Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
300m2000: That tech did you a real disservice. Once a camshaft is worn through the hardening, it goes flat very quickly from there. It will toss lots of metal into the oil and, in theory, that could cause other wear issues. If the lobe was bad, he should have estimated the replacement then and given you the option of a full and complete repair before putting the engine back together. This way, he gets to bill you twice for a lot of the same work. Might be time for a new technician and/or a second opinion. A UOA may be able to pick that up but IMO an inspection, both visual and measuring the lift on that lobe, then comparing it to the service specification, is what's really needed. Unfortunately, that will entail some level of disassembly.... again and some labor. Hence my comment on the level of disservice. You get the regrettable privilege of paying twice for the same work.
He did recommend replacing the camshaft. I was just not in the financial position to drop $2400 on a car thats worth $3000.
It was a tough decision but the price was a bit of a rip off considering they had the engine open already and could have easily slapped on a new camshaft for less than what they quoted me for. Hence why I didn't fully trust their recommendation.
I figured if the metal is gonna wear the way they say it is then something will have to show up in a UOA. I understand there's a chance it won't, but its all I can do at this point in time.
I may pull the valve cover myself, its just such a pain in the @$$ to remove the plenum above. If I do crack it open I will definitely post pics.