa
TDI
Alh
I just was not sure if doing a Cam was a good idea for realibality as I daily it. I know a Gasser don't like it was not sure about diesel the but seems like the diesel likes the Cam more than a Gasser thanks mongler
 

redbarron55

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Location
Navarre, FL.
TDI
2012 Touareg TDI Executive
The most reliable is usually unmodified condition.
Some of these engines have cam problems, but I think the proper oil is the best thing to do usually.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
the BEW is the one that is known as the cam eater
you should be able to drop in a colt cam into your ALH no issue. i would however do a supper light surface polish with some high grit like 2,000 or even 2500 grit polishing compound on the lifters, put them back where they came from !
use some zink for 1,000 miles in the oil to help with it.

thats the bare minimum i would do

the best option is to send your cam to Kerma TDI, they will do a regrind on it. they make it have a higher lift by removing some from the base of the cam lobe. as long as the lifters take up the slack. you can even shim off the lifters to achieve the same thing if too much is missing from your cam. the OEM cams are the strongest. talk with kerma. besides they are the only ones here that sell colt cams so......
 

Wigstdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Location
Pa
TDI
Alh
This is true but I'm wondering if it's gonna be more of a headache in two months or just stay stock and a little less power it does move now I launch in second and she blows the tires I did not think of kerma to do it as the retune should be free thanks all much help as always
 

Wigstdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Location
Pa
TDI
Alh
Colt stage 2 arp studs timing belt kit again amc head black nitrate I believe it is lifters amsoil boosted zinc diesel oil new gasket and seal all from kerma thanks all again
 

Franko6

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Sw Missouri
TDI
Jetta, 99, Silver`
Before you jump off the deep end on the studs...

We have seen more problems because of their use than they fix.

AMC cylinder head? You should see some of our pictures and why we don't rebuild them. The seats are ductile iron instead of VW's powder metal seats. The cotters are shameful. We always considered them 'short term heads'.

If Kerma actually regrinds a cam, that sure puts them to shame for what they have complained about me for years. We happen to know, in spite of what Kerma says, Colt will regrind a cam just like we do.

Btw: Our Stage II cam is $295 and we have a very good warranty. If purchasing the cam and we are reworking the head, we automatically perform a 'port improvement', that removes the most commercial mistakes of the cylinder head, however, if it were up to me, I'd consider an OEM cylinder head.
 

Yourbuddysatin

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Location
Pennsylvania
TDI
2013 Jetta tdi
Unless you do over sized valves I don’t see why to cam it. You want longevity leave the cam stock. Fixed your head. Arp aren’t a bad idea if your running higher boost. Just remember do you research and do what you want with whatever advice/info you get.
 

Wigstdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Location
Pa
TDI
Alh
Thanks satin I talked to Frank today alot of good information I gathered from him head is off on to the oil pan to pull number three and check ring gap and the difference between cylinder and cylinder wall.i can faintly see cross hatching still so fingers crossed
 

Wigstdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Location
Pa
TDI
Alh
Oil pan was tricky with the two Bolt behind the flywheel but a bent t handle took care of it with ease
 

Franko6

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Sw Missouri
TDI
Jetta, 99, Silver`
ourbuddysatin,

You and I are in quite different camps. We've been selling our Stage 2 cam for over 10 years, with no complaints. That includes a lack of complaints about premature wear. We have lots with over 250,000 miles and quite a number over 200hp.

We have such confidence in our cams, we offer an excellent warranty.

Although I would not recommend the use of stock pistons for a large build, I think the cylinder walls in Wigstdi's engine are still capable of great performance without sacrificing longevity.

Steel bottomed oil pan... never used one. Not particularly against it. prefer Panzer Plate

It doesn't take bending a T handle to get the bolts out unless you have some CRAP aftermarket flywheel. A 1/4" x 6" wobble extension with a 10mm socket makes it work. To reinstall, use a 6" long ball end 5mm allen. the bolt will stick onto the end of the ball allen and you can hand-thread the bolts into the rear main seal with ease. Don't tighten any pan screw until they are all in.
 

Yourbuddysatin

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Location
Pennsylvania
TDI
2013 Jetta tdi
I can see if the cam needs replaced to throw a stage 2 cam in it but just to put a cam in it with no other supporting mods such as bigger valves is wasted money. You don’t gain the power from that larger cam with out doing head work. I did it with GTIs in the past. Didn’t see true gains of power and flow without head work.
 

Franko6

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Sw Missouri
TDI
Jetta, 99, Silver`
I don't know if I completely agree with you, but I can tell you, when the cylinder head is in our shop and the customer wants the upgrade cam, we automatically do a 'port improvement' that takes the worst of the 'commercial' design errors out of the head.

For example, there should be no square corners in a port. The swirl chamber loses that lower corner, which is the point for a crack to start. We also improve the exhaust port with what some call a 'port match', but actually, it's a reversion stop. Open the inside edge of the swirl chamber and the cam will always work better.

Of course, a full port will measureably improve the flow, but that we do not add within the price of the cam. That is several hours of work.
 

Yourbuddysatin

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Location
Pennsylvania
TDI
2013 Jetta tdi
You are Atleast doing some aiding to the larger cam then instead of stock. Maybe not max potential of the flow to feed the opening of the valves but still something to make gains. Stock head with larger cam is just a waste in my eyes. Why only gain let’s say 5% instead of 15%. I understand budget factors but at that point better not to do it at all. Everyone one has the right to do what they want to their engine but still waste is waste.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
if your not running big boost and you have mostly stock parts, cam is worthless
every little bit adds up, the cam is no exception, but you need things that the cam can increase.
 

Wigstdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Location
Pa
TDI
Alh
No junk here south bend stage three endurance with the g60 flywheel and this was first I removed oil pan ever on this car and those two bolts were the tightest the tear main seal was done with the clutch so I think they tightened down a little extra than needed
 
Top