Replacing valve cover seal

ecosse944 · ecosse944's Garage

My 85.5 944 has an oil leak from the valve cover seal. Untill the weekend it was a tiny drip, but now it is flowing freely at the front left hand side and dripping onto the exhaust manifold, so it needs to be sorted.

I have ordered the new gasket ($15) and plan to change it myself.

Any advice on the procedure? I reckon it is straight forward enough, but any advice before I tackle it would be appreciated. How long should the job take and anything I need to watch out for?

Thanks

fmartenies · 08-16-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecosse944

My 85.5 944 has an oil leak from the valve cover seal.
Thanks

Just that you will get beat up for not calling it the cam tower seal since there isn't techincally a valve cover. I don't care because we all know what you are talking about but I can name a few on here that do.

Did you check the seal at the rear of the cam? It is more prone to failure that the surface that mates to the head. Other than that just follow the cam belt procedures on Clark's Garage since you will need to remove it.

speedracing944 · speedracing944's Garage

Definitely more involved replacing the cam tower gasket as you have to rotate your engine to TDC before removing the balance shaft and cam belts. You also have to fuel rail.

Read the Clarks Garage procedure before attempting so you know what you are getting into.

Post your location as there might be a knowledgeable person in your area.

Speedy

fmartenies · 08-16-2010, 09:01 PM

Just the cam belt, the balance shaft belt wouldn't need to come off. And you COULD leave the fuel rail attached if you are OK with the tight space.

968 GUY · 968 GUY's Garage

as much trouble as some of the people posting have had removing all gasket material from cam tower and head, probably going to have toremove cam tower completely.
I have not had to do it, luckily.

ecosse944 · ecosse944's Garage

[QUOTE=fmartenies;5510228]Just that you will get beat up for not calling it the cam tower seal since there isn't techincally a valve cover. I don't care because we all know what you are talking about but I can name a few on here that do.

I actually would call it the rocker cover seal, that's what it is known as back home in Scotland, but here in Canada, it seems to be called the valve cover!?
Anyhow, I am having to change all the terms I know for the terms they use here. Between that and my thick Scottish accent, it is quite frustrating finding the correct parts I need!

Slam · 08-17-2010, 04:40 PM

Have a nice long straightedge on hand to block the lifters in the cam tower when you remove it, otherwise you get a shower of lifters on your shop floor. Many recommend tapping the cam tower bolt heads to "wake them up" before trying to remove them - a good policy, given that if you strip one of the internal bolts you're in a world of hurt - you'll need a very long 6mm hex tool to get them out. The gasket goes on dry, and a little blue Loctite on the outside bolts will prevent them from backing out and allowing the gasket to leak again. This topic has been covered a lot, as it seems an endemic problem - I've done my 944's cam tower twice in 10 years. Of course, there's the whole timing belt tensioning job to do as well, but that's been covered thoroughly as well. This is a pretty easy job if you're careful, and a good relaxing couple of afternoons. It's also a good time to replace any lifters that feel soft or are making a racket.

Have fun!

fmartenies · 08-17-2010, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecosse944

I actually would call it the rocker cover seal, that's what it is known as back home in Scotland, but here in Canada, it seems to be called the valve cover!?!

Rocker cover here too. All rocker covers are valve covers, but not all valve covers are rocker covers. Unfortunately, you get beat up for rocker cover as well. But once again we all know what you mean but just keep this thread at the top long enough and you will see what I mean.