Introduction
A common problem in VW and Audi TDI with pumpe duse TDI engines (PD) are worn camshaft lobes, lifters (camshaft followers), and bearings. If you have a 2004-2005 VW Passat TDI (BHW), 2004-2005 Jetta (BEW), 2004-2006 Golf, New Beetle (BEW), 2005.5-2006 Jetta (BRM), or V10 Touareg TDI, you have a PD engine. Pumpe duse technology was also found in other markets with other engines years before and after being available in North America. It's unknown if the V10 Touareg has this problem since there were so few sold and it uses a completely different cylinder head design than the 4 cylinder engines. Unit injector (generic name for pumpe duse) technology is also used on non VW/Audi diesel engines.
The major difference between pumpe duse VW/Audi TDI engines and other TDI engines is the unit fuel injectors which are actuated by the camshaft. Because there's limited space on the cylinder head, pumpe duse engines sacrificed valve lobe width to fit the extra lobe for the fuel injector rockers. See 1000q: direct injection and pumpe duse for more details.
While many PD engines do not have any cam wear, some get wear on a single lobe and some get multiple worn lobes. VW recommends engine oil VW spec 505.01 for pumpe duse engines but if was only an engine oil problem it doesn't explain why there isn't always even wear across all lobes. See 1000q: PD engine oils for a list. 5w-40 oil should provide more protection than 5w-30.
The exact reason for excess wear is unknown but contributing factors could be manufacturing defects, poor design, thin engine oil, insufficient oiling at the bearing, incorrect specification oil used, or other factors. Some believe that even using the recommended specification engine oil won't help because of low zinc phosphorous in modern engine oils. ZDDP engine oil additive would add zinc but shorten catalytic converter life. It's unknown if this makes a significant difference over the long term. Regardless of the exact cause, the fact is that by the time this problem causes symptoms the car is usually out of warranty. If the car is under warranty, this is definitely something that should be covered.
Editorial speculation: It appears that #1 and 4 intake lobes are more likely to wear first. Some believe that that the factory torque spec on the rocker bolts is too high. The rockers don't go all the way to the end of the cap and when combined with other factors such as insufficient oiling, slight warping could be a contributing factor to camshaft lobe wear. This is just a guess and I am not a professional mechanic or engineer - it also doesn't explain why only some some engines get wear. There are modifications to the bearing cap that will increase oiling and might reduce wear (not just because of more lubrication but because oil takes away heat) but it hasn't been tested over the long term. Feel free to post in the myturbodiesel forum for more details. Any non factory modification or torque spec is done at your own risk!
VW installed a mix of black nitrided hardened lifters and chrome non nitrided lifters across model years. VW probably recognized there was a problem and changed the lifters. Some engines have half black and half chrome lifters because they tried to cheap out. All replacement lifters should be black. The PD cylinder heads share many parts but the BEW engine has a shorter lobe and shorter duration vs. the BRM and BHW. This means decreased contact time, a better oil film, and in theory, less chance of camshaft wear.
The self-adjusting hydraulic lifter has ports to keep it filled with engine oil
and a "button" that the valve stem presses on. Below is a
cutaway showing the internal springs.
A basic inspection requires the valve cover to be removed and the camshaft rotated to examine the lobes and lifters. This should tell you right away if there is lobe wear. The difficulty of removing the valve cover is only 1/5. A through inspection requires the timing belt to be removed (which is why the difficulty is rated 3/5) so that the camshaft can be removed to inspect the camshaft bearings. If you have a pumpe duse engine and are planning to do the timing belt soon, I suggest doing a basic camshaft inspection beforehand so that all parts are ready and there's no extra car down time.
If you find that you do have any camshaft wear, take many pictures documenting the wear. Keep all your receipts and try to see if VW customer care will work with you to cover the repair cost. Even if they don't, I still suggest that you keep all records.
Parts (click links to compare current
prices)
The only special tools needed other than the standard timing belt tools, triple
square bits, and torque wrench are the camshaft pulley counterholder T10051 and
camshaft pulley puller T10052. My regular peg counterhold
tool (not the metalnerd sprocket counterholder) wouldn't fit because of the
raised center 18mm bolt. The lifters, bearings, and oil seal/gasket are
all the same. The difference between the kits are the camshaft. The part
numbers are written in 2 formats for ease of searching.
camshaft replacement kit for:
BEW engine - 2004-2006 Golf TDI, New Beetle TDI, and 2004-2005 Jetta: from boraparts,
from metalman
parts
BRM engine 2005.5-2006 Jetta TDI: from metalman
parts, from boraparts
BHW engine 2004-2005 Passat TDI
OR
1x camshaft:
BEW engine camshaft VW# 038 109 101 r (038109101r)
BRM engine camshaft VW# 038 109 101 ah (038109101ah)
BHW engine camshaft VW# 038 109 101 af (038109101af)
8x lifters (INA brand are OEM sourced equivalent, INA 420 0209 10 are black
lifters): VW# 038 109 309 c (038109309c)
10x camshaft bearings: VW# 038 103 673 b glb (038103673bglb)
1x camshaft oil seal: VW# 026 103 085 (026103085)
1x tandem pump gasket: VW# 038 145 215 (026103085)
always replace bolts:
10x camshaft bearing cap bolts: VW# 038 103 714
8x fuel injector rocker bolts: VW# 038 103 714 a
(optional, not suggested unless the rollers are damaged)
fuel injector rocker levers (2 per engine): VW# 038 109 527 af
Tools
metalnerd sprocket counterholder (used with sprocket on hub/pulley)
10mm socket or T30 torx bolts for the valve cover
5, 6mm allen head bit
8, 10 mm triple square bits
hylomar gasket maker
camshaft pulley counterholder VW# T10051 (can be found at snap-on
VW dealer tools)
camshaft pulley puller for tapered camshafts VW# T10052 (can be found at snap-on
VW dealer tools)
torque wrench (required!)
engine specific timing belt tools, see the timing belt writeup for your engine
linked below for details
Basic inspection
Remove the engine cover. For 2004-2005 VW Passat TDI, remove the 3x 10mm nuts holding it down. All other pumpe duse cars, just pull the engine cover up to remove it - they have ball-socket snaps that hold it down. You can retrofit snap sockets to the Passat engine cover, see 1000q: pumpe duse cover mod (for a Jetta but same idea).
Remove the upper timing belt cover. It's held by 2 spring clips.
Clean the area around the valve cover. On the 2004 - 2006 VW Jetta, Golf,
and New beetle TDI you have to remove some intake piping to remove the
timing belt cover and get access to the camshaft sprocket. See 10000:
BEW engine timing belt if you have a 2004-2005 Jetta or 2004-2006 Golf/New
Beetle. See 1000q:
BRM engine timing belt for more tips and details on a 2005.5-2006 VW Jetta
TDI.
Clean the valve cover and the area around it. You don't want oil/dirt/sand falling into the engine. Wipe down all tools before using them on the exposed cylinder head.
Below is the 2005.5-2006 VW Jetta TDI BRM engine. There are some T30 torx bolts around the
perimeter of the valve cover (yellow arrows below). Carefully move the fuel
lines away when removing the valve cover. The 2004-2006 BEW engine is
similar but uses 10mm bolts to hold the valve cover.
Also remove the vent tube (white arrow above and below, pinch the plastic
clip to release) and rubber line
(yellow box below). Move the wire under the "throttle" intake
flap aside.
The trick to removing the valve cover is that you can't do it at TDC and you can't axially twist the valve cover during removal. Either of these will cause the side at the timing belt to get caught on the camshaft sensor tabs on the camshaft pulley (green arrows below) or the tandem pump. If the camshaft side is catching, rotate the camshaft sprocket (with timing belt on) so that the tabs on the camshaft pulley are out of the way. These tabs are highlighted in a "can remove" position below. If the tab is at the 2 o'clock position the valve cover will catch on it. Pull the valve cover up and slightly towards you during removal.
Optional on Passat but not suggested: if you are planning on removing the intake manifold for cleaning, remove it before the valve cover to get a little more clearance.
See 1000q: intake EGR removal
for more details if you have a Passat. Removal is tight but once you know
to rotate the camshaft to clear
the tabs on the camshaft pulley it's easy to remove the cover.
You can now see the camshaft, lifters, rockers, and injectors (all single camshaft 4 cylinder PD engines similar)
Slowly rotate the camshaft sprocket by using a sprocket counterholding tool. This will manually turn over the engine
and rotate the camshaft. The picture is from another writeup, ignore the
black pin in the camshaft sprocket. If the pin is in place the engine
won't rotate. If using a metalnerd sprocket
counterholding tool, use the green one (has smaller pins) or a blue one with the
smaller pins added (the pins that come with the blue bar are too large).
As the camshaft rotates, inspect all the lobes for scratches and worn tips. The injector rocker lobes (the ones in the middle) don't seem to wear much. This is probably because they use roller bearings. The valve lobes (the narrow ones) seem to wear on the tips and grind down the lifters. For unknown reasons, I've seen more worn exhaust lobes which start on #1 and #4. Others have gotten worn intake lobes. Some cars have 1 worn lobe with the others perfect and other cars have all worn lobes.
Each lobe has a chamfered edge - this means that the edges are machined with an angle instead of a sharp 90o angle. If the tip lost its chamfered edge, the edges will feel sharp and you can see the loss of the smooth chamfered edge. If this is the case, the lifter tops are probably chewed up. It's hard to tell how bad it is without wiping the oil off the lifters to see them.
Below is a camshaft with minor wear on 1 lobe (injector rocker levers removed for illustration)
- it has a copper colored streaking wear area on the backside of the lobe.
If it's not bad, slowly rotate the camshaft and polish the copper off. The
bearing is worn but it's probably still usable.
Below are closeups of normal lobe tips with smooth, even chamfered edges.
Here is a brand new VW Jetta TDI camshaft lobe.
Here is a PD camshaft lobe with 180,000 miles on it. It still looks
perfectly usable.
Here is a bad lobe (#4) from the same camshaft with 180k. It has a worn tip (the light colored dots on the tip) with sharp edges where the chamfer
is worn away. Check both sides of the lobe tip because they can wear on
one side more than the other. A worn tip can be felt and seen by running a clean finger over the lobe tip and
edges. When a lobe is noticeably worn
it may affect how fast and long the valves stay open and may cause idle problems.
Once the surface is worn away it will continue to wear.
You will also be able to see the lifters. (You should normally store hydraulic lifters face down). Each lobe contacts the lifter slightly off center. This causes the lifter to rotate when the camshaft touches it. Visible scratches on the contact surface of the lifters is normal but they should all be polished smooth and flat to the touch. A round star or butterfly pattern of fine visible scratches is normal because it means the lifter is rotating properly. Pictures can make scratches appear more prominent so as a rule of thumb, your fingernail should not catch on any of the scratches. Gouging scratches are not normal. If the contact surface is caved in or dished, this indicates lifter wear. They must be replaced before damage occurs. This is normally caused by worn camshaft lobes.
If your lifters look like the one below with the dished face, the camshaft, bearings, and
lifters must be replaced. Replacement
requires camshaft removal, see below for further details. If your lifters
have minor wear replace them as soon as practical. In other words, the car
is still drivable but order the parts now and repair it when you have the
chance. Replacing
only the lifter or camshaft will cause the new one to wear into the old one and
cause wear on both parts.
Below left is a replacement blackened lifter. Middle and right are the same
worn lifter from different angles. The black was worn away except on the
edges because a lobe with a sharp tip was starting to beat up the lifter.
The surface of this lifter was still flat and the car was still perfectly
drivable but it was changed to prevent further wear. If it continues to wear it will eat a hole into the face of the
lifter. Once the top of the lifter is cracked or dished, it could break
and send small metal chunks all over the cylinder head or cause severe engine
damage.
Here is an example of a totally destroyed lifter. If you have this
amount of wear do not drive the car until it's been repaired. The lobes
were also badly worn.
It was detected because the car was lumping. While poor running can
be from a variety of causes, in this case it was from badly worn
cams/lifters. Here is a video from mittzlepick of that car
running.  |
Below is another video from GR40RCapri whose #3 exhaust lobe was worn down to
the plunger like the above pic.
If your camshaft lobes and lifters appear to be good, my suggestion is to not do further inspection of the bearings. It's not worth it to remove the timing belt and camshaft to inspect the bearings. If you suspect bearing wear, switch to a heavier weight oil like 5w-40 and wait until further repair is needed.
Place the engine to TDC. For the VW Passat, see 1000q: Passat TDI timing belt part 1. For the 2005.5-2006 mk5 VW Jetta TDI, see 1000q; BRM timing belt removal. For the 2004-2006 mk4 VW Jetta, Golf, or New Beetle TDI with BEW engine, see 1000q: BEW timing belt removal. I suggest doing camshaft replacement before timing belt replacement on the BEW/BRM engines because timing belt replacement requires engine mount removal. You don't want the dirty engine support bar dropping dust into the exposed cylinder head and taking up room above the engine and where you need it most. The engine is also more secure with the mount attached.
Lock the sprockets at TDC using the timing belt indexing tools and remove the timing belt as needed. Refer to the timing belt articles linked above for details. It's suggested to replace the timing belt system if it has high miles or needs replacement soon. On the BRM/BEW engines you don't have to remove/loosen the motor mount for clearance if you are reusing the belt. Mark the direction of rotation on the belts if reusing them. During timing belt installation you must reposition the belt using the correct tools. Remove the timing belt and camshaft sprocket (3x 13mm bolts).
If you are replacing the camshaft, loosen the 18mm center camshaft sprocket bolt. You must use VW counterhold tool# T10051 because of the way the bolt sticks out. Only loosen the bolt about 2 turns. This creates a gap for the puller to pop the sprocket off and catch it. Do not let the camshaft rotate too much because the timing belt is off and valve-piston contact is possible. You won't damage anything if you gently turn the camshaft by hand but too much force could cause damage.
Then very loosely screw the three fingers of VW puller tool# T10052 all the
way into the pulley to grab it securely. Don't overtighten the puller
fingers, you just want it on enough so that all the threads on the fingers are
engaged. Too tight and it will damage the tool or the hub. The
center of the tool sits on top of the camshaft bolt to pop the camshaft
hub/pulley off the camshaft. If you are just removing the camshaft without
replacing it you can leave the hub (pulley) attached to the camshaft.
After removing the pulley, note
the slot machined on the camshaft taper and the tab on the pulley.
Unbolt the tandem pump at the other end of the cylinder head and move it to the side. It's held by 2x 6mm
allen at the sides and 2x 5mm allen head bolts at the bottom. Since the tandem pump moves fuel,
wad some paper towels underneath it before removal. Diesel fuel can melt
rubber hoses and asphalt so immediately clean up any spills. You can drain
most of the fuel into a catch can by opening the allen bolt plug between the 2x
5mm allen bolts. On the Passat you may have to remove the black fuel hose for clearance.
After
removing the spring hose clip, twist the hose to break the seal before pulling
it off. On the 2004 or 2005 Passat TDI or if you're confident that you know how to do the
advanced technique mentioned below, not removing the tandem pump will help prevent spilling
fuel and the hassle of removing the pump.
After removal, note the horizontal slot. It fits into the notch on the
camshaft. For the BHW engine, see the note below.
Advanced technique and BHW engine only: With the tandem pump in position and the engine at TDC, its slot/peg is horizontal and won't let you remove the camshaft. This advanced technique lets you remove the camshaft with the pump in place by putting the slot vertical. The transverse engines have plenty of room to remove the pump but the Passat's longitudinal BHW engine has almost no clearance. I don't suggest trying this unless you thoroughly understand what the goal is and how to safely do this advanced technique. Not following the exact instructions in your service manual could cause timing belt failure and serious engine damage, see the TOS Agreement for the full disclaimer. The advantage is that it's faster and by not opening the fuel system, you don't have a fuel mess (diesel fuel can melt asphalt and rubber hoses if it soaks) and air in the system.
From TDC and the timing belt on, rotate the engine either forward or backwards 90o. This moves the slot in the camshaft and tandem pump straight up. At this position the engine won't be at TDC. For every revolution of the camshaft, the crankshaft moves two. Mark the camshaft sprocket and timing belt with index marks using a marker or chalk. Something like a mark on the sprocket pointing straight up will work. CAUTION - this is not an acceptable way to install the timing belt, it's only a rough guide for removing and installing the camshaft so that you can bring the engine back to TDC without the valves jamming the pistons. With the slot vertical and bearing caps removed, you can remove the camshaft straight up.
During installation, you must install the camshaft in the same position. The camshaft sprocket will only go on the camshaft one way due to the key so use that as a guide to put on the camshaft. If you don't have good marks, the camshaft can only be installed two ways with the slot straight up. The correct orientation will result in the #1 lobes both pointing up like a V when you bring the engine 90o back to TDC with the belt on (the slot will be horizontal). Make sure that the slot goes firmly into the tab on the tandem pump without catching or binding. Put the bearing caps on and tighten the bolts but avoid adding the final torque value's 1/4 turn unless you're 100% sure the camshaft is correct with no binding or abnormal resistance. Once you add the final 1/4 turn the bolts cannot be reused. Put the timing belt back on and tension.
Rotate the camshaft and engine by hand back to TDC. Then remove the timing belt and follow the rest of timing belt installation as normal. Again, this is not an acceptable final position for the belt, it's just a rough guide to get the belt on so you can rotate it by hand back to TDC where you can do an accurate timing.
While rotating the engine by hand, watch for any resistance - this could be the valves hitting the pistons. If this is the case, stop and make sure the belt and camshaft are correct. Also watch for binding of the camshaft because sometimes the caps aren't perfectly aligned and it will cause even resistance to turning the camshaft (not from compression of turning the engine).
Once you're satisfied that the
camshaft is back on, not binding, and rotated to TDC, remember to add the final 1/4 turn
torque for the cap bolts (unless you're using aftermarket bolts, see notes at
bottom).
All engines procedure continued below:
Remove the fuel injector rocker levers by loosening the 10mm triple square bolts (labeled below in yellow) in the order 1, 2, 3, 4 by about 1/4 turn. Repeat on the other side. Then loosen it about another 1/2 turn and then gradually loosen them all in the same order. This will keep it level. The service manual says to loosen the inner bolts first, then the outer bolts - the order/numbers/gradual loosening is just a suggestion. Do not use air tools to crack the bolts loose because if the bolt heads strip you will have a bad day. Make sure the triple square bit is fully seated.
Make sure to keep the rocker levers in order! Do not interchange them!
Loosen the camshaft bearing cap bolts a 1/4 turn (2x 8mm triple square bit per
cap, shown below with yellow arrow)
in the suggested order of bearing cap 1, 5, 3, 2, 4. Do not remove
the larger head bolts, only remove the 8mm triple square bolts. Bearing cap #1
is the one closest to the timing belt, bearing cap #5 is the one closest to the
tandem pump. Then loosen it about another 1/2 turn. Then gradually remove the caps in the same
order. This keeps the camshaft level and unstressed. Make sure to keep
the bearing caps in
order! Do not interchange them! They should have a stamped number on
them, 1, 2, 3, etc.. Caps are matched to each head and each spot and
cannot be interchanged.
Below are the caps and bearings. The bearings are the gray inserts and
have normal wear. The lower bearings shown in the next picture have abnormal wear down to the copper (yellow arrows) and should be replaced.
The camshaft can now be removed. It should be at TDC: #1 lobes should point up in a "V". This is also how it must be installed (unless you're using the advanced technique above). You can see this in the previous picture showing the worn lobes.
During new bearing installation, note the
retaining tab on each bearing, visible below. The tab must settle into the notch
on the cylinder head and bearing cap. Each bearing should be flat and not crooked or
rotated out of position. The camshaft, lifters, and bearings should be changed as a set because they have developed a
wear pattern into each other. The injector rocker rollers can be reused
unless they are damaged.
Inspect the lifter surfaces as described earlier. They should all easily spin in their bores and have flat surfaces. Check for any burrs on the lifter bores or on your new parts.
Installation is the reverse of removal. Again, the camshaft must be installed with the engine at TDC and #1 lobes sticking up like a "V" (unless you used the advanced technique above). Use all new camshaft cap and injector rocker bolts. Clean all bearings, camshafts, and lifters before installation. Lubricate the lifters with oil and spin them in the bores by hand to make sure they move freely. VW lifters should come prefilled with oil. Smear engine assembly lubricant on the bearings and camshaft contact surfaces. It's probably better to have a thin coat on the bearings and a medium coat on the lifter surfaces.
If the engine is in the car and was just running, the engine is already primed with oil. If the engine is out of the car and not primed with engine oil, assembly lube on the bearings and lifters is extremely important in ensuring adequate lubrication until you are able to build oil pressure. Also prime the oil system in general before starting the engine.
Make sure there is no oil pooled in the bolt holes because tightening the bolts into pooled liquid could cause hydrolock and crack the head.
Camshaft cap #1 and 5 (the ones at the ends) should have a thin bead of gasket maker on the cap-head surface. This will prevent oil leaks. I also put a dot at the corners of the valve cover gasket-bearing cap top to prevent leaks. Any hylomar gasket maker will substitute for the OEM VW sealant. I just used permatex ultra grey gasket maker (non hardening). Make sure cap #5 is snug up against the tandem pump gasket.
Make sure the new camshaft oil seal on cap #1 is seated properly. Rubber spring type seals should have their inner diameter lubed with oil. Papery teflon type seals should be installed dry. Make sure the lip of the teflon seal is not bent during installation because this can cause damage to the seal and cause leaks. Cap #5 should be snugged up against the tandem pump.
After loosely tightening the camshaft caps, gently rotate the camshaft by hand. There will be some resistance from the valve springs but it should rotate freely until the valves touch the pistons so just don't move it too much or too hard. If it's binding, slightly loosen the bearing cap bolts and hit the bearing cap straight down on the top of the cap to help them seat properly. Do not use a metal hammer directly on the aluminum cap. A clean dead blow mallet or clean block of wood with a hammer is acceptable. If using OEM stretch bolts, only add the final 1/4 turn after you're satisfied with the cap position and the camshaft is not binding. Once you add the final 1/4 turn to OEM bolts they should not be reused.
CAUTION:
If you are using aftermarket 12.9 grade allen head replacement bolts, they are
not stretch bolts so don't use the torque specs for the OEM bolts or else you will
deform the bearing caps and damage the head. If using aftermarket 12.9
allen head replacement bolts, the supplier recommends tightening the cap bolts to
15 ft-lb and only tightening
the rocker bolts to 30 ft-lb. Again, this is only for replacement non
stretch bolts. If you are using OEM stretch bolts, refer to the torque specs below.
OEM bolts have 2 wide barrels on the shaft and have triple square heads instead
of allen.
When installing the fuel injector rocker levers, the ball bearing on the rocker should rest in the concave seat at the center-top of the injector. They can be reused on a new camshaft if they aren't damaged and don't need any special break in.
When replacing the tandem pump, the flat notch must fit into the notch in the camshaft as shown previously. Don't force it.
NOTE - the service manual shows a procedure for adjusting the fuel injector rocker adjusting screw/lock nuts. If you have a dial gauge, take the time to check the rockers. If you don't, you should be OK. You must readjust the rockers if you are using new rockers or have adjusted the adjusting screw.
If you put in new lifters, wait at least 1 hour before starting the engine. They should come pre oiled and this waiting period lets them settle down. (Some other types of lifters are shipped empty). During that time you should have turned over the engine by hand a few times during timing belt installation. This makes sure the lifters are settled.
After starting the engine and stabilizing oil pressure, raise engine rpm with the accelerator pedal to about 2000 rpm for 15 minutes. This raises oil pressure vs. idle and increases engine oil splashing at the camshaft. Then go for a drive and vary engine rpm up and down around 2000. This is also supposed to help the camshaft lobes "break in" to the lifters.
OEM stretch bolt camshaft bearing cap: 71 inch lb (about 6 ft lb) + 1/4 turn
OEM stretch bolt injector rocker lever: 15 ft lb + 1/4 turn
18mm center camshaft sprocket bolt: 74 ft lb
6mm upper tandem pump bolts: 15 ft-lb
5mm lower tandem pump bolts: 7 ft-lb
valve cover bolts: 7 ft-lb
If you have any more questions about damaged camshaft lobes, lifters, followers, or heads, please ask in the forums linked at the top and here. You can also google search the site: