Camshaft cover plate leak

[Mysterytrain]

Thought I would bounce this off of you guys. As some of you may know I got my 78sc back this summer after a 'spare no expenses' rebuild and conversion to a 3.2 short stroke. The motor has about 2000 miles on it and is back at the shop for a second time to have a camshaft cover plate leak repaired. My mechanic is great and I trust him completely but we are both puzzled as to what is going on with section of the engine and why it is leaking again. Looks like it leaks the most when the car is cold and oil pressures are high. Once the engine is hot the dripping just about stops. The repair included new o-ring and gasket, both with sealant applied. This time around we are going to add the restrictors on the chain tensioner oil fittings. So, I'm wondering if you guys have some experience with leaks in this area and can advise? I'm also wondering about run out and perhaps a warped cam cover plate.
As always..thanks, Ron

[Dan Owens]

Where exactly is it leaking from on the cam cover? The gasket between the cover and the cam housing, oil line connection, hole in cover where line line attaches to the tensioner or the small round knockout plug? When the engine was rebuilt did they sand or bead blast the covers, particularly on the inside?

[rickeolis]

Hi Ron,
This is an easy fix really. You can take the cover off in about 10 minutes, no need to worry about the small amount of residual oil that comes out. Then clean everything up, put a thin coating of sealant around the contact areas and slap her back together. Just snug the nuts and bolts in a star pattern as it goes back-

[Mysterytrain]

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/images/engine/1-3-3-27.jpg
This is the area that is leaking..Wayne, sorry about posting here meant to post this on the engine board please feel free to remove this post as I have reposted to the correct place.

[jtratza]

Mine's leaking also but only when I don't drive it every day. Although constant driving is a nice fix, do I have to pull the engine to get at the cover?

[kstylianos]

Ron,

I had this exact same leak right after a rebuild.

Check these 2 threads for fix info:

Re-timing the cams is required.

Cam O-ring/Gasket leak after rebuild

Oil Leak - Take a look at this pic.

[Gunter]

There is an O-ring type seal behind the cam end cover (#10 in the Bentley 151-6) that can leak and make it look like it's coming from the cam cover. When you have a chance, give us details about the 3.2 short-stroke. What type P/C? Studs? Cams? Did you keep CIS? Thanks.

[Mysterytrain]

Yes, I'm aware of the o-ring seal.but what has us baffled is why has this happened twice. Are there other factors here at work that can be causing the properly seated o-ring or gasket to fail. The links look interesting..thanks Charlie. Gunter I will post more pix and details about the engine but for the moment.. 3.0 to 3.2 JE psitons 964 cams CIS SSI's and Dansk 2 in one out. I really like it but its amazing how quickly you want even more power..like Muddy Waters' Sez.."I can't be Satisfied"

[Gunter]

Mysterytrain: Maybe it's time to try the dye to really determine the source of the leak. Thanks for the details. What type cylinders for your conversion?

[Mysterytrain]

Hey Doc,
Sorry about the double post..this is also on the engine board. Looks like my P -wrench has found the leak. The oil spray bar plug! looks like its going to be a bit of a chore riping things down to get the plug which of course he wants to replace. As for cylinders we are using Mahle nikkies.

[oneblueyedog]

I had the same leak before rebuild. On these covers you show I...

Sanded each side with 600 grit+ solvent on a glass plate until flat.
Used curil-t on both gaskets- flat and o-ring.
Re-checked the sproket parallelism and timed the cams.

I also flat sanded the chain housing covers.
Before the rebuild the chain covers were applied with hylomar and the gasket. This system leaked after 5 years.

I used no sealant on the perimeter gasket during rebuild. I only had 2 nuts leak and 1/8th of a turn stopped each.