Cam seals and Rotunda tools

[Zap]

I've got a few questions regarding the prospect of replacing a CID seal apart from doing the 60k. Can anyone clue me in on what will make this less of a pain to accomplish, and how much time I should expect to spend?

The car is losing quite a bit of oil, and I'd like to remedy this. Sadly, I had a SHO-knowledgeable mechanic replace the seal under a year ago, and it has already given up the ghost. It was winter and I figured it would just be good to get it over with (of course, it is winter again... sigh...) The oil pan reseal job we had done, on the other hand is holding up great, so maybe it was just a bad seal.

On a positive note, I own the Rotunda tool kit, but I've never had a chance to use it yet. If someone could explain the cam seal expander tool, that would be helpful. Is that somehow used to remove the old seal without scratching the camshaft, or what exactly is its purpose?

I was planning to remove the crossover tube, for starters and would appreciate any other suggestions for getting this done right. My hands can get into fairly small places, but this just looks challenging. I have read that RTV must be used around the exterior and will make sure to do that.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[SHOtime2511]

Remove the lash cap from the cam,cake walk after that.

 

[itwonder]

Zap, I do not have the Rotunda kit, but IIRC the expander helps the seal over the end of the camshaft, which is the hard part when installing that rearmost cam seal. Also, the safest bet is to install the Ford seal. It is more expensive, but other brands seem to be hit or miss. The Cam sensor is much more accessible if the cross over tube (with the DIS mounted to it) is removed.

 

[rubydist]

the trick to getting the rear cam seal installed properly is to use the seal expander, which you have, so you will be fine.

you need to remove the cam sensor and then remove the shutter wheel for the sensor. then, after the old seal is removed and cleaned up, you put the seal expander on the end of the camshaft. when you slide the seal over this, it will expand the id of the seal as it slides up the taper, and then you can tap the seal into place.

use some rtv on the outside of the seal so that it does not leak around the housing.

 

[Zap]

Thanks for all of the helpful information - I'm hoping to get to this soon (as I wasn't able to over the weekend due to other obligations).

I'll post an update once I get to that point.