Russ Murphy

Yes, I'm the latest victim of the infamous pooched out cam tower gasket back in the passenger side/firewall corner. Oil coming out at more than a drop a second. The smoke volume looks like a friggin' radiator leak when at a stop.

superjet.1

russ do not use a gasket next time clean and use yamabond or 1211.

tt9714

I've seen this recommendation previously.

Does the use of Yamabond also apply to the cam tower-to-head seal (in addition to the cam tower cap in the rear)?

Russ Murphy

Really?!? I've got Yamabond. Just use it alone, not in conjunction with a gasket. Has anybody run their motor like this for any length of time? And I am talking about the cam tower to head surface.

PCinDC

Mine went in exactly the same way on my 84 about 2 weeks ago. Was in and out of town for work and my girlfreind needed the car (Yikes!) so I had to bite the bullet and have it done. Spendy...
Good Luck!

Paul

Russ Murphy

Bumpity bump bump.
Danno? Tim? Is no gasket really the thing to do?

Danno

I think using no gasket is the way to go. At least no CORK gasket. I fought that thing for 4-5 months and tried it every which way! First dry (no good), then with some Permatek silicone, Hylomar, 3M Fastak, Yamabond (all first on one side, then both sides of gasket). All were no good! A closer analysis revealed that the gasket was sealed OK between the gasket & metal interface, but was leaking from between the cork grains! I even tried making my own gasket by cutting up some fiberous rubberized gasket material, again in combinations of dry and with sealants on one or both surfaces. Still no go.

I suspect that the gasket you get from the Porsche dealer is not the same gasket that came with the car. The OEM gasket is compressed to about 0.5-0.8mm and seals fine. But I couldn't get the replacement gasket to compress that much without getting squeezed out! I made sure the surfaces where clear of oil by wiping down with acetone. That made the sealants stick really nicely, but the gasket still squeezed out. The first attempt with a dry gasket was the worse with it squeezing out at only 1/2 the specified torque. The later ones with sealants were a little better.

Here's my last attempt that appears to have worked OK, but I only had one month on it before having my engine sabotaged at the <a href="http://www.opentrackchallenge.com" target="_blank">OTC</a>.

Cork gasket soaked in Yamabond-4: first I apply a super-thin coating (0.05-0.1mm) on the cork-gasket with Yamabond on ALL sides, including the thin outside & inside edges that's exposed to oil & air after installation (I'm trying to seal the gaps in the cork grains). Make sure mating surfaces have flat layer by applying with a squeegee-type applicator. Do one side and the edges, let dry for an hour or so and then do the other side and redo the edges. Make a frame/gasket-holder from paper-clips or coat-hangers so gasket can hang dry by the bolt-holes without touching anything anywhere else. Let sit overnight for Yamabond to dry (but stays flexible). Then apply super-thin layer of Yamabond to cam-cap, cam-housing, and both sides of the pre-sealed gasket. Re-assemble finger-tight making sure all bolts are even. Torque down to only 1 lb-ft or so to lightly squeeze gasket and make excess Yamabond ooze out. Wipe that down along edge of gasket to add extra sealing. Let sit for 24-hours for Yamabond to dry. Come back and re-torque down to specifications; the cork-gasket SHOULD stay in place as you tighten.

This appears to have worked for me the last time and it was so nice coming a stop at a light and hot having to smell that awful stench of burnt oil on the cross-over pipe. My next attempt would have been to use no gasket or make one out of rubber by cutting up an inner-tube.

Russ Murphy

Danno,
I guess I was mixing my metaphors. I was talking about the gasket between the head and the cam housing. And yes, it would be nice not to smell that smell!

Alan C.

I've used Yamabond on my engine and have NO leaks in those areas. Great stuff.

Alan

Danno

Russ, sorry I misread your posts. Ah yes, the cam-tower to head interface. Here's my impression of the failures of these gaskets; elongation of the head/cam-tower due to heat. However, the gasket doesn't stretch as much and will eventually get a break going from inside to outside (perpendicular to direction of stretch).

I surmise that's why the gasket you get from Porsche is graphite coated. To allow for sliding of the head and cam-tower over the gasket when they elongate from the heat, yet they won't pull the gasket along with them and rip it...

Russ Murphy

So in otherwords, putting something sticky like Yamabond on the gasket is probably a bad idea...??

Danno

You might want to put some sealant on the bottom surface of the gasket in the corners, and around the oil feed & return holes. But leave the top surface bare or add a little extra graphite powder to let the cam-tower slide. Also tighten the bolts from the middle outwards (like laying down a big sticker).

Russ Murphy

Thanks dude!