2.5tdi severe camshaft wear

[paul b]

Thanks for the tip, I may pop back up today and have another look at it.

You could always look at the legendary PD130 if you didn't fancy the 2.5 TDI.

Paul

[DDe]

There has been a batch of not hardened camshafts fitted to cars from late 98 to 2001...i have seen a few with these problem. I would look trough the oil filler cap at the camshaft lobes for prononced wear. Failing that, if you buy it you could remove the rocker cover on one side to make shure nothing is amiss. Dont know how true is this rumour of non hardened cams, but it only occured on cars set on longlife intervals where engine stayed up to 2 years inside the engine. I did overhauled a 1999 tdi a few monthss ago and looking trough the service history it had the heads replaced once, then 40k later it ate the camshafts again ! Gues what, longlife intervals again ! Replaced the engine altoghether with one kept on standard service intervals with 190K running as sweet as the day it left the factory ! Last week went to see another 98 audi a6 i have seen on ebay, same old story, heads removed due to cambelt failure, cams worn out, guy ask for £800 in email, i offer 700, guy says no because someone offered 1000 quid !?! Are people mad ? It costs nearly 2k to repair these engines...anyway, looked elsewere and found a 98 a4 with the dreaded blocked cranckase breather and bought it for 750 quid ! Engine running fine, recent reconditioned injector pump, a bit tatty inside but will clean up well. All i need to do now is fit 2 new susp arms and to tax and mot...

Hi - well, was telling a friend about this issue. He has starting problems with his V6. We have been through everything and I am now strating to think about camshaft wear cauisng issues with fuel getting into the head. I dont wont to take the rocker cover off at this stage, but if I were to try and look through the filler cap, should it be smooth and shiny and not pitted and discoloured as in the photo in this string???? . Its a 98 V6 so maybe it did not have the hardend camshaft - would concur with whats written.

[shabazmo]

I have tried looking through the filler cap and it is impssible to tell. It is best to take the other side cover off. I did this recently on my 2002 A6. You have to remove the the 6 fuel pipes and then the cover but can be done in 2 hours. See pics. Despite vbeingb a 2002 model and oil changed every 11K miles, I still have camshaft wear but not drastic at the moment. I will probably change the shafts at 140K miles.

I also have problems with cold starting. I have just changed the battery this weekend and it seems to have improved things but am waiting for a very cold day. Next job is the crankcase filter.
Regards

[Crasher]

I took the cams out of a A4q180 V6 TDI for a forum member to replace them and found the tops of all the valves worn away, I ended up fitting two new heads at £1500 each!

[shabazmo]

Crasher, what was the mileage and was the car on long service intervals. Also did you have to replace the heads. why not just the valves. Thanks

[adamss24]

Should not be the spacer between the rocker finger and the valve stem wearing out ? I did repaired about 30 v6 tdi engines soo far and none had worn valves, its just the spacers wearing, the fingers breaking/dropping and the lifters wearing in a bad way ! Shabazmo, in respect to what you asked, the price for 12 valves,12 valve stem seals, 12 rocker fingers, 12 spacers, 12 lifters and 2 caqmshafts are close to 1000 quid on trade. Add in the labour cost and its cheaper to fit a new cyl head with 2 years warranty from dealer ! Also, the cams i only found aftermarket, cheap and nasty turkish casts...at 800 euros the set !

[Crasher]

Crasher, what was the mileage and was the car on long service intervals. Also did you have to replace the heads. why not just the valves. Thanks

It wasn’t that leggy, about 70K if I remember rightly but it was a few months back. I replaced the heads because myself and the customer came to the conclusion it was more sensible and cost effective than buying 4 cams, 24 valves, 24 lifters, 24 levers, 24 valve top pads, 6 glow plugs, two head skims and all the labour to strip, clean and rebuild plus the new heads were brand new and updated to the later roller lever type which are supposed to be more reliable. On top of that they come with a two year Audi labour inclusive warranty so should they develop a fault, Audi will do all the work under warranty.

Should not be the spacer between the rocker finger and the valve stem wearing out ? I did repaired about 30 v6 tdi engines soo far and none had worn valves, its just the spacers wearing, the fingers breaking/dropping and the lifters wearing in a bad way ! Shabazmo, in respect to what you asked, the price for 12 valves,12 valve stem seals, 12 rocker fingers, 12 spacers, 12 lifters and 2 caqmshafts are close to 1000 quid on trade. Add in the labour cost and its cheaper to fit a new cyl head with 2 years warranty from dealer ! Also, the cams i only found aftermarket, cheap and nasty turkish casts...at 800 euros the set !

The spacers and the tops of the valves were worn so heavily they had worn down to the valve locks.

[DDe]

I have tried looking through the filler cap and it is impssible to tell. It is best to take the other side cover off. I did this recently on my 2002 A6. You have to remove the the 6 fuel pipes and then the cover but can be done in 2 hours. See pics. Despite vbeingb a 2002 model and oil changed every 11K miles, I still have camshaft wear but not drastic at the moment. I will probably change the shafts at 140K miles.

I also have problems with cold starting. I have just changed the battery this weekend and it seems to have improved things but am waiting for a very cold day. Next job is the crankcase filter.
Regards

Shabazmo - great minds, replaced battery glow plugs and new battery - old batter was as old as the the car! so improvements!

Thanks for the Jpeg of the cams, I think that when it goes in for a service we'll have the covers removed and assess the wear. Thanks again for the post.

[jahgti1]

I have to say, having read this thread, that I'm now rather concerned about the potential for camshaft wear on my 2002 A6 2.5 TDI Quattro, which has covered 108, 000 miles.

I wonder if any of the Independent Specialists or Main Dealer forum members could indicate just how many cars are affected ?; will all cars have an issue at some point ?.

Many thanks in anticipation of your response.

[Crasher]

Impossible to say but I suspect all non roller follower cam engines are potentially at risk and even the roller cam engines suffer failure of the lobes.