camshaft wear? or not?

[A80Avant]

I sort of posted this photo as a joke on a group in Greece and got some feedback by someone who apparently is in the business of camshaft reprofilling for the last 40 years!!! saying that the camshaft basically has been toasted.
Honestly....
PS i havent touched the camshaft, so oil residue may cause some reflections etc.
Camshaft is new from audi tradition with about 10k kms

[jade]

Thats not normal

[A80Avant]

Why?

[jade]

Mmm..... I have to say I have not seen an imprint like that before....

[Tractor Dave]

Was it wrapped in some kind of protective paper/cloth. It looks like a long term storage mark to me. As long as the lobe ends are not worn/damaged, I think it's ok.

[A80Avant]

I'm guessing wherever audi tradition stores them. It came wrapped in foam paper.
lobes are perfect on measurements.

Someone mentioned these are oil grooves, an because of the edge wear the shift is toast already!!!

[AndyP]

Can you feel those grooves if you run your fingernail across it?

[A80Avant]

Nope. Its almost as if the camshaft has not yet even bedded in

[Bowie69]

I think that is most likely.

[jeffstoo]

[jeffstoo]

Sorry posted picture but text didn't come up. Anyway it's a 7a in my car bought new from Audi. About 4000 miles on it. When new it had a black coating. Never seen any marks on it.

[Lago Blue]

Almost looks like finger or perhaps hand-prints, which are a known corrosive hazard to clean bare parts handled without some sort of barrier, if not carefully removed before coating and storage. I doubt it will be of consequence.

[John.]

Many moons ago, I built up a Ford engine and was instructed to prime the oil system then start the engine and keep the revs high (above 2500 I think) for x amount of time, this was to save stressing the cam lobes as the cam was new. The idea is the speed of the cam throws the valve open.
It was my understanding that the cam had to bed in with it's new followers and letting the engine idle was a no no?...….or else it'd knacker the case hardening on the cam/followers.

That was a very old design of engine and maybe cam run-in procedures are different now due to newer manufacturing procedures?

Anyway......just sharing my experience of a new camshaft !!


I think your cams look fine.

[A80Avant]

Here is a complete photo, unfortunately not full quality as forum doesn't allow it. The exhaust camshaft which was new from audi has similar marks on all lobes. My belief is that it must be something from the original manufacturing process and hardening rather than wear.