HughA44s

I have replaced the camtower gasket on my 1987 944 N/A three times and each time, the gasket lasts for about 2 months and starts leaking again. what seems to be happening is the the gasket gets pushed out (approrimately 1/8 inch) tears and then leaks. This has happened in three different locations but the failure mode is the same. I torque the bolts to the correct values and sequence so I am stumped. I have had issues with virbation for a bent powere steering pulley (have a replacement in hand) and wheel balance issues. Could the vibration be causing this? Also this is a newly rebuilt motor that runs really, really good and I have just switched to syn oil. Any help or ideas appreciated.

75ohm

Where are you getting the gaskets and what torque are you setting? Although the shop manuals have no reference for tightening sequence, follow the same general inside out pattern and check as you go...

Yabo

Also, if your torque wrench is old or hasn't been stored properly it may be out of calibration..

I second the where are you getting your gaskets, perhaps they are cheapies?

hosrom_951

Are you sure the mating surface is clean and dry?

Get a straight bar and a 0.1mm feeler gauge and make sure the cylinder head-to-camshaft housing mating surface is straight.

Sending the torque wrench out for re-calibration is a good idea, that should be done once every two years(?) or so.

cpt_koolbeenz

Slap some Loctite 518 on that sucker. It won't leak again!

special tool

No.

What is happening is that you are ripping it upon installation. This is easy to do because of the lifters and alignment, etc.

You MUST get everything straight, aligned and parallel BEFORE you touch the head (gasket).

J Berk

my neighbor is an XK-E fanatic...he just had both of his torque wrenches calibrated and they were off big-time! You might be over/under torquing!

xsboost90

could have a warped or messed up surface on the cambox or head. Check it w/ a straight edge to make sure its straight. Also, using old bolts will sometimes mean your torque specs will be off. PUt a dab of sealer on the top of the cambox gasket to hold it from falling down at the top when you install the housing, and recheck your torque on the cambox after a few days of driving.

HughA44s

Thanks for the help and I will do all of these!!!!!!!

schwank

I actually am replacing my cam tower... due to previous repair it no longer seals in the back even with a new gasket... a forum member sent me a different cam tower that I'll be installing. So just a PSA to make sure it isn't something actually related to the cam housing itself.

Granite 944

For what its worth..............you should also make awful sure that the machined surfaces are NOT scratched up, or not gouged or have a very uneven surface due to someone who got in there before with a carbide scraper, drill motor with sanding disk/scotchbrite, (or whatever), and tore the flatness up to where it CAN"T seal anymore with the gasket alone. I've found one gouged up in a spot or two on my '83 daily, and used some sealant on this gasket because of it. IF, it would have been gouged much deeper.........I would have had to go another route. Machine shop and or thicker/different gasket material. Cleanlinest, and FLATNESS........is one of the keys here. Proper install tecniques.........of course.

I also agree with Dan. Make sure you ALWAYS CLEAN/WIRE BRUSH/CHASE THE THREADS on anything, that you need to torque up properly (main engine components especially). Otherwise.......you really don't KNOW if your torquing up properly, due to crappy/dirty threads either. Along with the aforementioned misused/abused torque wrench. And always use a staggered/middle to outward torque up procedure (if a torque sequence is NOT given).

Good luck!