Gasket Goo On Cam Front Oil Seals

[aphid]

Hey guys,

Curious to know what works in getting the front cam oil seals to do their job properly. I recently had my engine apart and upon putting it back together i reused the old cam oil seals as they looked to be in decent condition and didn't use any gasket goop around the edge as has been suggested by some, and now find I have a slow oil leak out the exhaust side..

I've just picked up two new seals from Nissan and am about to go and install them. From factory it appears nissan use some gasket maker around the outside face of the seal, is this something that is usually done? Is the gasket maker applied on the seal which is then pushed onto the end of the cam, or is this something to be done before the bearing shell is torqued down to make sure all excess gasket maker is removed?

Thanks for your help

[The Dan]

No, Nissan do not use anything around the cam seals.

I use 3bond around them anyway to be safe as it doesn't hurt

The only sealant that goes there is under the front corners of the cam cover gaskets. If you don't have sealant there or have removed the sealant blobs from the front, then that is where your leak will be coming from. It also doesn't help to be dodgey and not replace a $5 seal.

[Swiper the Fox]

No, Nissan do not use anything around the cam seals.

I use 3bond around them anyway to be safe as it doesn't hurt

The only sealant that goes there is under the front corners of the cam cover gaskets. If you don't have sealant there or have removed the sealant blobs from the front, then that is where your leak will be coming from. It also doesn't help to be dodgey and not replace a $5 seal.

small dob on each side of the cam caps (you will see a small groove on the outside front edge, the sealant needs to be placed outside this groove)...then another small dob in the corners when putting the cam covers on...never had one leak.

[geraus]

hey guys! i've been having this problem for a while! , i went and brought 2 new rocker gaskets... i put them on and its still leaking oil, what do you guys recommend to do? put a little bit of gasket goo around which part????

[unique1]

small dob on each side of the cam caps (you will see a small groove on the outside front edge, the sealant needs to be placed outside this groove)...then another small dob in the corners when putting the cam covers on...never had one leak.

+1 Paul is spot on here, i had leak issue and kept throwing on new seals and still leaked, then realised its coming out the little corners of the front cam caps, just chuck a dob of goo on each corner side and therefore its totally sealed, its easy to work out where the nissan seal is gonna seal and the gap between the cam cap and the rocker cover seal will seal, then theres that little section where there is no seal from inside to outside at all on the corner edges.

Edited January 5, 2010 by unique1

[geraus]

Could you show me pics..... Of which part ??

[geraus]

here are some pics where mine is dripping:

cheers for the help guys, this problem has been doing my head in for a long time!!! even with my new nissan OEM gaskets...

[geraus]

anyone know which part i need to put the goo on with my new gasket?????????

[aphid]

Yeah, I ended up going ahead last night.. used some goo around the outer edge of the gasket and a tiny drop under the cam caps (This is where it was from factory..), took her for a bit of a burn just then and no leaks thus far.. touch wood!

[The Dan]

It's supposed to go between the gasket and the corner of the first cam cap. If you put it anywhere else on the sides of the cover it will end up leaking again. The rubber needs to bite into the aluminium and the silicon prevents it from doing so. It is necessary to have it in the front corners though. You don't need to have it under the cam caps but putting it there doesn't hurt unless you cover the oil seal return holes.

[Dorifta]

Most technicians use rubber or bearing grease on inside of seal and permatex gasket paste on outside of seal, never reuse old seals

[geraus]

where? could you show me in the pictures? im confused...............

[The Dan]

where? could you show me in the pictures? im confused...............

How is it not easy to understand? The location has been spelt out about 5 times already.

Front of cylinder head

Front cam cap

Corners where cam cover seals have sharp edges

Put silicon on the cylinder head in those corners.

Or another way to explain it:

Take off the cam cover, look at the very front of the seal on either edge of the archway. Where the sharp corners of the seal are, put silicon on the head where those corners sit.

The oil seals on the front of the camshaft: put some silicon on the outer edge and some grease (rubber or other it doesn't matter) on the sealing surface.

Oil leaks gone

[geraus]

im still confused, so at the front where the half moon is? put silicon on there? the round part?/??

[Swiper the Fox]

im still confused, so at the front where the half moon is? put silicon on there? the round part?/??

no the corners where the rounded part (outside edge of no1 cam cap) meets the head.

[The Dan]

im still confused, so at the front where the half moon is? put silicon on there? the round part?/??

There is no half moon at the front...only at the back.

Is this a prank call?

[Swiper the Fox]

There is no half moon at the front...only at the back.

Is this a prank call?

he is refering to the no.1 cam cap...but we all know the 1/2 moons are the rubber bush fitted to the rear of the head. Bad choice of word only.

[The Dan]

he is refering to the no.1 cam cap...but we all know the 1/2 moons are the rubber bush fitted to the rear of the head. Bad choice of word only.

Fun-policeman

[Chris Wilson]

Here! The dark areas are the sealant remains

[Swiper the Fox]

Here! The dark areas are the sealant remains