My camshaft seal started leaking again. I only replaced it last year. Ok I've done a fair bit of miles with it since then but still not good. Is this a common problem? I do use my car hard at times and also I am driving it without the cambelt cover as it was damaged long time ago.

you mean the one behind the coil pack holder i presume.. No, i wouldn't call that common, i never had one leak before on my cars... Did you put a bit of fresh oil around it when you installed it? And have you changed the o-ring on the coil pack holder?

blu73 said:

you mean the one behind the coil pack holder i presume.. No, i wouldn't call that common, i never had one leak before on my cars... Did you put a bit of fresh oil around it when you installed it? And have you changed the o-ring on the coil pack holder?

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No, my post suggests that is the seal at the timing belt side.

ah ok, well again no not common, i never had that one leak on me either..

Not common unless it was nicked when you put it on (one layer of sellotape to protect the lip from sharp edges when installing -- ancient trick).

Replaced the seal but now after 3 weeks is started leaking again. Does this mean something is wrong with the engine? I am suspecting too much blow by causing excessive pressure in the head and as a result forcing some oil pass the seal.

Is worth trying again with some other brand of seal just in case. The one I replaced looked the same as the one I put in, maybe they were from the same batch of seals with tolerrance that are not suitable for my car?

Dry and wet compression test. Post results. Or remove oil filler cap with engine warmed up and running. Fuming?

fingers99 said:

Dry and wet compression test. Post results. Or remove oil filler cap with engine warmed up and running. Fuming?

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Yes, I just removed the cap after a long drive with the engine full warmed up and the radiator fan spinning and yes I can see some fuming coming out of the filler cap. Does this mean the engine is on its last legs? I seen breather pipe from the rocker cover to the inlet is quite large OD so most excess pressure should be fed back into the engine. But I suppose under load there may be quite a bit more pressure. Also I started to think that this is also the cause that my idle is reluctant to go down below 1K when the engine is hot. Is possible too much pressure from the rocker cover causes the vacuum meter measuring bad pressure which tells the ECU to up the rpm to get rid of the condition?

Fuming is generally caused by blow by gasses -- a sign of worn rings and/or bores. Can't see it affecting the idle speed, though -- that's usually some variety of air leak.

Thanks,

I'll will have to wait until the weekend to asses the engine state with some more measurements. It looks if I drive senisible no more trashing and only rev past 3.5K if necessary then there seem to be no leak.

I done a vacuum test on the engine yesterday and seem to get some odd results. At idle the vacuum flactuates rapidly between 17-20, when it should be steady above 17 for a healthy engine. However, my idle seem to be linked to this behaviour, as the ECU will kick in and raise the idle rpm to 1.2K. When this happens the vacuum steadies at 21 with no flactuations. I am beginning to think that rings may not necessary be shot. According to some vacuum diagnostic charts I seen on the net rapid flactuation at idle can be caused by worn valve guides!!!. So I need more testing to do. Any suggestions wellcome here.

Dry and wet compression tests should reveal the culprit. On a high mileage engine it may well be both.

Decided to do a compression test. I did only a dry test with the engine warmed up at operating temperature. Got the following results:

Cyl1: 250
Cyl2: 220
Cyl3: 200
Cyl4: 190

So not perfect as there is a bit of variation.

I decided to replace the cam seal again anyway. Then I measured the vacuum again which went down a notch (15-17 at idle). Test driven the car and it appeared that is low on power. I decided to check the timing and decided to retard the cam by one notch. After puting it back the vacuum figured improved (17-19 at idle). Test driven it and it appears better on power. Now, if I get again oil leak then I guess the engine is had it. 112K miles should not be that much though.

not perfect...? thats terrible!

Are you using a genuine part O-ring or just any O-ring from a box of O-rings?

Buy an O-ring from your local dealer. Then you'll know you have the right part for your car and that it's designed for the application.

Clean up the O-ring housing in the head and the bearing cap before you fit the O-ring. If it's oily in there the beast may not seal. Use a dab of blue gasket sealant around the O-ring before you put it into position.

They do seem to be a fairly routing failure. I've had 4 of the FIRE engines and 3 of them had a leaky camshaft seal.


Ralf S.

yes but i've had what, 7 or something like that and i have never had one leak ever.

Yes, I do not think the seal was particular bad. The leak can be from the camshaft seal (timing belt side), the rocker cover seal and the o-ring (coil side). From what I seen it appears the camshaft seal was leaking. I now replaced it with another one done the timing and so far seems to be OK.

Cam shaft seals are generally not pressure seals just wipers, either over tightening of timing belt or excessive camshaft wear. id put my money on camshaft/bearing wear if all else is checked out.

noticed quite heavy oil leak at timing belt side, probably camshaft oil seal
gonna change it tomorrow, is there something i should change aswell while doing it, apart from cam cover gasket, coil pack side doesnt leak
haynes says to put a metal pipe through sprocket and undo the nut
will i have to time it again or just put camshaft sprocket back on

You'll have to time it again.

Use the one layer of sellotape trick and a fair bit of fresh oil to prevent wrecking the new seal.

Clean out the crankcase breather pipe too -- dunk in white spirit/gunk etc. for 30 minutes, flush out with water, shake well dry.