as my post says i was wondering if anyone has ever machined a cam shaft seal for a b18, i have the material to do it with i just need the right dimensions so if you know them or a website that has them i would like to know thank you

 

take the stock one and measure it?

 

haha ya true i thought of this ;p but the aftermarket ones are a bit different there longer i think and have to capped ends i just need to know the length really

 

Why not just save yourself a headache and order one from Honda?

 

I assume you mean the cam end plug like this:

http://www.racingworks.com/str_cam_plug_seal.htm

Not sure how you could machine an oil seal for the timing belt side of the cam.

And I always go with OEM seals.

 

If you have a lathe, you could machine one out of bronze for less than a dollar.

Just make sure that its profile view is like the letter I. You want it to grip inside and outside the motor. Ive seen cheap cam seals that are like the letter T (sideways of course) that just pop in without removing the exhaust tranny side cam cap

EDIT: Also, on the body of the seal, it needs to have 3 grooves for 3 rubber o-rings to prevent oil leaking.

If you dont have any grooves or O rings just get a crapload of RTV, itll work

 

If you're considering such a project, you must have a lathe. And if you have a lathe, you must have access to machine-shop tools, such as micrometers. And you must have knowledge of machining techniques.

If it were me, I would not trust a plastic seal--new or used, OE or aftermarket--for my measurements. Plastic seals may be sized for a slight interference fit to help seal them. If it were me, I'd want to measure the head's receiving surfaces myself, so that I had actual measurements to deal with. Then I'd add or subtract my tolerances from that.

If it were me, I'd start by making sure the cam cap is torqued properly, without the seal in place, but WITH the correct RTV that's necessary to keep oil from seeping past the cam cap. Then I'd measure the diameter(s) of the resulting hole. With the cap off, I'd measure the left-to-right (depth) distances. That would give me all the necessary dimensions of my receiving area so that I could work up sizing for a metal cap.

But, before machining the new cap, I'd also investigate O-rings on the market, making certain I could obtain one with the correct sizing. And for that I'd need those precise measurements of the receiving surfaces on the head. Even then, and in spite of the O-rings, you may still need to use RTV around the cap, like the factory wants you to do.

This would make a really cool writeup if you go ahead with this. Plus if you have any sort of CNC equipment available to you, you could put something interesting on the face of the cam seal, like a Honda logo, or your initials.

And, as another poster said, the seal must have a lip on its innermost edge that hooks behind the innermost head surface ("I"-profile). Otherwise it will eventually try to "walk" out of the hole.

 

I would just buy aftermarket or OEM.. theres a ton of companies out there that make them, and it would save a lot of time. Golden eagle, PasswordJDM, and BLOX (if your looking to go cheap) are a few off the top of my head.

 

Dont discourage him. He knows he can buy one. Its like telling someone to go buy a 200$ intake system when they are wondering what diameter to cut their make-shift tubing.

Be supportive

 

when you take the old one out measure the the length, not critical once it doesn't touch andy moving parts, you want and the diameter you need for the "end caps" but you will need to add a couple of orings for the seal so you will possibly have to machine a couple of lands to seat the o-rings as well, if you can make them cheaply you could make and sell them thet are not anyting special

 

look on you tube....some guy has a fast forwarded video making one and it looked sick. maybe you can ask him??

 

I'd be doing something like that just for fun, and I'd add my own twist to it, a joke, such as machining a Trucker Girl on it. But nobody would need to tell me how to make one (the seal, I mean, not the Trucker Girl).

 

lol yes i have access to lathes im in school to be a machinist i have all the tools i was just wondering if anyone knew the dimensions for one of the aftermarket ones they sell, but a buddy and i are going to make one tomorrow.

 

post pics

 

Measure the head itself. You don't want to be making a part with somebody else's unknown tolerances intended for a different material, do you?

As somebody who does engineering-type stuff for a job, I can tell you I would rather trust my own measurements before somebody else's. Unless I was given the dimensions and told "this is what we want", in which case it's their problem if it's wrong.

Besides, measuring is a critical part of machining. If you can't measure with great precision, you'll be a lousy machinist; the act of doing your own measurements is a great learning experience. If I were your teacher, I'd insist you get your own measurements, especially if the car is right there.

 

ya thats very true tegger thanks for the help, my friend and i made an exact replica from the oem one yesterday well not quite exact but pretty damn close since it was only a half day lol, i still have to get an o-ring to go on it but ill see today or tomorrow if it will work, and ill post pics of the finished product soon

 

I love how you throw Blox in there with "if your looking to go cheap" when it's the same exact part made by the other 2 companies. Considering Pwjdm doesn't make anything of their own. At least blox is owned by a former sk2 employee/designer. Love kids like you.

 

Cool. Please do.

But. I must say that "pretty damn close" should bug any machinist no end; a machinist is precise. I know ANY deviation from the expected sends me on a determined search for the source of the variance. At least until time runs out. And I'm not even a machinist.

 

haha well the diameters are right on, its just the clip pieces we were running short on time but they dont really matter that much cuz ima put some rtv on it ;p

 

Get yourself a micrometer and measure it yourself, problem solved.