Cam Follower Awareness hasn't gone far enough

[Kalpsn2000]

^^^
You can get the spline bits online or think halfords do a small set.

Could do more damage bending the pipes

[brookesb32]

Went to vw to get a cam follower today but they had none in so ordered me one for tommorow. I cant find any bloody spline bits anywhere though! Has anyone tried doing it without taking the pipes off and letting the metal pipes bend a bit? or should i order one? If they bend enough to get it out then surely thats a winner because im guessing i would have to de-pressurise the system?

I bought a set of 11 off ebay which arrived really fast - only just over £6 and sure to be useful in the future 

[Jamie3184]

Changed mine today, along with the DV and PCV. Took me just under 1 hour and 1/2 to do all three, the hardest part was taking the engine cover off! Don't know why they didn't just use 4 torx screws rather than the rubbish rubber plugs!

Anyway this is what mine looked like after 50k miles, hardly any wear at all. Obviously a well looked after car, Matt 

[camfollower]

As you say, very little wear there... I bet it's standard... Staged cars seem to chew through the follower more quickly, stands to reason really.

Mine looked worse than yours after 25k Stage 2.

[camfollower]

Went to vw to get a cam follower today but they had none in so ordered me one for tommorow. I cant find any bloody spline bits anywhere though! Has anyone tried doing it without taking the pipes off and letting the metal pipes bend a bit? or should i order one? If they bend enough to get it out then surely thats a winner because im guessing i would have to de-pressurise the system?

As others have said, definitely get the tools rather than bending the pipe... you'd have to bend it a fair amount to get the follower out... not worth it bud.

[Richie_101]

As you say, very little wear there... I bet it's standard... Staged cars seem to chew through the follower more quickly, stands to reason really.

Mine looked worse than yours after 25k Stage 2.

It's great to see all these cam followers and the respective age/mileage info, so keep 'em coming.

Apart from one or two with potential cam lobe problems, the unmodified cars seem to be ok, which is good.


Rich.

@Camfollower: "Sig was great".... Indeed it was! Can't you put it back on? It would be worth another 5 day ban for the amount of pleasure it gives the rest of us.

[Jamie3184]

As you say, very little wear there... I bet it's standard... Staged cars seem to chew through the follower more quickly, stands to reason really.

Mine looked worse than yours after 25k Stage 2.

Yeah it is standard. Think i will still change the follower at every service interval anyway, very much doubt it would need to be done that often but for £28 its not exactly a huge expense.

Excellent work on the campaign follower 

[bimbound]

Went to vw to get a cam follower today but they had none in so ordered me one for tommorow. I cant find any bloody spline bits anywhere though! Has anyone tried doing it without taking the pipes off and letting the metal pipes bend a bit? or should i order one? If they bend enough to get it out then surely thats a winner because im guessing i would have to de-pressurise the system?

Having just replaced one with the banjo bolt I can say that I would not risk trying to bend the pipes. I bought a 1/4" bit off ebay for about £5 delivered, used on a ratchet with an extension and once I found the sweet spot to give me enough room to move it the removal was very easy. My fuel pump didn't have a valve on it to de-pressurise like the one in the guide, I found when I undid the nut on the right of the pump a small amount of fuel drained out but it was minimal. Took under an hr from start to finish and i'm a rank amateur!

[Aas]

When I done this I didn't have the tool for the banjo bolt, I undone the clips on the pipe at the front of the engine and it allowed me to pull the pump out enough

[daboynov]

new to the forum but this is a no brainer just like only touching a gti with anual service history. keep up the good work gents awarness is key!

[tom.b]

Had mine replaced as soon as i got the car the garage new about the proplem took them about an hour to do  well worth it for piece of mind!

[Saintsteve]

Went to vw to get a cam follower today but they had none in so ordered me one for tommorow. I cant find any bloody spline bits anywhere though! Has anyone tried doing it without taking the pipes off and letting the metal pipes bend a bit? or should i order one? If they bend enough to get it out then surely thats a winner because im guessing i would have to de-pressurise the system?

As others have said, definitely get the tools rather than bending the pipe... you'd have to bend it a fair amount to get the follower out... not worth it bud.

If i was running an aftermarket fuel pump or Internals increasing loads on the camshaft, then i would replace the follower yearly.

Running a stock pump will only have slight wear over time and worth checking every couple of years or so.
Damage seems to occur more often on High tune setups or lots of high speed track days.

[rich83]

Judging by year isnt helpful.... i would certainly say it needs checking every 10,000 miles at the most. More frequently if you are using a upgraded HPFP

[RifGTi]

Without creating a new thread I was wondering if anyone knows of a mechanic that can do this is Suffolk. My local stealer is quoting around £130 to have this done.

[prp74]

Got my done today. It wasn't really worn, but I'm glad I did it. Just peace of mind. Definitely worth replacing.

Thanks to all the posts and members for their feedback on this.....