Cam follower paranoia

[trtom]

Hi all,
Ive owned my 07 mk5 gti (bwa) for nearly 2 years now, and love it. Everything has been perfect apart from servicing and 2 new tyres. However, recently reading about cam follower failures is making me paranoid - i had never really heard of them before. My car is on 65000 miles and i can't find any evidence in the history that it has ever been changed - will my engine be fubarred? I can afford to get it changed in the next month or two, but i won't be able to afford £2500 for a full fix like the other guy on here if it is ruined. There are no symptoms of any trouble - do you think it should be still ok and not too late for change? Car is totally stock.

Thanks
Tom

[oliyaz0510]

Just get it off and do it. Only one way to find out.

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[RetroRaz]

I changed mine at 94 and it was ok, just a little wear so you should be ok, But just change it for peice of mind.

IIRC, The BWA engines dont have the banjo bolt so is easier to remove the fuel pump.

[Chris_R]

Yeah its dead easy to DIY and the part is cheap enough. I plan on checking mine when I do my oil changes from now on - on 135K and don't think it had been done before I did it in the last few months.

[Octoparrot]

I changed mine at 94 and it was ok, just a little wear so you should be ok, But just change it for peice of mind.

IIRC, The BWA engines dont have the banjo bolt so is easier to remove the fuel pump.

Sorry but mines a BWA and it had the banjo bolt but I think it depends on what year as to whether it has one or not, as stated best check it sooner rather than later.

[Richie-VRS]

The BWA has the banjo, well mine does anyway.

I changed my first one after 105k with no record or signs of it having been done previously, it was quite badly worn but still would have had a few thousand miles before it would have caused any issues.

I'll be changing my next one tomorrow after approximately 11k miles but that's with an uprated fuel pump that increases wear.

[Rigsby]

I reckon it will be fine, just budget to get it changed in the the next month.
I changed mine at 66k , no records of if being changed and it looked fine but was ready got a new one.

If doing it yourself don't stress about the banjo bolt it's really not that difficult.

Spline set and ratchet spanner is what you need.

[slix]

I read somewhere that a remapped car can speed up the wear a lot so it's worth checking annually.

[pudding]

Yeah, the follower isn't tolerant of mega revs or mega spring pressure / pump resistance.   Some people chew through a follower in <5K miles with an uprated pump.

It's defo paranoia for sure and personally I'm over checking/swapping followers, it's gotten old real quick.  So I have bought an INA TSI roller conversion from AKS, which I will hopefully throw on this weekend.

The follower wasn't designed to be checked/replaced frequently, so it's only a matter of time before the threads in the chain cover strip out and it's a phone call to Mr Henry Elicoil, or a new chain cover at £500 odd + Shat.   I've put 3 followers in mine over 30 odd K.  Bored of it now 

[Richie-VRS]

Yeah, the follower isn't tolerant of mega revs or mega spring pressure / pump resistance.   Some people chew through a follower in <5K miles with an uprated pump.

It's defo paranoia for sure and personally I'm over checking/swapping followers, it's gotten old real quick.  So I have bought an INA TSI roller conversion from AKS, which I will hopefully throw on this weekend.

The follower wasn't designed to be checked/replaced frequently, so it's only a matter of time before the threads in the chain cover strip out and it's a phone call to Mr Henry Elicoil, or a new chain cover at £500 odd + Shat.   I've put 3 followers in mine over 30 odd K.  Bored of it now 

Is that conversion not £500 anyway? I know it's a fit and "forget" but I think I'll go with a banjo delete and source some studs for the pump.

I tried to change my follower today and apparently all my m8 spline bits are lost or chewed so I've still not changed mine.

[pudding]

Yeah, the follower isn't tolerant of mega revs or mega spring pressure / pump resistance.   Some people chew through a follower in <5K miles with an uprated pump.

It's defo paranoia for sure and personally I'm over checking/swapping followers, it's gotten old real quick.  So I have bought an INA TSI roller conversion from AKS, which I will hopefully throw on this weekend.

The follower wasn't designed to be checked/replaced frequently, so it's only a matter of time before the threads in the chain cover strip out and it's a phone call to Mr Henry Elicoil, or a new chain cover at £500 odd + Shat.   I've put 3 followers in mine over 30 odd K.  Bored of it now 

Is that conversion not £500 anyway? I know it's a fit and "forget" but I think I'll go with a banjo delete and source some studs for the pump.

I tried to change my follower today and apparently all my m8 spline bits are lost or chewed so I've still not changed mine.

It is indeed!  The £500 includes a £100 surcharge for the chain cover, so if you send yours back to AKS, the kit costs £400.  Still expensive though!!

[Gwill21]

The variation in peoples cams seems to vary hugely tbh mate, i'd assume its based on how the cars driven/ how often etc, mine had no history of being changed and i changed it at 70k and it was still in fairly good condition to be honest! ( changed it anyway for arguements sake ), take off your hpfp and have a look! Doesn't take too long once you know what to do
Hopefully yours is still in good condition but change regardless if your gonna have a look!

[pudding]

If the oil is changed regularly with something decent like Millers Nanodrive, Mobil 1 or Fuchs Titan Pro S I don't think this is an issue.  The problem seems to be newbies to the car and not knowing the history, they've read up on Google about followers wearing through and panic.

One thing is for certain.....leaving the oil in the engine for 20K and putting cheap rubbish in won't help matters! And that goes for all engines.

[trtom]

Cheers chaps. Ive got it booked in at Statllers in Sheffield next week so hopefully will be fine. Very reasonable too, and he seemed to think it should be fine - fingers crossed!

[Burnhill88]

Hi I have decided to change mine also after reading up on this. I have a 2007 with 59k. Does anyone know if these get worn if causes bad starting from cold? Mine sometimes sound a little rough when starting from first thing.