Very Frustrated - Oil Leak - Camshaft seal

[garrett490]

Is it realistic to have an absolutely leak free (not even weeping) 3.0? I rebuilt my engine completely using waynes book (had the pros do the bottom end). Both camshaft thrust plates leak, and there's some seepage from a couple of the cylinder bases, and the valve covers weep. I mean what gives...everything was torqued to spec with new gaskets and the sacred "Curil T" sealant used where recommended. I understand these are common leak areas...but I didn't spend 6 months and $8k to be ok with seeing even one drop of oil hit the ground.

Dropping the car off later this week to let the "Pros" fix it. Is it logical to think that these engines were not made with the precision of modern day engines and therefore it is unrealistic to expect them to be bone dry? A side note - my gearbox leaks after being rebuilt by Cogs Cogs...I'm so mad I can't see straight. Besides the broken head studs, my number 1 reason for rebuilding the engine was to stop all the leaks, same with the gearbox.

[BURN-BROS]

Curil-t is your problem. It makes the gasket slippery and runs out from under the plates.

Use 574 along with new gaskets. If you do not have the updated solid cam plates, then upgrade those as well.

[Reiver]

A non weeping flat 6...maybe but pretty damn rare. The design lends itself to seepage.
Mine has a slight weep at the cam tower (common) but it's not a big deal.
My tranny has 254 k miles on it and never leaked prior to or after the rebuild (4k miles ago)...they didn't use the proper sealants with the gaskets.

[carrerarsr65]

just finished my first rebuild,bone dry ,a little luck and a lot of prep work ,cleaning,and more cleaning

[E Sully]

I have read mixed reviews about Cogs Cogs.

Cog's Cogs
Cogs Cogs Transmissions
Questions about 915 transmission rebuild

[garrett490]

Originally Posted by E Sully

I have read mixed reviews about Cogs Cogs.



Cog's Cogs

Cogs Cogs Transmissions

Questions about 915 transmission rebuild

Yea they are local so I figured I give him a shot. My gearbox shifts and functions wonderfully...but it leaks. And he didn't clean it up to my expectation. Now let's see if he honors his "2 year warranty".


Please excuse brevity and spelling errors. Sent using iPhone

[Tippy]

Mine was bone dry for 100 miles, then started leaking and weeping.

I've had my fair share of leaking Chevy V8's I worked on countless times, so I know how to assemble properly, but it still leaked. Mine had a lot to do with using Yamabond 5. Big mistake...

[Tippy]

Originally Posted by carrerarsr65

just finished my first rebuild,bone dry ,a little luck and a lot of prep work ,cleaning,and more cleaning

Oh, just give it some time....she'll spring a leak somewhere......

Just kidding, I hope it stays dry fer ya

[cgarr]

were your head sealing surfaces cut? if so how much? this can cause a misalignment with the chain boxes and cause a leak.

[Gordo2]

I had my valve covers resurfaced / machined to ensure they were perfectly flat. Also installed RSR rocker shaft seals.

No seeping from my valve covers - 5k miles after my rebuild.

Good luck, Gordo

[E Sully]

After I rebuilt my '86 engine, I had a couple of leaks. One corner of the camshaft flange gasket had partialy folded over. I had to replace it, and I used a very light coat of 574.
The other was the flywheel cranksahft seal. I had seated it too deep. I bought another and set it just a little higher.
As for the transmission, I also lightly coated the paper gaskets with the 574.

[Flat6pac]

Yamabond is good but directions state apply to both clean flanges then assemble.
I had a man come in with a leaking Carrera on the centerline. When I opened it, the yamabond was only sticking to the applied flange, had crusted over and never really sealed to the opposite case half.
Bruce

[Tippy]

Originally Posted by Flat6pac

Yamabond is good but directions state apply to both clean flanges then assemble.
I had a man come in with a leaking Carrera on the centerline. When I opened it, the yamabond was only sticking to the applied flange, had crusted over and never really sealed to the opposite case half.
Bruce

That is interesting, thanks!

[cgarr]

Yea that yamabond will skim over pretty quick

[garrett490]

Originally Posted by cgarr

were your head sealing surfaces cut? if so how much? this can cause a misalignment with the chain boxes and cause a leak.

Yes heads were cut .025. Added an .02 copper gasket to the original one to line things back up. Need to get the valve covers trued up and RSR seals on rocker shafts can only help. The car will be tended to by the pros on Monday. Just hope they don't hit me too hard. $$. Will report back with diagnosis and costs.


Please excuse brevity and spelling errors. Sent using iPhone

[jhg41977]

I had several leaks when I assembled my first (and only so far) 3.6.started with a throughbolt oring. Tear apart, do it again. Then a cam leak between the chain box and carrier. This was caused by a slipped paper gasket while trying wrestle the oring seal in. Fixed that, then had a tensioner leaking, I put the gasket in backwards.

There is a lot that can go wrong. Dont beat yourself up. The lost money sucks. Its a complex engine with lots of places to leak from.

[SidewaysWaffle]

Originally Posted by carrerarsr65

just finished my first rebuild,bone dry ,a little luck and a lot of prep work ,cleaning,and more cleaning

That's awesome.. good work!

[RedCoupe]

Originally Posted by jhg41977

I had several leaks when I assembled my first (and only so far) 3.6.started with a throughbolt oring. Tear apart, do it again. Then a cam leak between the chain box and carrier. This was caused by a slipped paper gasket while trying wrestle the oring seal in. Fixed that, then had a tensioner leaking, I put the gasket in backwards.

There is a lot that can go wrong. Dont beat yourself up. The lost money sucks. Its a complex engine with lots of places to leak from.

Apologies to the OP for a brief hijack, but I have my 3.6 pulled out of the car starting to come apart to fix, among other things, through bolt leaks. Did you figure out what caused the through bolt leak on your newly rebuilt engine?

[VFR750]

Originally Posted by garrett490

Yes heads were cut .025. Added an .02 copper gasket to the original one to line things back up. Need to get the valve covers trued up and RSR seals on rocker shafts can only help. The car will be tended to by the pros on Monday. Just hope they don't hit me too hard. $$. Will report back with diagnosis and costs.


Please excuse brevity and spelling errors. Sent using iPhone

I thought stacking cylinder base gaskets was a no-no.

PP sells .5mm thick gaskets as well as the .25mm stick ones.

I bought a set of .5mm ones and after checking deck height and piston clearance realized i did not need the extra .25mm

[gtc]

Originally Posted by garrett490

Yea they are local so I figured I give him a shot. My gearbox shifts and functions wonderfully...but it leaks. And he didn't clean it up to my expectation. Now let's see if he honors his "2 year warranty".

Please excuse brevity and spelling errors. Sent using iPhone

Good luck.
I'm kind of amazed you would give him a shot after reading so many negative reviews.