TDI BRM Camshaft problems

[Cire1963]

I have read a lot about the wiped cams on TDI BRMS. I am the latest victom, lobes have the sharp burred edges but I have not torn it down as of yet. I am thinking about purchasing the Kermatdi colt 2 cam with stage 1 kit. The whole deal runs about $400 more than the standard OEM stage 1 kits I have seen on idparts and someother sites. Does anyone have a idea if which way to go, or has anyone use the Kermatdi cam? I spoke to Kermatdi and they stated the cam provides a performance increase also. I have 135000 miles my car so I plan to keep it for a while. I was also wondering if I should go all out and do the stage 2 kit (timing chain, water pump, belt, filters, mounts and bolts since I am so far into this. All in all the stage 1 kit runs about $1200 and the stage 2 $1500??

Thanks for your feedback

[cheefpilot]

I used a Franko6 chrome plated cam along with his modified cam bearings. Seems to be working great so far. The instructions on this site are really good, I did the timing belt at the same time as the cam.

[bkhodum]

130,000 here and cam and lifter gone. i ordered a stock replacement kit but im just not sure if im gonna stay in this rat race or trade the car. colt and franko, both are good cams but i dont think its gonna matter because its a half a$$ design from vw and until you add wider lobes your gonna be back in the same boat. i was advised that i needed to use the 40w oil instead of the 30w oil to prevent this from happening again. REALLY,,COME ON,,REALLY,, i've been in the service field all my life and it amazes me at what companys can blame when they know they screwed up. anyway i will use 30w vw approved oil seeing that i have bought about 10 cases and i WILL add lucas oil treatment on every oil change. lucas is a very hi grade synthetic lube and if i would have followed my first instinct instead of listening to vw i might not be replacing it as soon.

[bkhodum]

one more note,,i asked about using lucas in the vw oil and they advised it would be to thick that i need the thinner 30w. now we're saying the 30w is too thin

[cheefpilot]

I replaced mine when car had just under 90k so you guys made it farther than me. Of course mine was still running fine, I just chose to go ahead and replace it before it got worse and really caused problems. I'm hoping these modified bearings will increase the lubrication and make this cam last longer.

[Ol'Rattler]

Originally Posted by cheefpilot

I replaced mine when car had just under 90k so you guys made it farther than me. Of course mine was still running fine, I just chose to go ahead and replace it before it got worse and really caused problems. I'm hoping these modified bearings will increase the lubrication and make this cam last longer.

Same here. Replaced mine at 88K miles with the Franko6 chromed cam, modified bearings, black lifters and did the oil clocking mod and recommended break in.

Mine was showing the sharp edge on one of the lobes, some slight lifter dishing, the copper streaking and 1 or 2 (can't remember) of the gallery plugs in the injector rocker axle had popped out probably degrading oiling to the injector rockers. I could have put off cam replacement until maybe 150K miles or so, but I didn't want to wait until I was having performance issues.

How long will it last? I don't have a clue, but I suspect that it will last longer that the stock cam by a fair amount. We will see..............

Let's see. in 100K miles between the cam, timing belt and replacing the really craptastic DMF clutch with a bullet proof SMF clutch I'm at right around $2000 in parts for major repairs. Could be better but I'm reasonably certain I'll make it to 200K miles with routine maintenance. Did I mention I'm still on my OEM brakes, starter, alternator, suspension etc?

[chris808]

108,000 miles and one of my lifters is bad too. Dealer quoted me $1000.00+ for labor plus 1500.00 for parts. Planning on just doing it myself with parts from metalman and help from the local military hobby shop. So lucky the forum has a great DIY. Before the valve cover got poped the dealer suggested replacing my turbo charger. They said they had never heard of camshaft problems. When I showed the forum thread they popped the valve cover for free to confirm my suspicions.

[ROVERTTDI]

All the PD owner's with bad camshafts should make a Facebook page to capture VWs attention. I've written them several times about this on-going issue and they seem to believe that the "100,000 km or 5 year warranty" is sufficient...think again.

Who's in on the facebook page?

[Ol'Rattler]

Originally Posted by chris808

108,000 miles and one of my lifters is bad too. Dealer quoted me $1000.00+ for labor plus 1500.00 for parts. Planning on just doing it myself with parts from metalman and help from the local military hobby shop. So lucky the forum has a great DIY. Before the valve cover got poped the dealer suggested replacing my turbo charger. They said they had never heard of camshaft problems. When I showed the forum thread they popped the valve cover for free to confirm my suspicions.

Stay away from that dealer, they don't have a clue.

To some dealers, changing the turbo is part of their throw parts at it until it is fixed troubleshooting process.

[Dmcampbell]

Ol'rattler: Why did you choose this cam over the stock and the Colt from Kerma? Also what are the improved bearings and Oil clocking mods? Our 2006 Jetta TDI has 92,000 miles and I pulled the cam cover to inspect before doing the TB and WP and found four of the eight lobes worn. Dealer wants $3750 to do it all. Thanks, Mike