gasket sealants

[Arizona_928]

i'm replacing the cam tower gasket, and am wondering which sealant should i use??

[Techno Duck]

Cam tower gasket should be installed dry. Clean both surfaces as much as you can and make sure you torque evenly (Go in a figure 8, from the inside out). Also make sure both surfaces are perfectly flat.

[Slam]

I did mine dry and had to redo it six months later. Last time I did it I just used a good anaerobic sealant and it hasn't leaked again.

HTH

[thoen]

when you take the cam tower off, is the camshaft the only item inside of it? I am thinking of replacing my tower with a powder coated one this summer. clarks garage ecplains it all but without pictures. Can the valve seals be easy/hard to replace once the tower is off. what is involved with that procedure?
i hope i didn't pirate your thread. I was going to poste a new one but yours looked active and is really related to what i need to do.
thanks,
ernest

[Techno Duck]

When removing the cam tower, the lifters will come out (more like fall out) as you lift it off the block. Its tricky to put back on also, put grease on the lifters to prevent them from falling out.

You can probably change the valve seals with the cylinder head still on the car, but probably more trouble than its worth.

[thoen]

thanks jon!

[Arizona_928]

techno duck, have urs leaked since you installed it? and do you know how long one of those gaskets should last?

[Techno Duck]

15k + miles on it before i sold the car, didnt leak at all. As i said, check for flatness, clean it and torque it down evenly to spec. When doing the torque sequence, make two passes or even three if you want to play it safe before you go to the final values.

Hard to say how long that gasket should last. Take into account how many cars are still running around with them untouched from the factory. Figure 20 years, 100k miles i guess.