Camshaft seal is leaking??? - Troubleshooting - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• Camshaft seal is leaking??? by katakura silk on 22 May, 2009 15:43
• Hello, guys! Glad to be back! Once again I have a question for the masses.
  My recently re-built head is leaking oil from the Camshaft seal...
  
  My question is should I take the time to pull the Cshaft and replaced the seal or could it be something simple like my TB tensioned too tight??? Maybe making the camshafts rotation wobble a little? I cant see the wobble, but something is making the seal not do its job... Oil leaks make my skin crawl
  
  Thanks for any input.
  Joseph
• #1 by katakura silk on 22 May, 2009 19:54
• A good hr of city driving will take the oil down to the bottom of the engine.
  I know its not the Valve cover gasket. Its seeping directly behind the camshaft pulley. Also I can see the oil seeping around the seal.
  
  What kind of sealer do I need for the cap? Do you mean to put it fully around the seal and put into place. Then place the cap back over the camshaft?(along with all the other caps in Bentley sequence...)
  
  Do you think this step was skipped?
  I got the head from Jack @ VWdieselparts in Ohio. I called and he said belt tension could be a possibility. Then he went off and said something about the bearing in the injection pump (if bad) could cause everything to wobble making the seal not tight...But the pump is rebuilt. So thats not the issue.
  
  Could this have been a bad seal?
• #2 by Smokey Eddy on 23 May, 2009 00:29
• Changing the seal is actually as easy as changing the tension of the belt IMO. take the cam cover off, turn the engine over to TDC and just take the cam completely off... No harm can come of all the valves closing, just be dang sure you put it back on the right way and not upsidedown.
  Easy seal swap. I think a new seal is like 15$ cad. and preesssss it on there with some RTV or what ever as suggested.
• #3 by katakura silk on 24 May, 2009 19:27
• Thanks for clearing that up for me!!! I will post results soon.
  The lady has got me painting almost every room in our house this weekend.
• #4 by katakura silk on 07 Jun, 2009 08:55
• :UPDATE:
  Pulled the cam.
  Had to make a home made seal press.
  Used aviation sealer on Cap #1
  No more oil leaks as of yet.
  Went ahead and made the jump to Synthetic...
  
  I wanted to ask another question. I have read that synthetic oil has detergents that break up soot. Since I just made the change from 15w-40(from the ground ) to 5w-40 synthetic, should I change this oil a little sooner than normal.(for the first change)  Maybe around 3,000.  I dont know if the car burned any oil before because of the oil leak @ the cam seal. I only had to add 1/2 QT in 3,000 miles...
  
  Thanks for any input.
• #5 by rabbitman on 07 Jun, 2009 12:21
• Quote from: libbybapa on 23 May, 2009 13:51

  I'm not talking about the perimeter of the seal itself, I am talking about the mating surface of the 1st cam bearing cap to the head.  Without sealant, oil will weep there between the head and cap.
  
  Andrew
  

  
  You Andrew, are a genius , I've never thought of it leaking there, and there's a good chance that's the cause of one of my leaks .