i replaced the cam seals (the ones behind the cam gears) a few weeks ago but they are still leaking. heres what i did...

loosened cam caps that hold the seals and gently pryed them up. then i cleaned the oil off the round surface that the seals fit into and pressed them in, seals were dry, holder surface was dry...after this they still leaked, so i removed the valve cover and removed both end cam caps and put hondabond on the surface that sits on the head and put it back together...

and they still leak...what did i do wrong??

 

Just wanna confirm this, but you did, in fact, also remove the cam gears, pull out the old seal, then slide the new seal all the way into place, correct? And then torque it down to 7 ft lbs? And put a dab of liquid gasket towards the outer edges of the cam holder, but not actually on the cam journal or the holder bearing, yes?

 

haha yes i removed gears and pulled the seals out and pushed the new one in with a big socket until it didnt seem to go any farther...and torqued it back down...and yes i hondabonded the flat part that sits on the head...like where the bolts go thru, i figure thats just to keep oil away from the t-belt

and no i didnt put hondabond on the bearing or cam journal hahahaha...i might be a lil dense but i smarter than that

should i be putting hondabond, grease, motor oil, silicon, etc anywhere on the cam seal before installing?

 

Did you install them with the flat part facing out and the grooved part facing in? And did you leave the little metal ring in the seal? As for oil, you should have put a little around the inside where it rubs on the cam, but that's not really critical

 

there was clear silicon on the inside, i thought thatd be enough...

well looks like i didnt screw up too bad, which makes me think there are other leaks in the area...no problem, ill figure it out

thjanx man


Modified by weenie at 4:44 AM 1/27/2006

 

I usually remove the cam caps so that I can actually pull the cam out of the head. I then install the seals onto the cams (I don't use any additional lubricant, just what's already on the seals). I put Hondabond around the outer perimeter of the seal (it's not required, but I do it "just in case"), then reinstall the cams in the head. I then install all the cam caps and torque to spec. Fortunately, I haven't had a set yet that has leaked, and I've installed many, many sets.

Maybe you're causing the leak by pressing the seals into place instead of removing the cam caps?

 

you pull the whole cam out? i dont quite see how that would help...the helms doesnt tell you to do that either

sounds like a lot of work to me...ill just reinstall them with hondabond and see what happens...im wondering if i damaged them when i put them in or if the leak is somewhere else

 

Takes 10 minutes longer, it's easier, and I haven't had any leaks, so take it for what it's worth. I usually replace the rear cylinder head seal at the same time, so I already have to take the brige across the cam caps off, so for me, it takes 5 minutes longer to pull all the caps.

The Helms also tells you to replace the balance shaft and front main seals with the oil pump in the car. Have you ever tried to do that? It's easier to install them with the oil pump out of the car. Does it take more time? Yes, but I haven't had any come back due to leaks.

 

oh i see well this is on an h23 which doesnt have a cam bridge...im just not sure i see the point of removing the cams...i dont knwo...rear cam plug is new i may just loosen the caps so i dont mix any up or install the cam wrong or somethin

yeah about a month ago my front balance shaft seal went pretty suddenly (i had taken the belt off not long before - may have caused leak) and dumped half my oil in 20 miles...i did take the pump off the car and changed the cam seals while i was at it...they werent leaking before but theyre leaking now

...so i pulled the leaking seals out tonight, looks like the inside got way too hot and melted/hardened so the circular springs popped out...im pretty sure i caused this when i wiped down the seal seat with a paper towel (caps were still on at the time so i had just a circular groove to put the towel into)...i bet i wiped the oil off the end of the cam while i was at it, causing the inside of the seal to run dry

thanx for the help fellas but i think i got this one on lockdown

 

i reinstalled them yesterday with hondabond on the outside and multipurpose grease on the inside...and the leaks are gone

i forgot to put the rear plastic t-belt cover back in, will this be a big problem or will i be aight? the header is kinda close to the t-belt..


Modified by weenie at 8:24 PM 1/30/2006

 

itll be fine. you will be able to tell if you got a leak for sure now though.