cam seal installation - botched?

[bumperbozo]

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

i used my hands to push the seal in about a millimeter or two and then used the pipe fitting and bolt technique to gradually press the seal in using the cam's own threads. this is my second attempt, and i'm not sure the results are much better than using the flipped cam cog technique. in both cases there was one section of the edge that got pushed up by the bore and looks a bit screwed. last time it was the upper right corner, and in this case it is the upper left as you can sorta see in this photo.

can anyone tell me if this is gonna leak, or should i go to get another seal and try yet again?

thanks!

[Tech1984]

Spot on. Reassemble, drive, and enjoy.

[bumperbozo]

thanks for the encouragement. i got a different angle on the lighting here, but getting a good shot of this is kinda tricky. two spots where it looks dodgey. right by 'national' and further counterclockwise by the bore seam. does this change your perspective on it?

[Tech1984]

Looks like the many I've installed. Continue on.

[bumperbozo]

that's reassuring. ok, one last shot because i got the flash going and a better angle on that really screwy part where the outer polymer is pushed out by the bore. i know i'm a pain in the ass, but are you sure that's ok?

[bionictony]

was it an oem or aftermarket seal?

[Tech1984]

I use a cam seal installer tool just made for the 5-sfe motor. It uses the threads of the cam.
It always leaves the seal looking like that unless you apply lots of white lithium to the out side which I try NOT to do. Like I said, looks like the many I've installed.

[bumperbozo]

so that special tool doesn't have some kind of sleeve that squeezes the outside of the seal and keeps it from getting caught on the bore?


seal is Fel Pro/National. OEM is made by NOK or NGK or whatever.

[bumperbozo]

Tech1984, do you use OEM seals and they still turn out that way?

[Tech1984]

Originally Posted by bumperbozo

Tech1984, do you use OEM seals and they still turn out that way?

Yes, OE seals always. And the tool is a squared off cup with a threaded stud/nut to go through it. Presses on the outside edge of the seal. Got it from Matco.

[bumperbozo]

i take it you don't like a lot of grease on the outside so that it doesn't push out so easily from engine gas pressure. the haynes manual says to put moly grease on the outside edge of both the cam seal and the crank seal. do they mean just the rim or the whole outer cylinder and would you disagree? i did the latter, but since it got chewed up hopefully that means i didn't over do it with the lube.

I put cam lube on the outer cylinder of the oil pump rotor seal and it felt like it went in without much resistance. i pushed it in a little with my fingers and then took a wood bar and pressed it flush with the pump body using the palm of my hand and it didn't seem to require a lot of pressure. does this mean i greased it too well and it will probably blow? should I do it over?

thanks!

[Tech1984]

You did just fine and nothing different from what I'm used to doing.

[bumperbozo]

you have been tremendously helpful, Tech. I'm surprised that the oil pump doesn't apparently generate enough pressure to push the seal out. there is a lot of physics going on that i don't understand and is a little counter intuitive. it gives me more respect for engineers.

[misterfix]

the seals do not stop oil pressure from leaking just the oil after it is out of the bearing. After the oil leaves the bearings it is no longer pressured. So the only pressure on the seal is crankcase pressure and that is not a lot. And yea the seal looks good to me.

[bumperbozo]

mrfix, yes, but isn't the oil pump seal under more pressure than the cam seal, since one of the ways the oil has to escape from the driven rotor is around the side and out the rotor shaft?