Cam follower worn on one side only 8k miles

[pudding]

Let's hope it's just an anomaly and the new one wears into a more normal pattern 

Did you check the state of the piston on the HPFP when you replaced the tappet?  The end cap (the bit that presses on the inside of the tappet) can sometimes crack on them, which would cause an uneven pressure on the tappet I suspect.

[Jb55]

@Pudding yeh checked the pump all looked good definitely doesn’t look to have any damage, I replaced the pump with a new one as the sensor plug on top had a crack in it.

It’s definitely a strange one, iv been doing plenty of research into how to change the inlet cam if it comes to that, doesn’t look to bad of a job but I haven’t done much engine work and have never timed a car up before, not sure what the labour time would be if I got a garage like aks to do it. I know it’s best to get the chain/tensioner done at the same time so it’ll be pretty costly just in parts.

[pudding]

Yeah that looks fine mate 

My only suspect is the slightly iffy looking cam lobe tbh mate.  It's certainly not concave and chewed up in the middle like really bad ones, but at the same time it's not as smooth and shiny looking as healthy ones, unless the image quality is a bit poor?

Timing is easy.  Well, I say 'easy', it is if you take your time and research it thoroughly.  The chain replacement guide on here is very good     I would say 4-5 hours book time, so £500 just in labour at a dealer straight away + vat!  I don't know what AKS's hourly rate is but it's not going to be a cheap job, and the special sealant for the cam girdle isn't cheap 

[Jb55]

Thought I’d update this after checking the new follower that’s done just over 1000 miles now and it still looks brand new
I’ll check it again at 3k miles I think, fingers crossed it was a dud follower and not the cam, if it does turn out to be the cam I’ll most likely just stick one of the new ceramic followers in from WASA and see how it goes as I’ll have nothing to lose if the cams already mangled.

[rich83]

I would stick to OEM follower, not the ceramic one. 

Good to hear its not wearing.

[Jb55]

I would stick to OEM follower, not the ceramic one. 

Good to hear its not wearing.

@rich83 you not a fan of ceramic follow?
I know it’s getting very mixed reviews at the mo and it’s to early to know if it will damage/wear the cam lobe
but it a situation like I might be in that the lobe could already be worn but not worn enough to cause any fuelling issues then it might be the perfect answer instead of spending ££££ to get the inlet cam changed or a new engine.
If your cams healthy then I’d 100% agree on only using the oem follower.

[rich83]

It’s not been tested enough IMO.

[pudding]

Reviewing the pics again, it looks like the little nipple thing that contacts the cam follower is unevenly worn....and actually a bit worn down as well. That would definitely cause the follower to not run quite true on the cam.

You were right to replace the pump 

The ceramic follower may not be a bad idea, and Swedish aftermarket engineers from past experience know what they’re doing. It’s clear VW themselves had massive issues with follower wear, hence adding a DLC coating, and then a harder cam and finally, switching to a roller follower and different pump on the EA888. So in other words, the ceramic follower can only help an already flawed setup 

A new inlet cam is only £200ish from VAG, so not a major deal if it comes to it 

[ROH ECHT]

I've heard from three seemingly knowledgeable individuals all saying this ceramic is smooth, hard, and remains cool and with a good synthetic oil, there should be no negative issues. They've also said the tri-lobe will wear with the silicon nitride CF but the tri-lobe will wear at a slower rate than the metal-on-metal contact we have now.

[Jb55]

This ceramic follower is definitely causing some debate.

I have spoke to wasa who said the same as we thought that the follower wasn’t rotating properly and as long as the cam lobes overall lift is in spec then the ceramic follower could well save replacing the cam.

What I liked when I was talking to wasa was they didn’t try and bullsh*t me into buying the ceramic follower there was no “buy our Cam follower it will 100% save your cam”  they seem like top people to me and think they are quite respected in what they do.

Fingers crossed when I check the follower in another 2k miles all is still good.

[ROH ECHT]

Regarding the Ceramic Follower someone posted there was some trouble with WASA's CF but referred to "East". I am still waiting for them to link me that particular fb post he mentioned so I can find the connection between East and WASA.

This was the post; [There's a big thread on Facebook from an early adopter of this thing - he checked it after 2 weeks because he got a recall notice from East. The follower shattered, ruining his cam lobe and hpfp.

It's come to light that these parts were never tested on a car, only a fuel pump dyno, and the company has now said they're not compatible with upgraded fuel pumps. Buy at your own risk, or even better, not at all.]

[colesey]

The tale of woe is in here Ron

https://www.facebook.com/groups/529405700525327/

[ROH ECHT]

Yep, found it. Thanks for the share; https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10157831618668922&set=pcb.2051984231600792

Someone remarked; WASA concluded the damage is due to the larger APR hpfp spring...as they only tested with an oem piston spring???

[Jb55]

Thought I’d update this as now over 3k miles on the new follower (hardly driven the car due to lockdown).

Iv just had the fuel pump off again actually been dreading it if I’m honest but the news is good the follower has zero visible wear on it, considering the last follower I took out only had 8k miles on and was very worn I think I’m safe to say we don’t have a cam lobe issue and it might of been a issue with the old fuel pump a Dodgy follower or maybe was just installed incorrectly somehow I have no clue but I’ll check it again in another 3-4K miles just to be safe but it’s definitely looking like good news and it’s a massive relief as iv been pretty worried about it.