Hi all, this is my first post. I bought a 1973 kombi a few days ago from NSW and drove it back to SA. Yesterday I took it to a mechanic for a service and returned to hear him say that there was metal in the oil and the cam shaft needs replacing, which means a new or reconditioned engine. I have paper work stating that a second hand engine was added and reconditioned in 2003 and the cam etc was replaced during an engine rebuild in 2010 for $4,000.

Any advice?

should realy be asking the guy that you got the car off.
to many unknowns . service history, new or used parts fitted. etc.etc
These things do happen with any car.
atleast if its the cam gone, you know youll be up for about $4000.
always get another vw mechanics advise.

Cheers!

We have all history from last 9 years. Previous owner said last service was November and all was good then.
I think we will seek another opinion.

If it still runs well, I wouldn't be too worried. My VWs always have shiny metallic oil, it's partly due to the fact that they don't run filters, so you get to see absolutely everything which comes out of the oil change. I bought a second hand 1600cc twin-port and on the first oil change of that, a huge cylindrical chunk of something or other came out, about 10mm diameter with a hole through the middle and roughly 25mm long. I haven't opened the engine to find out what it was and it still runs beautifully!

are the valves going out of adjustment??

If it runs well keep the service up and keep driving it

Was it a vw mechanic you took it to? for someone to just see some metal in the oil and tell you the cam is faulty must be a pretty damn good mechanic! the metal could have come from anywhere... as the others said, if its running fine dont worry about it.

yep i agree change the oil a few times to see if it clears up i have had water in the oil ormal true and have had brass in the oil o change oil and drive her

Cam and lifter failure is a common problem, due to many factors, but seemingly worse in typre 4's. Follow up with other oilchange's and tappet adjustments to monitor what is happening. You might do the first in 1000-1500km, then every 2500-5000km depending on what you find. Get your regular mechanic to log the valve clearances to monitor wear, and with time you can make an informed decision.

Just remember, a wearing cam lobe wont necessarily show up when doing your tappets as the setting is done on the base of the lobe.

Use an oil with high Zinc levels, or use an additive to help prolong wear of the lifters, cam etc.

Quote:

Originally posted by Craig Torrens Just remember, a wearing cam lobe wont necessarily show up when doing your tappets as the setting is done on the base of the lobe. Use an oil with high Zinc levels, or use an additive to help prolong wear of the lifters, cam etc.

I pulled a 1600 motor down about 6 months ago.......cam lobes were worn (rounded big time) but no wear on the lifters. Tappet adjustment was the same, just a massive decrease in lift !

Whereas my last 2 Pobjoy motors chewed out the lifters BIG TIME but there was bugger all wear on the cam. They both had only done 60km's, but the head of the lifter was near gone ! I have the cam as a paper weight now

Fair enough, but type 4 cams do wear differently. Still, doing regular checks will let you know whats happening, even by checkng the oil contamination.

Thank you all very much for your input, apologies for the late response, I thought my wife had thanked on my behalf, I will be seeking another opinion......cheers!

no worries - please tell us how things turn out