Replace cam follower or go to dealer

[swaggerwagon]

Pulled my follower today. This is what I got from it


image , on Flickr

Definitely going to replace it but I'm at 110k miles. Should I take it in to a dealer and try and get them to replace it or just replace the follower? Lobe looked alright.

Original cam/HPFP/follower were replaced at 80k miles, so I'm at 30k with this follower

[fly300kts]

Definitively damaged
Put it back and go to the dealer

Phil

[cheemn]

Have another view of that follower? I would think from what I can tell that your cam lobe has got to be damaged from what I think are visible grooves. I say take it to the dealer too. Oh yes and I agree on putting that one back in before ya go to them.

[pat_do]

Do you have an upgraded HPFP?

Any tune?

[swaggerwagon]

Thanks guys. I put it in immediately. From the side the center was worn down more than the rest, no photos though.

Stock HPFP and stock tune.

Guess I'll drop her off at the dealer. Any advice on what to say? I have no CEL.

[kegobeer]

Thanks guys. I put it in immediately. From the side the center was worn down more than the rest, no photos though.

Stock HPFP and stock tune.

Guess I'll drop her off at the dealer. Any advice on what to say? I have no CEL.

Tell them you suspect the cam follower is worn, and that you'll pay the $125 inspection fee. Once they see the damage they'll waive the fee and do the work. That's what I did and they had no problem with it.

[vce1232000]

I have no CEL.

Very simple to trigger one. Disconnect the thrust sensor on top of the hpfp and go for a . CEL will be on. Plug back in. to dealer and your..
.

[mec]

Or you know...you could always just be honest...

Hey I'm at 110k and I realized a ton of my warranty extensions fall out after 120k, I wanted to have an inspection done on all the warranty items.

[vce1232000]

Or you know...you could always just be honest...

Hey I'm at 110k and I realized a ton of my warranty extensions fall out after 120k, I wanted to have an inspection done on all the warranty items.

Honesty is for schmucks when you go to the stealership

[xander3zero]

Honesty is for schmucks when you go to the stealership

last summer i pulled my follower, it had a hole straight thru it, put said follower back in, and brought to dealer. said check the cam follower ill pay whatever the labor is...they checked and replaced everything under warranty
no reason to lie and trigger a CEL

[vce1232000]

last summer i pulled my follower, it had a hole straight thru it, put said follower back in, and brought to dealer. said check the cam follower ill pay whatever the labor is...they checked and replaced everything under warranty
no reason to lie and trigger a CEL

I'm not telling him to lie. I offered him a way to trigger the CEL lite. What he choices is up to him.

Did you tell the service advisor that you took the cam follower out and put it back when you found the hole in it? Most dealers around here would just say that your SOL for tampering with it around here and deny your claim even with Audi extended warranty campaign eligible. Most dealers around here are not honest. You can tell by the feedbacks from their customer service index reviews from customers

[ktish]

Had the warranty work done 5k ago or so. All I said was to check the cam follower and I'll pay the labor if anything was wrong. But it had a hole straight through it so I knew they were going to do the work :)

[Corradobrit]

My dealer says specific codes have to be stored in the ECU for Audi NA to pay for warranty replacement parts/labor.

[kegobeer]

My dealer says specific codes have to be stored in the ECU for Audi NA to pay for warranty replacement parts/labor.

If you pay for the inspection, and they find damage, they will replace all warranty items. They won't do the inspection for free unless there are stored codes.

[janoush]

If you pay for the inspection, and they find damage, they will replace all warranty items. They won't do the inspection for free unless there are stored codes.

Is this true for Canadian vehicles? I have a 2007 that I would love to have inspected.

[kegobeer]

Is this true for Canadian vehicles? I have a 2007 that I would love to have inspected.

I don't know. You'll have to call your local dealer and Audi Canada and find out. But, if there is warranty coverage for your cam follower, it stands to reason that if you pay for the inspection and they find damage, it will be covered.

[vce1232000]

Is this true for Canadian vehicles? I have a 2007 that I would love to have inspected.

Check out this website and plug in your Vinn# http://www.audi.ca/ca/brand/en/your_...in_lookup.html

[Paddler]

Is this true for Canadian vehicles? I have a 2007 that I would love to have inspected.

They won't do an inspection for free. I bought mine used at 147000km, mine had a hole right through and got my engine replaced because it wore out the bearing in the bottom of the engine. They warrantied all of it including the diagnostic test. But they need a CEL to match the issue for the warranty claim.

[swaggerwagon]

Update:


Took her in today to West Broad Audi. Explained that I wanted to get the follower looked at, he said not a problem and that they'd warranty the work if it had to be. *Cross Fingers*

Shop is pretty busy so I'm scheduled for Thursday but could be sooner. Gave me spanking new 2014 A4 as a loaner. Not sure how I feel about it yet as it's completely different than my B7.

[xander3zero]

Update:


Took her in today to West Broad Audi. Explained that I wanted to get the follower looked at, he said not a problem and that they'd warranty the work if it had to be. *Cross Fingers*

Shop is pretty busy so I'm scheduled for Thursday but could be sooner. Gave me spanking new 2014 A4 as a loaner. Not sure how I feel about it yet as it's completely different than my B7.

sounds like your gonna be all set, no doubt they will be changing your hpfp and camshaft with your follower looking like that...also not bad getting a '14 as a loaner

[swaggerwagon]

sounds like your gonna be all set, no doubt they will be changing your hpfp and camshaft with your follower looking like that...also not bad getting a '14 as a loaner

So far I'm impressed with their service. I saw the TSB (http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...r-at-42k-miles) for Audi and my follower is definitely worn concave so I should be in the clear.

[Paddler]

sounds like your gonna be all set, no doubt they will be changing your hpfp and camshaft with your follower looking like that...also not bad getting a '14 as a loaner

I was told by my mechanic that the HPFP and the cam needed to be replaced. I had to wait for them to take the engine apart and send dimensions back to Audi and then they told the shop which parts to replace or if they were to replace the engine. Needless to say, you may have to wait a while (2-3 weeks) but make sure they are thorough.

Best of luck

[xander3zero]

I was told by my mechanic that the HPFP and the cam needed to be replaced. I had to wait for them to take the engine apart and send dimensions back to Audi and then they told the shop which parts to replace or if they were to replace the engine. Needless to say, you may have to wait a while (2-3 weeks) but make sure they are thorough.

Best of luck

idk if theres really a formal "wait" period where they have to send it to audi to confirm the warranty work...think it depends on the dealer

when i had mine done they replaced the hpfp, follower, intake camshaft, camshaft adjuster, cylinder head, and a whole bunch of other shit in like 4-5 days

[PDX04a4]

Update:


Took her in today to West Broad Audi. Explained that I wanted to get the follower looked at, he said not a problem and that they'd warranty the work if it had to be. *Cross Fingers*

Shop is pretty busy so I'm scheduled for Thursday but could be sooner. Gave me spanking new 2014 A4 as a loaner. Not sure how I feel about it yet as it's completely different than my B7.

God, why are the Audi dealers here in Oregon/PacNW such scumbags? I had to fight just to get them to do any testing, even had a p0089 code which for a lot of people is related to the cam follower. In the end they didn't even pull my hpfp and look at the follower at all, just did some vag-com measuring of my lpfp duty cycle and claimed that was the real problem. Had to pay $120 (hour of labor) for them to tell me this, I was so fucking pissed. In the end my follower was not badly worn, just the middle of the follower had the coating worn a little bit, when I replaced it myself. But still, the Audi tech tried to feed me a load of crap about how I didn't need to worry about my follower and that it wasn't that big of a deal that people make it out to be. Couldn't believe it. Even worse when I tried to schedule the appointment I had the service center lady run my VIN for TSB's/recalls and she told me there weren't any! Even though I had all the TSB's open on my computer with my VIN matching. Complete idiots up here, all of them.

Your Audi dealer sounds infinitely better than the ones up here.

[swaggerwagon]

God, why are the Audi dealers here in Oregon/PacNW such scumbags? I had to fight just to get them to do any testing, even had a p0089 code which for a lot of people is related to the cam follower. In the end they didn't even pull my hpfp and look at the follower at all, just did some vag-com measuring of my lpfp duty cycle and claimed that was the real problem. Had to pay $120 (hour of labor) for them to tell me this, I was so fucking pissed. In the end my follower was not badly worn, just the middle of the follower had the coating worn a little bit, when I replaced it myself. But still, the Audi tech tried to feed me a load of crap about how I didn't need to worry about my follower and that it wasn't that big of a deal that people make it out to be. Couldn't believe it. Even worse when I tried to schedule the appointment I had the service center lady run my VIN for TSB's/recalls and she told me there weren't any! Even though I had all the TSB's open on my computer with my VIN matching. Complete idiots up here, all of them.


Your Audi dealer sounds infinitely better than the ones up here.

Ouch. I'm sorry to hear that. I have always personally done work on my car except for the Timing Belt and wheel bearing which I took to an indy shop (Eurowise) My first experience with an Audi dealer and so far so good. The service adviser even told me my PCV was outdated and that they would update it for me. Sadly for me, I have orders for Fort Bragg next month and the nearest Audi dealer is a 1.5hr away AND there isn't a reputable indy shop in town.

[swaggerwagon]

UPDATE

Just got a call from West Broad. They are going to warranty the work. At bare minimum he said a cam job but they are gonna keep tearing down tomorrow and see if anything else needs to be replaced under warranty. Boy was that fast, and to think they said they were booked till Thursday

[vce1232000]

^^^^ maybe you'll get a new motor out of it

[2pointOh]

Haven't read all of these but I just had this warranty work done. I had a CEL, but it disappeared before I got it to the dealer. Told them I wanted a visual check of the cam follower, they said itll be an hour of diagnostics, but if they found damage it would be waved and the work done. I decided to take the gamble, without knowing for sure if it was bad or not (although I was pretty sure). Sure enough, there was a hole in it.

In your case, I'd say you want them to do the same, and if they can, to take a picture of the cam follower face. That way, you know they can't bullshit you, since you already know its bad.

[swaggerwagon]

Well they're trying to say there is no wear on the follower now which isn't true. My service adviser seems to have been overpowered by his service manager. I'm going up there in a few with a copy of the TSB (http://www.goapr.com/images/support/...t_cam_wear.pdf) and show them the photo of the follower. The service adviser himself said the camshaft had wear and according to the TSB it says to replace...

Wish me luck.

[BenMTL]

It did sound too good to be true

[Iheart1980]

Well they're trying to say there is no wear on the follower now which isn't true. My service adviser seems to have been overpowered by his service manager. I'm going up there in a few with a copy of the TSB (http://www.goapr.com/images/support/...t_cam_wear.pdf) and show them the photo of the follower. The service adviser himself said the camshaft had wear and according to the TSB it says to replace...

Wish me luck.

Sorry to say this but, mine had a hole in it and Audi still did not want to do anything. They will wait for your car to throw a code before they shell out any money.

[PDX04a4]

Well they're trying to say there is no wear on the follower now which isn't true. My service adviser seems to have been overpowered by his service manager. I'm going up there in a few with a copy of the TSB (http://www.goapr.com/images/support/...t_cam_wear.pdf) and show them the photo of the follower. The service adviser himself said the camshaft had wear and according to the TSB it says to replace...

Wish me luck.

Don't take no for an answer, show them the picture of your follower and the TSB and tell them it is their job to replace it as well as the cam if there are signs of wear (per the TSB). Don't let the douche bag dealer strong arm you when Audi has recognized the problem and instructed their dealers to fix it.

[rensho]

I wonder what is causing the variance on the wear.

I just swapped mine out yesterday on my 05.5 avant. It was almost new. Very slight wearing of the coating on the top, and some very slight wear marks on the sides. If I could have magically known the condition, I wouldn't have swapped it out.

The follower was changed at 60k. I'm now at 125k, so for 65kmi wear, it looked great.

I use M1 0-40wt typically, and on a 5-6kmi change int.

[GDC]

What are those of you doing that have a tune? Does this have any effect on the claims etc. ? do you put it in stock mode. clearly they can run the diagnostics and see that it wasnt requesting stock boost numbers etc...

[Corradobrit]

Haven't read all of these but I just had this warranty work done. I had a CEL, but it disappeared before I got it to the dealer. Told them I wanted a visual check of the cam follower, they said itll be an hour of diagnostics, but if they found damage it would be waved and the work done. I decided to take the gamble, without knowing for sure if it was bad or not (although I was pretty sure). Sure enough, there was a hole in it.

In your case, I'd say you want them to do the same, and if they can, to take a picture of the cam follower face. That way, you know they can't bullshit you, since you already know its bad.

Not good news I feel. If they want to complete dicks they can say that you switched the CF for a bad one just to have the warranty work covered by AudiNA. I would not mention the fact you dismantled the HPFP to check the CF. Unless you have stored codes related to the hpfp and CF wear I think you're going to be SOL. Hope I'm wrong.

[V2Rider]

I wonder what is causing the variance on the wear.

I just swapped mine out yesterday on my 05.5 avant. It was almost new. Very slight wearing of the coating on the top, and some very slight wear marks on the sides. If I could have magically known the condition, I wouldn't have swapped it out.

The follower was changed at 60k. I'm now at 125k, so for 65kmi wear, it looked great.

I use M1 0-40wt typically, and on a 5-6kmi change int.

47k miles, here is what I replaced[IMG][/IMG]

[2pointOh]

Not good news I feel. If they want to complete dicks they can say that you switched the CF for a bad one just to have the warranty work covered by AudiNA. I would not mention the fact you dismantled the HPFP to check the CF. Unless you have stored codes related to the hpfp and CF wear I think you're going to be SOL. Hope I'm wrong.

I probably had stored codes as well, but yeah definitely don't tell them you looked at it. In my case they did all the work for me, camshaft, cf, hpfp, and a whole bunch of gaskets, as well as a free oil change, that same day.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[Iheart1980]

Haven't read all of these but I just had this warranty work done. I had a CEL, but it disappeared before I got it to the dealer. Told them I wanted a visual check of the cam follower, they said itll be an hour of diagnostics, but if they found damage it would be waved and the work done. I decided to take the gamble, without knowing for sure if it was bad or not (although I was pretty sure). Sure enough, there was a hole in it.

In your case, I'd say you want them to do the same, and if they can, to take a picture of the cam follower face. That way, you know they can't bullshit you, since you already know its bad.

The fault codes were stored in the system. They can check them even if they disappear.

[swaggerwagon]

Just left. Basically tech admits to there being cam wear but deemed the follower in spec with the TSB. He's seen way worse followers so won't claim mine as failed. Also with no CELs, he said audi has a hard time approving the warranty claims. Service manager agreed and will not sign off on a warranty claim out of fear that AoA will kick it back and they're out of money. Tech suggested a few things:

Drive it until I near the warranty limit and see if it needs replacing then

Take it to another audi dealer and try again.

Tech had the TSB and even gave me a copy (to go along with the one I had on my phone). They know I checked the follower because I showed them my photo and he said it doesn't warrant replacement just yet.

Thoughts on calling AoA?

[swaggerwagon]

Also another factor is that the cam/follower/HPFP were replaced by previous owner outside of dealer so the standings in those parts reveals the parts are from 2012 and that throws another wrench into the game