just been charged £600 for camshafts help

[sidbrown]

Hi Guys ,


Took my car in for a checheck over as it was running low on power. Anyway long story short the cam lobes were low and engine will not achive full power.

The garage said they have some used cams in good condition for £600 does that sound right?

Thanks

[stlymch]

Wow sounds like the engine is about to let go. I think you should sell it to me quick for £2000.

[srhutch]

Is that including fitting?

[sidbrown]

the whole job including valve clearances aswell. What do you think?

[sidbrown]

sorry 1500 altogether with valve clearances

[sidbrown]

Anyone?

[Beedub]

we need more details sid, how many miles does the car have? what your usage? track work? any other issues?

if your swapping in new cams why not looks for a used set of shrick units?? don't be hasty unless your in a complete jam, you have options.

[sidbrown]

cheers Beedub not sure how many miles should have asked my mileage is 70 k the car is a weekend car so no track days. just don't want to be ripped off as ive just checked ebay and there are some on there for under £200!

[Angelus666]

Hey Sid, give Thorney Motorsport a call in Milton Keynes (not too far from you) to quote on the work. I used to take my CSL there for all it's work and they were always good.

Also, do you really want a replace a worn out set with a used set...how much are they new?

[sidbrown]

Thanks Agus I know what you mean about the new part. I will price it up .

[GuidoK]

I'd like to see some pics of those cams.....
and some data about the lift.

Maybe ask a second opinion at a differnt garage.

You don't 'just replace cams'....I mean.... what about the rockers?!?
Do they have them lying arount conveniently?

You're giving very little information, way too little to say anything sensible about it.

Worn cams do give performance problems, but also a lot of other symptoms....
And 70k miles is very soon for worn cams, even with the high lobe angles of the s54.

[BMWZ4MC]

Have a read of the "Engine Tapping" thread: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=62786
The case hardening on the OEM cam followers is inadequate. If it wears through it leads to rapid wear of the case hardening of the cam lobes. The first sign of this is a marked increase in volume and hardness of the normal somewhat "tappety" sound from the top of the engine, usually from only one cam to begin with. You would know if you had this.
The cam lobes are not constructed from homogeneous material so cannot "wear down". If the case hardened outer surface erodes, the engine will become tappety long before there is any marked change in the cam profile and consequent loss of power.
With the S50 engine (E36 M3, early Z3M) a loss of power could be due to a failing VANOS, typically accompanied by a rumbling "growl" on the overrun. I imagine a failing S54 VANOS would present in a similar way. Perhaps this is behind your loss of power if there is an associated abnormal engine noise.

[BMWZ4MC]

In the situation I described, as the cam followers are the driving force for the problem, they would need to be replaced too. As such, you would need two new camshafts (at many hundreds each) + 24 x £40 worth of cam followers + gaskets etc. I've read that replacing the camshafts on the S54 is an absolute bugger and not a job for an amateur. If this is required, make sure you aren't at the bottom of the mechanic's learning curve! Also, access is really difficult in the Z4M compared with the E46 M3 and might require stripping the entire front of the car in order to slide the very long camshafts out from the top of the engine. This will significantly increase the labour costs. I'd be sure they've made the correct diagnosis and that they know exactly what they're doing before you have the camshafts replaced with unknown second hand items by mechanics who may not have done the job on a Z4M before...

[sidbrown]

great info there thanks for the help its not as simple as first thought then I will give them a call tomorrow and ask all the above and more. Much appreciated once again great help here.

[BMWZ4MC]

Did you notice an increase in volume and harshness of the tappety sound at the top of the engine - watch the YouTube videos of jimmybell's car and the E46 M3 camshaft / follower wear. Or did you have VANOS noise - Google videos of "VANOS growl" or "noisy VANOS"?