Cam Follower Failure

[mtierney5]

Hi guys,

Firstly I hope this is posted in the right place! Iv never posted here before but I had to share my experience with ye, and hopefully save someone a lot of money!

I drive a 2006 reg MK2 Vrs Octavia. 2.0ltrs tfsi 200bhp. About 2 months ago i started having problems with my top end speed. Basically when the car got up to 200kph ish it would die! Gradually start loosing speed and after about 8 seconds it would take off again. I brought it to my mechanic and he plugged it in and it showed a fault of low fuel pressure. A lot of research later and he found the problem.... Im not a mechanic so bare with me here! There is a cam follower between the high pressure fuel pump and the cam shaft loeb. The piston type thing in the fuel pump had worn through the top of the cam follower and was rubbing off the cam shaft loeb. This caused the low fuel pressure. This then caused wear to the tip of the fuel pump and to the cam shaft loeb. There was a recall on this exact problem with the GTi golf in america but Europe decided it was fine!!! So now I have to replace the high pressure fuel pump, the cam shaft, the follower and a new timing belt kit. Its coming in at around €1,500! And the cam shaft is not available and has to be a special order and will take over 2 weeks! All because of a cam follower worth €30!

So if anyone out there has a 2006 to 2008 petrol VRS get someone to check the cam follower!!! My car now has 60k miles on the clock!

[Mute]

Are you definately using the right oil?

That's a bummer that it's failed at such low mileage.

I have a picture of the part here but i can't figure out how to upload onto Brisky without uploading somewhere else and just putting in a link. The lobe on the camshaft looks like a 4 sided cam profile -- effectively a square in the camshaft rather than the normal cam shape. The follower looks like a small piston with a roller on the end.

[Timmyboy]

Good to bring this [back] to people's attention and sorry to hear you're going to be landed with a huge bill

It is fairly well documented though - I changed my cam follower a few months back for that exact reason, even though the one I took off showed zero signs of wear. Other cars, such as yours, seem to be less lucky. Have a look at Carl's from his change guide too: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/142836-how-to-change-fuel-pump-cam-follower-on-2-0-tfsi/

Google 'TFSI cam follower' and you'll see a load of results.

[mtierney5]

Good to bring this [back] to people's attention and sorry to hear you're going to be landed with a huge bill

It is fairly well documented though - I changed my cam follower a few months back for that exact reason, even though the one I took off showed zero signs of wear. Other cars, such as yours, seem to be less lucky. Have a look at Carl's from his change guide too: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/142836-how-to-change-fuel-pump-cam-follower-on-2-0-tfsi/

Google 'TFSI cam follower' and you'll see a load of results.

Thanks guys. My cam follower was worn right through, you could put the tip of your little finger through it! I had just never heard of it! Bummer!