Assessment of rocker arm/camshaft in a T5

Hello,

During a cylinder head gasket replacement today, we also took a closer look at the internal components of a T5 model manufactured in 2005.

The vehicle has approximately 156,000 km on the odometer, has no DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter), and has no issues. It has excellent starting performance, and the idling speed is normal (± 0.8 mg/H). Unfortunately, it was filled with LL3 oil for two maintenance intervals! Oil analysis: no abnormalities detected. Iron levels slightly elevated: 55 mg/kg. No diesel contamination. Driving style: calm, maximum speed 140 km/h. The vehicle is always driven both warm and cold. The driver is an elderly gentleman.

The only thing that could be observed were the patterns formed by the tilting levers, which displayed different colors on the surface, with the worst pattern (see image 1) and the best pattern (see image 3). The surface is perfectly smooth, at least to the touch of the fingernail. The camshaft shows absolutely NO change in the surface or any signs of material loss!

For comparison, I had to remove my BKD engine (with 155,000 km), and also the surface of a valve actuator. (see picture 2).

I would like to get an opinion on whether the tipping levers and their axles should be removed or not - the older gentleman says NO, because it looks much better like it did on his old tractor........('')

Thank you and best regards.
Alevuz.

Hello,

Minor scratches are probably the industry standard.
But why are your shoelaces brown? It looks kind of rusty.

Best regards, Rainer.

HI

... Overall, everything around the bus engine looks very dry.

Shouldn't all the parts be oily and shiny, at least given the amount of light you introduced, in order to produce a flash?

m;

Hello and good afternoon!

The areas shown in the image were, of course, degreased before being photographed (using an isopropyl alcohol wipe).... that's why they don't appear to be as shiny as bacon skin .

Objective: 200mm macro lens / aperture 2.8 with direct LED illumination and indirect 1000W construction site floodlight!!

That's why it looks a little dry!

The rollers have no ridges, and what appears to be "rust" looks to me like a chromate layer. It didn't appear immediately, but only after the area was completely dry.

Good evening.
Alevuz.

Quote:

Objective: 200 mm macro lens / aperture 2.8 with direct LED illumination and indirect 1000 Watt construction light !!

Hmm?
The Nikon camera writes completely different things into the EXIF data.
I was wondering how you could achieve such extreme depth of field with a 22mm lens.

Okay, the word "cleaning" already explains the extreme dryness.

Do you also have pictures from when it was still "chubby"?

m;

Hello,

I have no idea, I just grabbed a camera that was lying around. In this case, it was probably a D90 with a lens attached (likely a macro lens), as I was only about 30 cm away from the subject and trying to get a decent picture! I didn't pay attention to whether I was using an aperture of f/22 or something smaller/larger. Sorry.

Whether I succeeded or not, or which lens I actually used, doesn't matter to me at all. In any case, the pictures are better than some of the others here, right? I'm not here for a macro still life course!

Now that we've clarified the issue with the images, I would appreciate it if I could get some feedback on the surface finish of the part. "Thank you."

I can't take or provide any more pictures of the oily roller because the vehicle has been reassembled, as the elderly gentleman needs to be mobile.


SG
Alevuz.

Hello,

If anyone is genuinely interested, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the question, the following combination was used:

Nikon D90 with a...
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX APO DG Macro HSM Lens.
1000-watt spotlights.
Fenix TA21

SG
Alevuz.

Hi!

Well, it doesn't matter what you used to record it with.
I don't have very good technique.
"However, when it comes to photos like these, I always try to adjust the colors as best as possible in a photo editing program to make them look realistic."

If you say the photos look real,
That's already concerning.

Hello, and good evening.

Admittedly, the images are extremely cropped and have a low resolution, so some color distortion is unavoidable with this lighting setup.

The surfaces, even the "worst" ones, are perfectly smooth, as far as one can tell by examining them with a fingernail; there are no scratches or ridges, as "dieselschrauber" described as the state of the art.

I've also noticed a yellowish-brown tint in some of my BKD prints, similar to how something might appear to be "shining through."

I've seen this color somewhere before, either here or online.

It is what it is; when it's due for its 200,000 km service, the hood will be opened and it will be inspected!

Best regards.
Alevuz.

Hi!

I think I might still have some isopropyl alcohol lying around.
and another one that's defective. Engine with roller rocker arms, where the rollers are in good condition.
I might try to see what happens tomorrow.

Hello and GM (Good Morning).

Thank you, Steffen, and also to everyone else for your contributions!

I think you can skip trying the Iso; after a lot of thought, there aren't many options that I find acceptable.

"In images 1 and 2, you can see a yellowish layer along the edges of the T5 rollers and also on the roller from my BKD. I have no idea what it is." Whether this yellow discoloration on the rings, which must be some kind of marking, will intensify over time...?

2. Spontaneously, I would have said the color indicates copper (Cu), possibly because the car had been filled with LL3 oil for at least 50,000 km, even though it requires LL2 - as is the case with many of these engines. For such a critical issue, one should go to a specialized workshop.

Okay, so if that were the case – and where would it come from: possibly from all sorts of storage locations – that wouldn't be good! However, an oil analysis with an oil mileage of approximately 25,000 km (consistent with the driving style), after a total of more than 50,000 km using LL3 oil, showed 11 mg of copper per kg of oil. This is actually better than all the vehicles that were driven with the correct oil, and often with a much lower oil mileage! "Detto" for Sn, Ni, Pb.

I highly doubt that the copper, whether it exists in ionic form or some other way within the oil, is precisely adhering to the rollers of the PD (positive displacement) actuator, given that the camshaft shows no surface changes. The same applies to all the lifters, which were individually inspected from the side using an endoscope. Okay, we could now look at the storage of the camshaft and other bearing locations, but the older gentleman simply doesn't want to, because the engine runs so well, and he has never heard of plasma layers on the cylinder.

SG
Alevuz.

The waves have a surface hardening, meaning that the surface hardening has been compromised here. You say you can't feel it with your fingernail, but that's not a reliable indicator. If you feel something with your fingernail, the wave is likely damaged internally. The 2-propanol naturally dulls the surface, while the headlights extremely brighten the entire area.

"But still, this shouldn't be happening with this kind of mileage; that long-life oil is a piece of junk. I'm not deeply enough knowledgeable in the field to say for sure, but it seems like something is accumulating in tiny crevices due to the pressure, although based on the image, it looks like it's surface erosion rather than buildup... What's puzzling me is the texture; you'd expect it to look more evenly washed out, but it looks like a scratch pattern, as if there's extreme wear occurring between the cam and the actuation surface, where abrasive particles suspended in the oil are igniting and destroying the surface hardening." "You know, we could try the Russian method sometime and see if anything precipitates out in an oil sample, test or no test."

The oil, in addition to its lubricating function, primarily serves to bind and retain wear particles. The question is whether oil also has a kind of saturation point in this regard.

What driving style does Dad have, and can he drive, or is he just pretending? I mean, I'll deal with whatever happens anyway. ^^

Deus Violentia wrote:

What driving style does Dad have, and is he good at driving, or does he just mess things up? I mean, I'll probably break everything anyway.

What specific tips would you give to avoid sudden, noticeable defects in a PD-TDI with over 156,000 km, but specifically and intentionally to torture the rocker arm rollers?

Driving 156,000 km before the first oil change...

Deus Violentia wrote:

I mean, you could try the Russian method sometime and see if anything precipitates out in an oil sample, test this or that. The oil, besides its function of lubrication, primarily has the function of binding and retaining wear particles. Now the question is whether oil also has something like a saturation point in this regard?

Hello,
That, in itself, can save money, IMO.
If something precipitates out of a normal oil, you can usually see or notice "core debris" somewhere else, even if you don't have any knowledge of plasma technology.

The ability of modern oils to keep wear particles/dust, etc., finely dispersed and surrounded by a "shell" is enormous (dispersion, detergents, see tribology). A simple chromatography test: the standard oil level test using a paper napkin. A uniformly dark front (mobile phase) travels through the fibers without separating the mixture due to differing binding capacities or size distribution of the particles.

I am unable to translate "haithamina" because it does not appear to be a word or phrase in the German language. It may be a misspelling, a proper noun, or a term from a specialized field. If you can provide more context or clarify the intended meaning, I would be happy to assist you with the translation.

Hello,

"The older gentleman" hates high speeds, rarely exceeding 130 km/h (here in Austria, it's hardly possible to go faster than 110 km/h on the highway anyway), and he really warms up the engine before driving and lets it cool down properly afterward, even letting it idle for at least 60 seconds – he's a retired truck driver, after all, and he's never revved the engine to the redline except for the TÜV (technical inspection) test.

If it were actually due to wear, the PQ index would increase significantly, which is not the case. As I mentioned before, the oil analysis is completely normal. Other engines that were properly oiled/lubricated have experienced significantly more problems... also with a very low diesel content of 0.56%.

And why are these parts, like the camshaft and lifters, perfectly acceptable, while others aren't?

Are the rollers the parts that have to absorb the most force, or are there other parts that are even more heavily stressed?

As I mentioned before: We'll check again if it's still running after 200,000 km...


Thank you and best regards.
Alevuz.