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Hello friends, I recently installed a new engine into my car and I put new seals in for the crank and cams. Unfortunately my car is leaking oil profusely, the entire underside of the car and the whole front of the engine is covered in oil.
I figured there's a good possibility this leak is coming from the front seals, so I pulled all the gear and this is what I found.
I'm not certain if it's leaking oil from the intake cam, which it appears that there is a possibility, or from that ball bearing oil galley plug underneath the intake cam. I think this is not likely, however there does appear to be damage to the metal surface on the bottom of the cam seal, possibly from improper attempts to remove. There is also the possibility that the cam seal was installed too far in.
This is what the back of the front cylinder head cover looked like (the metal plate that is bolted to the head, behind the cam gears.
This one is difficult to see, but there is a clear line of oil on the backside of this plate directly underneath where the cam seal or the oil galley plug would be leaking.
If those are dings then the OD of the seal will be damaged on installation. Just went through this on a toyota. The ding is going to create a very sharp lip that will shred the OD of the seal. I used a file to remove the lip. DO NOT touch anything with the file except for the raised lip.
That is very likely what may have occurred. I'll file down the lip before installing new seal.
I believe it was the intake cam seal that was doing most of the leaking, the exhaust cam didn't look too bad. Do you see anything there that could be an issue?
I have ordered a set of FM seal installation tools, and those will be here in a few days.
The pic I put fancy rectangles on is the exhaust cam. So yeah I see issues.
They both look like a gorilla bashed the edges with a hammer. Remove the seals with the proper tool and feel the edge with your finger. Carefully removed material ON THE EDGE ONLY until you can't feel a lip. Don't install the new seals like a gorilla.
I see a Boundary oil pump and a FMS that's clearly come at least partially loose. All the oil is from the FMS. Remove and replace with an OEM FMS seal and the leak will disappear
The cam seals might weep but they will cause oil residue, not a liquid leak.
I have a strong feeling that I may have installed the intake cam seal too deep, and what is leaking is the oil exiting from the VVT actuator dumping out of the engine rather than back into the engine because the seal doesn't quite line up. How do you feel about this assessment? It would make sense, as the amount of oil under the whole car is ridiculous.
I see a Boundary oil pump and a FMS that's clearly come at least partially loose. All the oil is from the FMS. Remove and replace with an OEM FMS seal and the leak will disappear
The cam seals might weep but they will cause oil residue, not a liquid leak.
Keen eye, yes that is a BE pump.
I have all 3 seals that I will be replacing once my FM tools get here.
I knew the FMS was a problem, but there was significant oil from the top of the engine all the way down. If you look at the photo of the plate that sits behind the cam gears (second link in OP) there's a streak of oil that runs from the middle of the cam seal all the way down.
Do you think I am correct in my assessment that it was installed improperly? Or could there be a leak from that oil galley plug?
BE pump seals are junk. It is very annoying that they supply these knowing that the OD is too small and this has been covered with them many times, very irresponsible. Replace with OE. When removing the cam seal remove the caps. There is no need to dent or ding the cam & crank journals. Under the cam caps there needs to be a very slight amount of RTV under the outside edge of the cap.
Not sure if you used OEM cam seals or not, the intake cam seal should be black if it's OEM. Make sure the cam seal surfaces are all perfect, make sure the cams aren't grooved, etc. FM sells a great set of tools to make this idiot-proof, see if you can borrow/rent a set if they're out of your budget. I own a set and they make cam/FMS seal install a brain-dead activity. I still maintain that the vast majority of your oil leak is coming from the FMS.
I believe I am using a Fel-Pro cam seal, which I've had success with in the past on other cars, but...
Upon closer inspection it appears that the intake cam seal with installed at a very slight angle. On the bottom it was installed too deep, but at the top it very slightly protrudes out of the sealing surface. This is not visible in the pictures.
I believe you are right, the FMS is probably the majority of the leak, but the intake cam seal is probably also contributing a decent chunk to it.
I have a complete set of new Fel-Pro seals, although in retrospect I should have bought OEM seals as the cost difference isn't much. I just buy everything from RockAuto, which is just my automatic go-to. I did opt to not purchase the wholesaler clearance, as I believe these seals may be very old stock that may not seal as well as one with a newer manufacture date.
Also, I did order a set of FM seal installation tools, which I should have done from the start.
No special tools are required if you replace the cam seals correctly. Always remove the front cam bearing caps. Front cam journals are dented or scratched by people trying to pry them out. Professional mechanics remove the caps.
Originally Posted by Savington
Not sure if you used OEM cam seals or not, the intake cam seal should be black if it's OEM. Make sure the cam seal surfaces are all perfect, make sure the cams aren't grooved, etc. FM sells a great set of tools to make this idiot-proof, see if you can borrow/rent a set if they're out of your budget. I own a set and they make cam/FMS seal install a brain-dead activity. I still maintain that the vast majority of your oil leak is coming from the FMS.
05-13-2020, 08:41 PM
Front of engine profusely leaking oil
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