Inlet Cam Replacement? - S2 Cab

[cdickinson]

Hi all - can I request your advice / opinions on the following please:

My S2 cab has been in for a major service plus belts. Whilst in there I asked my indie to do a detailed inspection of the cams / chain etc. and there conclusion is as follows....
- exhaust cam is perfect
- inlet cam is wearing on the sprocket where the chain sits in the bottom and is slightly wearing through each tooth
- tensioner pads etc all perfect

Their advice: replace inlet cam and chain asap. They say there is no point replacing the exhaust cam or anything else.

Now I have always trusted my indie and I, as many others, do consider them to be excellent. However my only reason for questioning and asking your opinions is that my car has had a pampered life and has only covered 54k (proven with original documentation / MOT's etc). I have read many threads over the last 2 years about replacing cams and their life expectancy and I think this wear on my car could be premature, so:

- has anyone else seen this kind of wear?
- is this to be expected and I should therefore go ahead with the work?
- should I also replace the exhaust cam, and anything else?

I don't want to get carried away with spend as another potential big bill is looming which I will request advice on via a new thread.

Many thanks,
Chris.

 

[Diver944]

Hi Colin, this sort of wear on S2 camshafts is all too common on cars that have not had their camchain or tensioner regularly inspected and you obviously have a good and knowledgeable Indy who knows to look out for it. It is unfortunate that it has appeared at only 54k miles as most others do not experience this until around the 100k mark.

We have heard far too many horror stories within the Register where the first the owner heard about this is when the chain snaps or one of the sprockets breaks off and then the engine is effectively toast []

I personally have the camchain inspected every other year and replaced every 50k miles as it is by far the cheaper option than forking out for new cams [&o]

 

[cdickinson]

Hi Paul. So do you think this would have been caused by a tired (sloppy?) cam chain which eventually works away at the inlet cam sprocket?

Cheers,
Chris. (not Colin! ) )

 

[Neil Haughey]

Possible maybe that on a car with such low mileage the engine is often started with little to no oil on the components up top and this has caused accelerated wear.

Reminds me to get my Indi to have a look at this when it goes in for the annual MoT wallet emptying experience.

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: cdickinson

Cheers,
Chris. (not Colin! ) )

Ooops I seem to do that a lot [:-] Sorry Bob []

I'm just an armchair enthusiast so couldn't say why only one cam has worn [&:] I must admit that is the first time I have heard of only one being worn. Maybe at some point it had the exhaust cam changed previously, who's to know what happens in the many years before we own our cars.

Like you my car came with a full and very complete history folder showing a service invoice every six months and a complete set of MOT's going back to 1993. However when the turbocharger died and the engine needed a rebuild we discovered it was already a replacement turbocharger and the head was from an earlier 220bhp Turbo. Just goes to show that some 'serious' repairs are often left out of the history folder to maybe not distract a potential purchaser []

 

[cdickinson]

That's a very good point Derek

!

We just don't know what has happened in their life 'pre-us' - afterall I've only had my car for 2 of its 17 year life so a hell of a lot could have gone on in that 15 year period.

I'm certainly learning a good lesson this year - although I put aside 'contingency' money each year, it always goes on something essential rather than my hopeful 'toys' that I keep dreaming about.

The cars are worth it though and there's nothing like that psychological feeling that the car drives and feels better because you've paid out a huge bill and spent all weekend polishing then driving it down your favourite personal mini-nurburgring!

Now back to reality and to earn some money so I can pay for the damn thing!...

Cheers,
Chris.

 

[sawood12]

One thing that might be worth checking out when you get this work done is I believe there is some sort of valve in the cylinder head that prevents the oil draining out of the head when the car is left for any length of time. If this vavle is stuck open or clogged and the oil is draining out of the head after use then that might be a contributary factor to accellarated wear as it probably takes a good 5 - 10 seconds for the oil to fully circulate through the head and coat all the parts during which time they could be running dry or partially dry. I don't think the valve is an expensive part.

Another idea might be to ring up the specialists that have serviced or repaired the car previous to you. They should be perfectly willing to discuss previous work they have carried out on the car. They may very well explain to you that they did replace the exhaust cam only at some point in the cars history.

 

[cdickinson]

Great tip Scott, you triggered me into trawling through my paperwork which I haven't done for a while and have unearthed what I'm pretty sure is the cause. Time to eat humble pie...

Detailed in a sales invoice from 'Two Plus Two' in Nov '03 and with the car mileage recorded at 41k, they have provided a report of findings from a standard service and inspection. One of the items hidden at the bottom reads as follows:-

"Tensioner for cam link chain is at full travel, i.e. chain has stretched, but is still tensioned at present, please monitor."

Having then gone through every receipt for every service and work since then, there is no further reference to any chain or tensioner work, so the car has very possibly done another 13k with a slack cam chain! It's all starting to make sense...I'll call them tomorrow just to sense-check that it wasn't done. (not that it makes any difference now!

)

Well there's a few lessons I've learned here:-
1. I should have had a specialist review the paperwork with the car during my purchase (although I did buy it from a dealer, Strasse in Leeds, who I thought may / should have seen this!)
2. Annually sense check all your previous paperwork to ensure you are on top of the main 'hot spots' and refresh intervals.
3. If in any doubt, pay £100 or so for your Indie to inspect the common points of failure that could result in big bills. Preventative maintenance an' all that.

Thanks to all for the input.

Right, off to sell a kidney....

 

[shaQ]

Hi,

Just a quick question while we are on the subject of cams.

I am going to replace my cam chain tensioner pad and was going to do the chain
aswell (as i dont know when it was last done)

I have searched the web for write ups etc.. but with no luck

Does anyone have any tips or write ups about replacing the chain?
the tensioner pad i should be ok with but the chain confuses me

thanks

shaQ

 

[hotblack944]

http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/cam-04.htm

 

[Guest]

I know this thread is a little old now guys but I just thought I'd tell you of my experience. Since I bought my S2 its had a noisy top end but not particulary excessive, just noisy like valve noise.

After reading this I thought it best to remove the cam cover, this is dead easy to do and only takes a couple of mins and could save you thousands in re-build costs.

I was confronted with a slack chain that was sat on the tensioner metal foot. The plastic blade had completely disintergrated with bits inside the head, and the chain was cutting its way through the metal foot. The chain was so knackered the links could be individually moved from side to side in relation to its mating link.

The inlet cam sprocket is worn, and only the inlet cam, the exhaust still looks to be ok. I'm now looking at a new tensioner, chain and inlet cam, i'm still gutted but at least it didn't fail and cost me an engine build!!!

My advice get out to your garage now and take the cam cover off and have a look!!

 

[Diver944]

Phew, that is a scarey but 'just in time' story []

I really have lost count over the years of the number of terminal engine failures that I have heard about caused by:

a: Belt failure on all models
b: Cam chain problems on 16V models

Mostly all because of a lack of regular inspection and/or replacement. Well done Leeky.

 

[Guest]

Just been totting up the damage! Looks like £492 for the inlet cam, £265 for the tensioner and £20 for the chain plus the extras!

While i'm there ill give the oil a flush through to remove the metal fillings from the tensioner foot!!

 

[evil 944t]

ORIGINAL: Leeky
Just been totting up the damage! Looks like £492 for the inlet cam, £265 for the tensioner and £20 for the chain plus the extras!

I have 4-5 used cam sets I could sell, if you can't find one. I have to check on the condition as I have a few..

 

[stevep2000]

Inlet Cam £387 inc vat from Bert @ Berlyn! Worth shopping around, guess how I know.....