Cam follower worn on one side only 8k miles

[Jb55]

Hey guys what do you reckon, changed the fuel Pump today for a new one and replaced cam follower at the same time and this is the follower that came out its worn on one side and only been on the car for 8k miles.

Hopefully the images work.

https://imgur.com/uxq4ho6

https://imgur.com/9V6aygJ

https://imgur.com/gD7rwI3

[ROH ECHT]

To guess, I would say cam lobe was worn unevenly before...or the HPFP was not torqued evenly at 10Nm for all three bolts. But who knows, it is also possible the cam follower was not manufactured well and may have been higher in that area.

Guesses are all one can do. I assume its hpfp has been upgraded given the amount of wear for 8k miles, right? Perhaps the spring or piston cap weren't seated squarely. The piston cap, if oem type, may not have had the oem type center button properly re-seated (see @ 6:20 [ Invalid YouTube link ]&feature=emb_logo).

These are my best guesses.

[Jb55]

@ROH ECHT cam follower was last changed at vw with genuine part. I believe the Hpfp is original that came on the car and cars not been mapped so I very much doubt the pumps internals have been upgraded.

I expected to see minimal wear after only 8k was definitely a shock when I see it.
I guess all I can now is keep an eye on it and hope it’s not a worn cam lobe.

I’ll check it again after 1000 miles

[rich83]

Take a picture of the cam lobe 

[Jb55]

@rich83 I had a look at the lobe when the pump was off and it looked ok to me, I should of took a few pics but didn’t, the cars going to aks tuning in august so I’ll get them to inspect the cam lobe while they have it.

[Jb55]

@rich83 @ROH ECHT i couldn’t just leave it and had the pump off today to take some pics of the lobe, couldn’t see or feel any score marks I ran my finger nail over the lobe and it was smooth, its difficult to tell but maybe some wear to right hand side as it’s not as shiny what do you guys think?

https://imgur.com/a/9RT40tz

[ROH ECHT]

It does appear worn down to the right. I can only imagine this would be due to the original machining of cam lobe bore, end of the cam where the lobe is pressed on, or the mating surface of timing chain cover to hpfp so to misalign the position of the CF to lobe. Best hope would be something was off with the CF and more frequent inspections of the new one would be recommended. If the wear doesn't replicate itself onto the new CF, you may be able to relax.

[FJB]

The unusual wear is likely to be caused by the cam follower not rotating as it should and staying in the same location, I don't know what would cause it not to rotate.

[rich83]

Doesnt look great.... Alex at AKS will tell you for sure... its sometimes hard to tell on photos.

[Jb55]

@FJB  Thanks for having a look mate, I was reading earlier that the follower actually rotates and thought maybe mine got stuck and stopped rotating,
possibly a dry follower that didn’t get lubricated or a dodgy follower that was slightly out of shape/tolerance.

@ROH ECHT ill definitely be keeping an eye on it and hopefully just a dodgy follower. thanks for having a look buddy.

@rich83 thanks for having a look mate fingers crossed it’s not bad news.

[ROH ECHT]

I agree with the one who said the CF may have not been rotating as they normally do. Yet another possibility.

[pudding]

The cam lobe isn't flat like the EA888 engine, but has a slight taper to promote tappet spin.  Your tappet definitely isn't spinning.  Cam lobe looks worn out to me, but hard to say for sure without accurate measurements.

[Jb55]

@Pudding Do you have any idea what could of caused the wear on the lobe, cars only just coming up to 80k miles, if the car had a cam follower fail in its life I would of thought the lobe would be scored.

I brought the car from a dealer 3 months ago,  I did send him a picture of the cam follower and he didn’t even know what it was despite him telling me he used to work for vw and knows these cars inside out when I brought the car from him,  not sure if I’d have any come back on the dealer if it’s worn or could he just say it’s  normal wear and tear, I need to do some research on my rights and get this lobe looked at properly.

[pudding]

Hmmmm, hard to say for sure mate.  Oil quality or slack servicing perhaps, what's the service history like?  The car may also have had the dreaded oil pick up blockage at some point in it's history.  Any oil starvation will cause the top end components to suffer first.

Looking at the picture of the cam lobe, it's not looking too happy on the right side.  Looks like there is some very light scoring but certainly not as bad as some lobes get.

I would just stick another follower in and see what it wears like over the next few thousand miles.  Use the best oil you can afford and change it often, 3-5K.

If the new follower wears in the same manner, I would stick a new intake cam in.  It's not that bad a job.  Good time to do the cam chain and tensioner at the same time.

[Jb55]

@Pudding full service history mostly vw , think two services was a little late but the car hadn’t done many miles in that time. Loads of paperwork with the car the sump has definitely been off and pick up replaced at some point will have to check the paperwork to see when that was.
The car was definitely owned by an enthusiast who wasn’t shy about spending money on the car.

Have replaced the follower and will check it after a 1000 miles.

I’d planned to change the oil every 5k miles using quantum platinum 5w 40 I don’t thrash the car just enjoy having a bit of power when I feel like it.

The engine runs absolutely sweet no codes no fuel cuts pulls really well.

Thanks for taking a look mate it’s appreciated.