esmzoso

Hello.

I'm going to try to put photos in this post. Bear with me if it doesn't work correctly.

Also, it's kinda long winded. Sorry.

______

When I started this project, this is what I was dealing with:



This was after I had already started to clean part of the area under the timing cover.

I have stopped all the oil/antifreeze leaks, except for the camshaft seal.

I am pretty sure this is the problem:



The person who owned the car previously did his own work. It has taken me weeks to clean all the surfaces and repair all the previous owners workmanship. [probably very inexperienced] It had severe oil and anti-freeze leaks that ended up having the consistency of used chewing gum; Basically, what you see in the first picture was also under the timing cover.

I think he used a screwdriver to pry out the Camshaft Seal. This severely marred the surface where the outside of the Camshaft Seal mates with the head.

The first Camshaft Seal I bought was an after-market. It leaked.

I placed HondaBond around the outside of the aforementioned seal, while it was still in place, hoping that would stop the leak. It did pretty well, but it also leaked. I was getting a small amount of oil down the Camshaft, which in turn would leak from the Cam Gear Bolt and spread across the Cam Gear. [I previously posted this under "Unusual Camshaft Leak"]

I have now purchased a Honda Camshaft Seal and placed HondaBond around the outside edge of the seal before seating, hoping that it stops the oil.

With a surface that is that severely marred, if the HondaBond/new seal doesn't work, what do I do next?

Thank you very much for your patience and help.

esmzoso

chikin pickle

You aren't going to like this. But you are probably going to have to replace the cylinder head. There isn't much you can do for that kind of damage unfortunately.

esmzoso

Hello.

Thank you very much for the reply. . .

Yikes!

I don't really want to replace the Head unless I absolutely have to do it.

I guess I'll seal it up as well as I can and drive it. Hopefully, it won't eat up the belts.

It has 235,000 miles and I only paid $350.00 for it. Even with the multiple repairs I have made, I only have about $800.00 in it. I have more time invested than money. Fortunately, I enjoy tinkering with cars and trucks.

But it gets great gas-milage compared to my 2002 Mustang and my 1971 F-100.

esmzoso

GhostAccord

Well if your only into it for $800 complete than another $100-150 for a junk yard head shouldn't kill you. May even be able to find one cheaper if you shop around. I have seen complete blocks go for for $300-$400.

Just think of a head swap & new head gasket as more tinkering

Good luck!

Nicefeet

How about swapping the cam bearing cap so you can lose some of the pry marks

GhostAccord

That would help, however, from the picture posted it seems as though the head cam seal surface suffered the deepest damage. Kind of hard to tell in that picture.

Another thing to watch for if you only replace 1 cam cap is oil clearances. You would usually want to replace all the cam caps and have them measured for proper cam holder clearance. You can replace one, just make sure that the oil clearance is within Honda specs.
0.05" - 0.089"

esmzoso

Hello.

Again, thank you everyone for your replies. I need all the advice I can get.

GhostAccord, you are correct. Another $150.00 isn't going to kill me.

It'll just take a while for me to save it up. Like everyone else, money is tight.

Today, I went to test drive it again and the rear emergency brake had locked up. It had been a while since I drove it. [lack of money]

I am going to seal it up as well as I can and drive it for a while. I miss driving the car. It's fun to drive and gets great gas mileage. It is also running very well.

I'll just pull the cover's off when I change the oil and keep it cleaned up. It's leaking very small amounts of oil at this point. It's not making it to the bottom of the timing cover.

I'll have to study-up on what to look for in a used Honda head.

Again, thanks for the help.

esmzoso