Concerns for undrilled lubrication holes in NEW OEM Camshafts
03-12-2019, 01:16 AM
#1
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Concerns for undrilled lubrication holes in NEW OEM Camshafts
Make sure to check those new camshafts before installation:
Last edited by Vic55; 03-12-2019 at 10:07 AM.
03-12-2019, 09:44 AM
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2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
That’s crazy. What’s the fix? Remove valve covers and start drilling holes?
After seeing this I’ll have an even harder time believing that car manufacturers don’t build their product to eventually fail on purpose.
After seeing this I’ll have an even harder time believing that car manufacturers don’t build their product to eventually fail on purpose.
03-12-2019, 12:55 PM
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2010 C300 4MATIC........ 2011 C63 AMG.............. 2015 CLS400 4MATIC.....
Gosh I just had this discussion about Ford's yesterday and I didn't want to believe it, but God damn
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03-12-2019, 01:10 PM
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The inside of the cam is hollow for oil to pass through. Those little holes are there so oil can lubricate the bearing. If the hole is not drilled far enough, no oil will come through to the bearing.
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03-12-2019, 01:58 PM
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2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
I’m no lawyer, but if this is found to be consistent across all M156 camshafts, I smell a class-action lawsuit or at the very least a forced recall. It’s a critical design flaw. Even more so than the headbolt debacle.
03-12-2019, 02:19 PM
#9
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It's not really a design flaw as the head bolts were.
I would bet my money on that the bit which drilled the holes was damaged and partially broken off and didn't drill the hole deep enough.
If they don't do a flow check and that info isn't traced with the 2D barcode then good luck finding the bookends.
That is just going to be blown off by the manufacturer. Worst case they have to implement a poke yoke in their production step.
At best they will recall the cars if the can find the bookends.
Most likely the camshaft he used are made as a service part by the manufacturer. Which is a non standard set up for them and stuff like that happens all the time.
In that case the original camshafts shouldn't be effected if my theory is right.
I would bet my money on that the bit which drilled the holes was damaged and partially broken off and didn't drill the hole deep enough.
If they don't do a flow check and that info isn't traced with the 2D barcode then good luck finding the bookends.
That is just going to be blown off by the manufacturer. Worst case they have to implement a poke yoke in their production step.
At best they will recall the cars if the can find the bookends.
Most likely the camshaft he used are made as a service part by the manufacturer. Which is a non standard set up for them and stuff like that happens all the time.
In that case the original camshafts shouldn't be effected if my theory is right.
Last edited by sventastic82; 03-12-2019 at 02:27 PM.
03-12-2019, 02:37 PM
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Either way, that's a serious problem lol.
03-12-2019, 02:41 PM
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2009 C63 AMG, 1998 Nissan Frontier
I would love to see their "Control Plan" for this process. As industry standard, they should have higher levels of detection where there is higher chances of occurrence's. Sounds like someone didn't fill out their Potential Failure Mode and Effects Analysis honestly. 
It's not really a design flaw as the head bolts were.
I would bet my money on that the bit which drilled the holes was damaged and partially broken off and didn't drill the hole deep enough.
If they don't do a flow check and that info isn't traced with the 2D barcode then good luck finding the bookends.
That is just going to be blown off by the manufacturer. Worst case they have to implement a poke yoke in their production step.
At best they will recall the cars if the can find the bookends.
Most likely the camshaft he used are made as a service part by the manufacturer. Which is a non standard set up for them and stuff like that happens all the time.
In that case the original camshafts shouldn't be effected if my theory is right.
I would bet my money on that the bit which drilled the holes was damaged and partially broken off and didn't drill the hole deep enough.
If they don't do a flow check and that info isn't traced with the 2D barcode then good luck finding the bookends.
That is just going to be blown off by the manufacturer. Worst case they have to implement a poke yoke in their production step.
At best they will recall the cars if the can find the bookends.
Most likely the camshaft he used are made as a service part by the manufacturer. Which is a non standard set up for them and stuff like that happens all the time.
In that case the original camshafts shouldn't be effected if my theory is right.
03-12-2019, 02:55 PM
#12
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Definitely missed something or didn't follow something in the PFMEA. Just the potential effect of that failure should trigger a prevention and detection step.
03-12-2019, 03:10 PM
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2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
No. For MB to make this right I demand an SLS BS. (going out to car to block cam oil passages now)
03-12-2019, 05:04 PM
#14
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Thread Starter
Ridiculous, right?!
I truly hope it is small error in just a smaller batch of bad camshafts, likely caused by incorrect drill depth setting.
But a lot of the machining at MB is probably automated, so who KNOWS how many newer camshafts are faulty.
Sven's theory of a possible broken drill bit is also very plausible.
Older camshafts do not appear to be affected.
There are reports of faulty New camshafts appearing in Germany, Australia, & Singapore (comments in Part 2 of this video above).
Then there is the possible issue of planned obsolescence. . .
The mind reels.
And I just had all camshafts replaced with New a few months ago
I truly hope it is small error in just a smaller batch of bad camshafts, likely caused by incorrect drill depth setting.
But a lot of the machining at MB is probably automated, so who KNOWS how many newer camshafts are faulty.
Sven's theory of a possible broken drill bit is also very plausible.
Older camshafts do not appear to be affected.
There are reports of faulty New camshafts appearing in Germany, Australia, & Singapore (comments in Part 2 of this video above).
Then there is the possible issue of planned obsolescence. . .
The mind reels.
And I just had all camshafts replaced with New a few months ago
Last edited by MBNRG; 03-12-2019 at 05:07 PM.
03-12-2019, 05:26 PM
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2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
Ridiculous, right?!
I truly hope it is small error in just a smaller batch of bad camshafts, likely caused by incorrect drill depth setting.
But a lot of the machining at MB is probably automated, so who KNOWS how many newer camshafts are faulty.
Sven's theory of a possible broken drill bit is also very plausible.
Older camshafts do not appear to be affected.
There are reports of faulty New camshafts appearing in Germany, Australia, & Singapore (comments in Part 2 of this video above).
Then there is the possible issue of planned obsolescence. . .
The mind reels.
And I just had all camshafts replaced with New a few months ago
I truly hope it is small error in just a smaller batch of bad camshafts, likely caused by incorrect drill depth setting.
But a lot of the machining at MB is probably automated, so who KNOWS how many newer camshafts are faulty.
Sven's theory of a possible broken drill bit is also very plausible.
Older camshafts do not appear to be affected.
There are reports of faulty New camshafts appearing in Germany, Australia, & Singapore (comments in Part 2 of this video above).
Then there is the possible issue of planned obsolescence. . .
The mind reels.
And I just had all camshafts replaced with New a few months ago
03-12-2019, 11:04 PM
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2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
03-13-2019, 12:29 AM
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03-13-2019, 08:24 AM
#21
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03-13-2019, 08:48 AM
#22
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I'll take a look at the normal cap reinstallation procedure, to see if the cap-by-cap can make sense.
Meanwhile, i wonder if there is always the same cam that displays this problem.
03-13-2019, 10:51 AM
#23
Super Member
Taking off one cap for each cam should be sufficient.
The odds are very low that just some of the hole aren’t drilled deep enough.
The odds are very low that just some of the hole aren’t drilled deep enough.
03-13-2019, 10:57 AM
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03-13-2019, 11:27 AM
#25
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The CAD-CAM (excuse the '70's engineering term) of the factory machining rig would always drill for every cam at the same circular angle.
Whatever angle Tassos's video shows (By example the lubrication hole is 30 degrees past the 4th intake lobes), our cams will have as well.
We can take a look at Tassos's video and see the clocking of the holes vs the lobes and assess which way they're facing (the lubrication holes under the cover of the caps) by looking at the lobes of the cams, as the cams sit installed in our cars, with the valve covers removed.
