great! thanks for confirming

 

What the hell does a cam follower do exactly?

Also, iridium plugs...good, bad???

 

it follows the cam, silly goose.

heh heh...

I'm not a tech by any means, but I believe it rolls on a lobe of the cam and mechanically controls the fuel pump and/or fuel pressure.

 

Kind of a barrier between the 2 parts. But yeas thats about it. All that rubbing between the 2 can wear them easily.

 

New info added. You guys should always check the original post as I think of stuff randomly sometimes.

 

This is a very helpful post. Thank you. I am new to Audi – proud owner of a 2008 A4 2.0T (non-quattro. Sadly, couldn’t afford it), 6-speed manual. I love the car, and I guess ignorance is bliss, because it feels fast enough for me. Previous car was 2003 VW Passat W8 with plenty of power, but it always felt like a heavy cruiser. This A4 feels quick, nimble and ready to be tossed around – which I did to great delight last weekend on the Alpine Insanity loop at Southern Wotheresee in Helen, Ga.

Anyway, I’m rambling. I got the car certified pre-owned with 3+ years of factory warranty coverage. I plan on keeping the car forever and don’t really plan on many/any mods for a while -- not at least until it’s paid for.

My questions are – given that I plan on using dealer service for the next three scheduled maintenances (pre-purchased Audi Care for only $400 – and YES, I WILL CHANGE THE OIL EVERY 5K, in between the factory recommend 10K!!), and will use factory warranty for anything that goes wrong, do I need to do any of these things you list?

It seems you’re saying we should get a boost gauge to monitor boost level for potential problems – which will at some point arise from PCV failure (which I don’t know what that is – doesn’t seem to be explained here) and Diverter Valve degradation. If I just do the PCV fix ($100) and replace with “D” valve ($80), do we still need boost gauge?

Are there symptoms of PCV failure that I should look out for, or should I just purchase the BSH PCV fix and do it, or would this be checked during scheduled maintenance at the dealer?

Are there symptoms for Cam Follower failure? Should I just ask them at the dealer to “remember to check the cam follower” every time it’s in there?

CHIPS: …. one day…. Pretty much sold on at least APR stage 1. 292 TQ at 2,700 RPM! Why not!?

Thanks.

 

If you are warrantied and don't mind going in for service then they can replace these parts with factory as needed. You may have a "D" valve since you have an 08. THe boost gauge gives you a base reading and lets you know if one of these parts fails. Say you start boosting 2 or 3 pounds less and lose 10 or more horses. You might not feel the loss of power but the gauge will tell you. If you have the good warranty just chip it and let them fix it when you blow **** up.

Cam follower: Good luck having them check it. They probably won't or will just lie about it. It should be checked at least every 30k minimum and you might as well toss a new one in while it's all open.

Oil: I change mine every 10k as recommended by Audi. Synthetics have come a long way and why would a company take such a liability if they did not think the engine could handle it? I'm at 80K and going strong and I think you will be wasting your money.

 

Cool. Thanks for the tips. Since these parts (PCV, DV, Cam Follower) are pretty inexpensive and easy to get to, I'll just go ahead and replace them. Thanks for your help.

 

Kris, great write-up - you literally answered all of my major questions just becoming a new B7 A4 owner. Just one quick clarification so I can be sure I am clear on my end- if I go with the APR Stage 1 ECU Flash, the $80 DV replacement should be sufficient (along with the other items)? Or does that only apply to stock, and if I upgrade should I be looking at a forged? Thanks!

 

You may not even need a new DV. The later year models have tended to last better. I'm still on the stock DV, and I've been chipped for 15K miles.