Well, the garage are putting my car back together after head gasket replacement. They cleaned the head, camshaft and followers and after cleaning they found the parts had the dreaded wear marks :-(

I ask for the price of replacement and am presented with an estimate for £750 for the camshaft and 8 followers! Unreal. I managed to find a second hand set from seat Alhambra with 46k miles for £130. Hopefully it'll be ok when it arrives.

Really ****ed off.

Sorry to hear of your pain mate. Is this a 2.0 tdi or the 1.9 tdi? What's the mileage? It is highly unusual for the 1.9 to develop this problem unless run on the wrong oil specs. Could also be a case of the mechanics overreacting.

1.9tdi with 127k miles. The mechanics are trustworthy, I felt the followers and they're definitely worn.... Here's one of the camshaft lobes.

...It is highly unusual for the 1.9 to develop this problem unless run on the wrong oil ...

+1

Ask them to check the oil pressure and if necessary the oil pickup. The 1.9 has the same reliable chain driven oil pump as the Octavia, but they do occasionally have problems.

Poor oil flow to the head may be the cause of all your problems.

Cheers - I'll ask the necessary tomorrow.

That isn't nice :( Did you have any symptoms due to the camshaft and follower wear?

Nope, no symptoms. It's just as they were doing the head they noticed this - best to get it done now than to risk a dropped valve.

Sounds a bit sus to me. For the car to exhibit no symptoms and for there to be excessive wear. I bet there are thousands of this engine out there with the same wear pattern. As has already been mentioned, sounds a bit overzealous.

Edited 24 October, 201213 yr by Lofty79

I imagine so. But I'm not a betting man. I'm not willing to stake over £1000 on the chance that it 'might' be ok.....

£750 is quite a bit. You should be able to get a cam for £200, followers about £10 each, and the bearings for about £2 each - you need 10. Then probably some bolts. At most for materials I think £300 for the whole lot is fair, then a few hours labour to put it all back together. I personally wouldn't re-use followers. The newer ones from Skoda/VW/TPS have the black top coated ones, and they are a lot more durable than the original ones.

The price I was quite is direct from skoda. £400 odd quid for the camshaft and 24 for each follower.....

You also have to ask what the mechanics gain from this..... They know I shop around for parts (they fitted a second hand airbag for me) and were as ****ed as me to find the damage. I have now bought second hand with a camshaft. They gain nothing as the engine is already apart. I do trust these guys. They''ve not given me any reason to doubt them.

£24 per follower!?! Ouch! :(

£24 per follower!?! Ouch! :(

Probably DLC coated these days, if they look black. That's Diamond-Like Coating, not cheap, but durable.

New here but havign a troll my fathers taxi sharran on a 06 plate with 160 k miles did this sounded like it had a exhaust leak was breathing back though the airbox got a whole cam kit from GSF for £250 + vat (lifters / followers + cam)

Thanks all. I ended up (sure to a delays with the courier) buying a camshaft and followers made by FAI Automotive. £200 all in. I should rcgeeks the second hand set on Monday. If you know someone who needs a camshaft set, let me know

...If you know someone who needs a camshaft set, let me know...

You're a freedom member, so you can list them in the 'Car Parts for Sale' forum.

Thanks, I know It will go in there once received.

My cam and followers went on my 1.9 octy £600 fitted with service hardend cam and followers fitted, much said early cams and followers where to soft

Finally got my car back today. Purring like a kitten

On 11/2/2012 at 21:55, Stunts said:

Finally got my car back today. Purring like a kitten

How much did you get charged in the end?