ZachCivic

Hey, so I just finished my timing belt head gasket job on my SOHC D16Y7

Only problem I've noticed is that I may not have seated the camshaft seal appropriately because it's leaking oil, seems like from the bottom. Prior to the job it was sealed fine, but I had to take the cam off to get the head milled. I'm really hoping to do this without suspending or removing the timing belt. Since it's already on the camshaft, I was thinking about removing the rocker arm assembly and cleaning the surface and then reseating it, but I'm not sure how to appropriately seat it.

Thanks.

As a side note, it'd be cool if someone just made a 2 piece camshaft seal so you didn't have to go through a bunch of **** to replace it lol one that slides in on the bottom and then has a hook inside to hook up with the top.

ezone

I've done this sort of thing. It's much simpler when it's just a plain cap over the cam and seal, an entire valvetrain makes it much more complicated and risky, but it's doable. One co-worker bent a bunch of valves while trying to install them..
Apply fresh sealant in the correct areas of the end caps before you reassemble it.



Use your fingers to move the seal to the correct location. If it's not very old it will move pretty easy. Make sure it's in the correct spot and standing up straight before you reassemble.
Many don't get it installed deep enough and leave the outer seal lip hanging off the end of the area machined for the seal on the cam.

ZachCivic

Ah, I see, I probably just seated it wrong. I was focused on the aspects of the other parts of the jobs and just overlooked it.

What sealant do you recommend/used in the pictures? I've got RTV high temp gasket maker, but I don't think there's a way for me to apply that appropriately.

ezone

Ya, not pushing it far enough in is a common mistake. Many other seals only need to go in flush with the outer surface, but this probably isn't one of them.

Other choice might be an aftermarket seal that isn't right at all.

Pic was just googled for an example.
I sometimes use an anaerobic sealer, other times I use Hondabond. Depends on what's handiest at the time.

Applying with your finger is usually best.

ZachCivic

In response to your first post, I ended up having to reassemble the rocker arms and adjust the valves anyways, which would be tedious to do again, but if necessary, it's better than taking off the timing belt.

Ey, appreciate the help homie. I'll post up when I do it tomorrow.

ZachCivic

So I attempted to reseat it. Only problem is I busted a bolt on the rocker arm assembly. So the leak is better, but it's still a drip. About a drop every ten seconds while the engine's running. I'm trying to get this car ready to sell for my girlfriend and I'm an honest man and wouldn't post a car without this known. Oil leak is a red flag for a lot of people regardless of severity. At best, it's a price adjustment. Is there a way to seal it externally? I really don't want to deal with removing the rocker arms, let alone the harmonic balancer again.

ezone

How you break one? What were you doing when it broke? Where is it located?
Dig it out and fix it. A left-hand drill bit can sometimes work miracles LOL

Have you run it without the covers so you can actually watch for the true source of the leak?

ZachCivic

It's the little 10 mm one on the driver's side end of the rocker arm assembly closest to the cab, not the actual larger 12 mm cam bolts. I broke it trying to torque it down to 9 ft-lbs. It wasn't torquing and then it just snapped in half.

I've been running it without the upper timing cover and you can see the trail start from the bottom of the cam seal.

ezone

That cap still has like one small bolt and 2 larger bolts holding it down doesn't it? (I can't see it from here lol)
Is that cap pushed completely flush against the surface of the cylinder head?

How deep did you get it pushed in? The outer lip of the seal has to fully cover the "step" or the edge of the cams machined surface, the lip can't be hanging out in the air.

Didn't find a good pic in a quick search.

ZachCivic

Yeah, it still has one bolt and 2 of the 12 mm cam bolts supporting it. I got it pushed in before the lip, but would it hurt to just shove it back even further?

ezone

If you think it needs to go deeper, sure. It seems you don't have much to lose at this point.

Can you tell if it's leaking between the camshaft and seal, or if leak is around the outside diameter of the seal?