Camshaft carrier?

[MrFancypants]

When I dropped my car off to get a new intake manifold installed the service adviser said they found a few oil leaks. The upper timing cover which is obvious, a camshaft carrier, and the air pump.

I've been searching and I can't figure out exactly what part they were referring to. At first I thought he was talking about the valve cover, but that doesn't seem to be true.

The only thing I can come up with is maybe #15 on this diagram?

...which would make sense because there is a bit of grime in that particular spot that would lead me to believe that a bit of oil is seeping from there.

The dealership wanted $1400 to replace all these gaskets, which seems excessive because two of them are right on top of the engine.

For the life of me I can't figure out what the "air pump" is that they're referring to either.

My car loses about a quart of oil every 10,000 miles, so I chose to put off the repair. Unless "thrust piece 3334" is super expensive or difficult to buy two of these should be pretty easy to do in the garage.

Page I got the diagram from...

http://workshop-manuals.com/volkswa...gear/valve_gear/assembly_overview_valve_gear/

 

[MrFancypants]

"Thrust piece 3334"

I'm having a difficult time figuring out where this can be purchased.

I suppose I could rig something that would work.

*edit*

Found it...

https://vw.snapon.com/SpecialToolsDetail.aspx?itemId=19820007

 

[Cryptic19111]

Our motors don't have a "valve cover", so I think by cam carrier, they are going to replace that whole top "cover".. since it's got the tops of the cam bearing caps

 

[MrFancypants]

Our motors don't have a "valve cover", so I think by cam carrier, they are going to replace that whole top "cover".. since it's got the tops of the cam bearing caps

Is that a difficult part to replace? It doesn't look especially intimidating, just have to torque the bolts in proper sequence. I'm sure the 22 new bolts I'd have to buy don't add up to $1400.

 

[MrFancypants]

Checked the oil level... in 2500 miles it's lost a whopping ~1/10 of a quart.

I blame myself for not degreasing the engine more than anything. 92500 miles of grime probably makes it look worse than it is. It seems that most of it is coming out around that cap I pointed out in the first post, that side of the cylinder head looks the worst. But the part just above the intake manifold looks clean.

I wiped away some of the grime with a shop cloth, I'll monitor it, but I'm starting to think I have nothing to worry about. Maybe by the time it becomes an actual problem another company will come out with a bottle of sealant that doesn't cost more than $150.

 

[ErBall]

Is that a difficult part to replace? It doesn't look especially intimidating, just have to torque the bolts in proper sequence. I'm sure the 22 new bolts I'd have to buy don't add up to $1400.

It's almost all labor I'm sure. The cam girdle can't be replaced without screwing up timing.

 

[MrFancypants]

It's almost all labor I'm sure. The cam girdle can't be replaced without screwing up timing.

Seriously? If you lift it straight off the camshafts will rotate? I wouldn't have thought there'd be enough slack in the chain for that to happen.

What if you remove the upper timing chain cover and use a cam lock on the gears?

I am starting to see why the labor would be so much. I need to get a repair manual and read up.

 

[ErBall]

The cam girdle is really the only thing holding the cams against the rockers. If you life the girdle up itll pop the cams up. You have to undo the side timing cover and lock the tensioner, and then remove the girdle. It's a pretty labor intensive job, but I do think $1400 is a bit much.

 

[MrFancypants]

The cam chain tensioner? Isn't there a hole on the side of the cover you can use to install a lock pin without having to remove the entire cover?

That prevents the chain from losing slack so the cams won't pop up when the girdle comes off?

 

[MrFancypants]

If the timing cover had to come off that would be a good time to replace the tensioner. I guess you could also run zip ties around the chain guides to guarantee that there'd be no slack in the chain.

 

[ErBall]

The cam chain tensioner? Isn't there a hole on the side of the cover you can use to install a lock pin without having to remove the entire cover?

That prevents the chain from losing slack so the cams won't pop up when the girdle comes off?

The cams would pop out either way. You've got valve springs constantly putting pressure on the lifters which rest on the cam. Literally no way around that.

 

[MrFancypants]

Ah okay, got it. So how do they do this? I can't visualize how locking the tensioner would help if the valve springs are going to cause the cams to move anyway.

 

[MrFancypants]

I need to read this carefully....

http://workshop-manuals.com/volkswa...valve_gear/removing_and_installing_camshafts/

I'm not going to do this job because my car doesn't need it, but I am curious.

 

[Cryptic19111]

Ahh! Cam girdle! couldn't think of the fucking name

 

[XGC75]

What's this about degreasing the engine? You mean the outside of the engine and not the internals, right?