Engine Leaks after Rebuild 1k+ mi

[Eagledriver]

When you have the cam tower off you can see where you need to seal. Basically just a circle around each valve. I put a line of sealant down the face between the circles for good measure but I doubt it's needed.

-Andy

[wyawn]

GotaT, the way the sealant is applied in your picture, is the same way it's shown in Wayne's book. But some of the guys on this thread say that they only apply a "ring" of sealant around each valve. If you look at the picture that you posted, you have a ring around the intake valve, and a ring around the exhaust valve, these two rings are connected by a vertical "bar". Other people just omit the "bar", and only do the rings. I edited a photo to show you, but I didn't know how to post it.

But the point of my earlier post, is that I believe that you should use a sealant that is thin like Loctite 574 (I acutally used Loctite 545 which is hydraulic sealant, only slightly thicker than water, we'll see how 545 works), and apply a thin layer, instead of a thick bead. I applied the sealant, and then spread it around with my finger. Putting the sealant on the cam holder works the best.

If you use a thick bead of thick sealant, the heads and the cam might end up with a thin layer of sealant separating them after you torque down the cam holder. If you set your valve lash and your cam timing, and then, later you torque the cam holder down more, or if the layer of sealant "relaxes", this will allow your cam holder to move closer to the heads. This will change your valve lash and your cam timing. I'm not sure how much it would affect cam timing, but your valve lash is only 0.004 inches. That's about the thickness of a sheet of paper. So, you can see that the cam holder doesn't have to move much to change your valve lash.

When it's all said and done, you want the metal surfaces "touching", with the sealant filling in any small voids or scratches. Since both of these surfaces are machined (very smooth and flat), a very thin layer of sealant should do the trick.

[briankeithsmith]

You are THE MAN if you can do all that with the engine in the car!

If you can twist your body around to do it (I assume its not on a lift) with the engine in the car, Cirque du Soleil WANTS YOU! ticket sales will skyrocket!!!