Replacing Camshaft Seals?

[GOT8SPD]

Ok so the O ring Im talking about is DEFINITELY not like the pic posted by 87E30VERT. That o ring is a hard seal where as the o ring I got is different. The orange ring shown above is a hard o ring and that seal was on part #4 and I did have that part when i took off part #4. Since it was so different from the thin o ring I got (it's a flimsy flexible o ring) I thought there's no way it was designed to go in that groove. This is what I ordered.

http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2803827/

[crappycoco]

Could it be that the squishy o-ring got hard (giggity) because of age? Because I had several turn as hard as plastic when I pulled them, which is why they don't seal anymore btw =)

[GOT8SPD]

I'm not sure? it's just so thin to fit in that groove, i doubt it would seal anything.

[crappycoco]

hm, go on and fit it - then take a picture and post it. I'm sure someone will be able to help you.

[87E30VERT]

So upon receipt of the o ring I was wondering that same thing. I am actually tackling this tomorrow and will have a better answer at that time. The o ring just appears too loose to fit in the guide snug but I haven't physically tried yet...that was just my initial impression. Check out this video on YouTube:




At about 19:15 he covers the camshaft seal and o ring replacement.

Here is a screenshot from video:

[101]

A new o-ring does fit loose in the groove. Once it's installed it will compress and expand to fill the groove area.

[digger]

The o-ring goes to square cross section over time due to the heat and pressure

[87E30VERT]

Thanks guys....you made me feel more comfortable when I tackle it tomorrow. I'm sure the OP feels the same way.

[potatomash]

How do you get the cam seal housing off? I've undone the two bolts holding it on but it seems pretty solidly stuck there.. :/

[spdracrm3]

Use two flatbladed screwdrivers at corners of ears (as close in to the flange center as possible,don't want to break the ears),and pry evenly making sure housing stays square to head .if you can't get it to start moving sometimes rotating flange first will allow it to move either by tapping with punch or gently with large channellock pliers

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk

[GOT8SPD]

How do you get the cam seal housing off? I've undone the two bolts holding it on but it seems pretty solidly stuck there.. :/

I used a razor blade to wedge it between and kinda made my way around, eventually, there was more and more room, so then i started turning / wiggling it to make it come out.

[Turbo Joe 87]

Use channel locks to rotate the seal housing so the ears are vertical. Gently pry at the lower ear, in the recessed area, rotate 180 deg, repeat until it comes off easily.

Joe

[e30topdown]

I know this is reviving an old thread, but someone may find this info useful. It certainly would have helped me out.

So I just replaced the cam seal and o ring last night. After lubing the end of the cam and the inner lip of the new seal, I couldn't get the seal started on the cam without rolling the seal lip. So I did some research. There's a special tool from Baum Tools, blah, blah. The Bentley manual mentions putting tape over the end of the camshaft to avoid damaging the new seal. So I got some vinyl electrical tape and covered about an 1/8 inch of the cam with it, then folded the rest of the tape down over the end of the cam. Put oil on the tape and cam and the inner lip of the seal...and the damn thing slid right on slick as you please!

And I thought the Bentley was only good for torque specs.

[Campbelljj]

Sweet tip

[Seawolf]

Take a small smooth plastic container (like a small clorox wipes container. It needs to be big enough to fit over the camshaft end.

Cut the top and bottom off.

Make 1 split end to end.

Slather some grease on it and fit it over the end of the camshaft.

Scroll the other end of the split container enough to put the oil seal and housing on.

Slide onto camshaft.

Remove oil seal fitting 'tool'

You need something made of fairly robust plastic - otherwise the seal will collapse the plastic as you try to fit it.