Okay.. 3rd cam seal... still leaking....??????

[EHBOY]

To anyone who can help me out here.... headbang headbang headbang

I just cant figure it out... one day i started to smell burnt oil... okay, removed oil seal and replaced it and it endeded up leaking immediately. So i pressed it in more this time... put it back together... it leaks worse.

I finally say screw this crap and open it all up. Removed intake valve covers and cam housing so that i might have a look at the inner surfaces... Look fine to me so install another seal. This time it doesn't leak right away! 40miles of driving and its leaking now. I lubed it up with fresh oil when i installed it and made damn sure it was in all the way. Am i missing something here?

 

[DHMag]

cam cap sealed and properly torqued ? the cap requires a small bead on the outside surface.

 

[EHBOY]

so, the cam cap needs a bead of RTV along the edges (where the cap meets the head? See its weird... now, it will barely leak (or not at all) sometims... and sometimes it REALLY smells like its leaking a lot! Thank You for the advice... i'll be checking this out...

 

[Mr Anonymous]

You did follow the Helms instructions for removing the end cap and cam journals and reinstalling them, right? There is a specific order and two-step torque procedure to use to avoid damaging the camshaft. Also, did you install the seal while the end cap was off, or did you wait until you reinstalled it?

It's possible you just have a minor scratch on the camshaft or the seal mounting surface which is going to result in a small oil leak. I wouldn't base whether or not it's leaking based on the smell of burning oil. You can experience that smell long after a leak has been fixed from the oil built up on the cat case.

 

[EHBOY]

what i did originally was i used a pic to pic the old seal out. I did this by just removing the CID and mounting ring assembly. I simply lubed up the new seal and slid it through with pvc pipe until it wouldn't go anymoe. Put it back together and yep.. still leaks.

The second time, i repeated this process (except i left the seal in and tried pushing it in further). It seemed to go in further but after re-assembly, it began leaking again.

So, the third time i removed the intake and valve covers, removed the CID assy. and removed the cam "cap" the surfaces looked good where the seal was supposed to set. No scratches that i could see. When i pulled the seal out of there the seal was warped from when i tried installing it further the previous attempt. So, this time i installed everything in the following order:

Cam Seal (lubed up and pushed all the way in)
Cam Cap (tightened them down snug.. not HARD)
Valve Cover (w/new gaskets and penty RTV in corners)
CID assembly
Intake.

I am not aware of the Helms Procedure.

 

[Electricat]

I just got on here to post about the same issue, but since I found this thread, I'll just jump in on it!

I just finished up my front 60k and rod bearing replacement, and it fired right up and seems to run great, I just came back from driving it a few miles. thumb

But....while I was doing the 60k, I also replaced the rear cam seal, because it had a minor leak. I now have a WORSE leak!!

I just picked out the old seal, and pressed in the new one.....any info on the proper procedure, or the info from Helms, would be GREAT!

Shaun....good luck to you (and me too!)

 

[EHBOY]

We'll stick together then! I'm not giving in!!!! squint

 

[gosho89]

The 95 FORD CD says to apply silicone rubber or equivalent to camshaft seal outer diameter and seal seating surface.