WHen you change the cam seals due to an unknown oil leak, would you visually inspect the cam head? (HOnda odyssey)

 

what do you mean? check if the cam has grooves, probably, but seals do also go bad.

 

thanks, actually we had the seals replaced with routine timing belt replacement. We then had to have the seals replaced again due to extreme oil leak. Now we still have an oil leak and took it to a third dealer who found the cams gouged. The dealer who did the last work to replace leaking seals did not report a gouge ( which would have been covered under warranty to repair) and they refuse to take responsiblilty to pay for the new cams as they say it is not routine to look at the cam shaft when they found the problem with the cam seals? So we area trying to determine whether that is a something they should have been responsibe to identify as part of the oil leak problem.

 

a good mechanic would have noticed the grooves in the cams. if they replaced the seals and it was still leaking then should have at least been able to determine what was actually causing the leak. it would not have been their fault if the cams had grooves though.

 

^x2...the car should not have been released back to you with the same problem it had when you took it to them. the mechanic did not do a thorough inspection after he had it apart. Sometimes we miss things, it happens... however, after he had it back together he should of inspected it again to verify the oil leak was gone and the problem was solved. there is no excuse for not doing that. or he did notice it was still leaking but did not want to eat the labor, so he passed his problem onto you. At a stealership warranty work usually pays the technician less than half of what a normal job does, and if its the techs fault, it will usually pay nothing. If the car is still under warranty the cams should be covered, and you should be reimbursed for the wrong diagnosis by the first shop. goodluck getting it back though, most of the people that work at stealerships (including the owners) could give a rats *** about customer satifaction or the customer for the matter. they very rarely give money back once they have their hands on it. I suggest talking to someone in charge, and if that doesn't work contacting honda directly, and if all else fails bring a lawyer into it...remember to be nice and document everything, in case you have to take them to small claims....once they get their summons they usually will start to work with you

 

this whole thing sounds like technician error from the get-go. i do lots of timing belt/water pump/seals at work and to leave with an enormous oil leak from the cam seal after a routine replacement can really only be caused by rolling the seal when installing it or if the technician scratched the cam (probably with a flathead screwdriver) prying out the old one. in either case, it should have been taken back to the original dealer that worked on it. no other dealer is going to warranty another dealers mistakes. but this clearly sounds like somebody f*cked up a rather simple procedure.

 

second that..

to the op .i mean anything is possible and that cam could get grooved up over time and the new seal will leak too. but usually you see rolled seals, the spring rolls out or the actual seal area folds in on itself. improper position seals. etc. this dealer should have taken full responsibility for the actions of the technician and he should have to re do it.

the car is under warranty and you have had a timing belt done already? do you have a vsc or certified used car warranty?

 

what year oddysey is this. i have never seen a leaking cam seal on an oddysey. not saying it couldnt happen but i usually do a t-belt service on these everyday. also where is the gouge on the cam if you know. i man did the cam gouge into the head or is the lobe gouged.

the only cam issues i really ever come across are on k-series-gouging on #1 exhaust usually.

 

Never seen a J series leak at the came seal either. I've done the 2nd belt on a lot of Odysseys/Pilots, etc, with original cam seals and they were just fine.

They're not the same as B/D/F/H to replace...I'm sure it was technician's fault.

 

when i was at the dealer i havent seen an odysey with the cams leaking or any other newer cars with such an issue. i to think it was a technician error from the start.