200 tdi camshaft bearing

Hi All - have finally confirmed reason for low tickover oil pressure - borrowed an endoscope and removed inspection plates - THERE IS NO SHELL IN REAR HOUSING!!! I cant explain this - there was no debris in the sump and no visible damage to the cam or housing.
My questions are:
Is there a chamber to the rear of the engine where the shell could be?
Is the rear of the cam accessible with the engine in place to fit a new shell?

thanks
steve

steve52 said:

Hi All - have finally confirmed reason for low tickover oil pressure - borrowed an endoscope and removed inspection plates - THERE IS NO SHELL IN REAR HOUSING!!! I cant explain this - there was no debris in the sump and no visible damage to the cam or housing.
My questions are:
Is there a chamber to the rear of the engine where the shell could be?
Is the rear of the cam accessible with the engine in place to fit a new shell?

thanks
steve

Click to expand...

I just had a look at one, a 200tdi in a Disco, and a 2.5na on the floor, and while it is JUST POSSIBLE to get at the rear camshaft bearing area, I cannot see how you could get at it to install a new shell without taking out the engine.

As far as I can see there is nowhere the shell could go if it had ever been there.

I think you are faced with an engine-out job, after which the rear plug (like a core plug in mine) can be extracted and hopefully a new shell tapped in.

Best not run the engine now because the back third of the camshaft is running unsupported and the camshaft will be exposed to bending stresses that it cannot stand for long, resulting in a snapped camshaft ... OUCH!

CharlesY

Thanks Charles - i had another look at lunchtime and confirm your thoughts - the biggest prob in situ would be extracting the blanking plate/core plug - im fairly confident I could drive a new shell in if I could only get the plate out - anyone any ideas?
I also agree that running the engine with the last 2 lobes cantilevered is not good - but the engine has run for nearly 5k like this to my knowledge after the transplant into my 90!

steve52 said:

Hi All - have finally confirmed reason for low tickover oil pressure - borrowed an endoscope and removed inspection plates - THERE IS NO SHELL IN REAR HOUSING!!! I cant explain this - there was no debris in the sump and no visible damage to the cam or housing.
My questions are:
Is there a chamber to the rear of the engine where the shell could be?
Is the rear of the cam accessible with the engine in place to fit a new shell?

thanks
steve

Click to expand...

fook i dint think it would be that bad but at least i sent you in the right direction to find the problem

steve52 said:

Thanks Charles - i had another look at lunchtime and confirm your thoughts - the biggest prob in situ would be extracting the blanking plate/core plug - im fairly confident I could drive a new shell in if I could only get the plate out - anyone any ideas?
I also agree that running the engine with the last 2 lobes cantilevered is not good - but the engine has run for nearly 5k like this to my knowledge after the transplant into my 90!

Click to expand...

Yup, 5 k miles at about 2,500 engine revs per mile, so 1,250 camshaft revs per mile thus the cam has stood the stresses through 6,250,000 cycles, ........ six and a quarter million full circle bending stresses.

The de Havilland Comet jets flew millions of miles without a hint of trouble - till they fell out the sky from 6 miles up following catastrophic metal fatigue failures to critical parts of the structure. You would get no warning at all of the camshaft failing. What a mess, but thinking about it the engine might survive it!

Looks like an Engine Out job I'm afraid.

CharlesY

Hi Charles - yes - i came to same conclusion last nite - not about the comet - taking the engine out!! Will just be a decision then whether to replace the rear shell only via the core plug or strip the whole lot down

steve