cam cover

[robsgreen]

Hi Guys

Ive re-fitted the cam cover with a new main rubber gasket and new bolt seals. i followed the procedure as per the manual but when I got to the maximum torque on one of the bolts. it stripped. I removed the cam cover and heli coiled it and its now fine. My question is, each time I torque it down, I do it carefully and evenly but the seal does not always look perfectly evenly pulled down. This is despite the seal being correctly located. The seal is compressed all around, but just not evenly. is this normal to have a slight difference from one end to the other? also, when i do torque it up as per the manual cam cover torque values, it always feels like one of the bolts is going let go, like it actually did. i also notice slight deformation on one or two of the bolt chrome seal caps. hopefully it wont leak.

regards
MARTIN

[daves79x]

If you've got the right bolts in the right holes, they don't 'torque' down. They shoulder up against the cam tower, if you examine the bolts you will see this shoulder. With a new gasket and seals, you might not get to the shoulder before the advertised torque is met. Stripping those towers is very common.

Dave

[EMS]

The main reason for stripping the threads out of the cam caps is, that they have been abused in the past by a PO and are in bad shape. As Dave says, the bolts should not be torqued, but seated against the shoulder, but hardly anyone does this because they feel the seal has to be compressed "properly" to prevent oil leaks.

[robsgreen]

Hi guys
thanks for the reply. do you think I should remove and re-fit again?
The manual calls for a torque figure so I assumed this is what you use. So do I just tighten them up until the covers down and the seal seems secure?

regards
Martin

[EMS]

The specified torque is really low and if the threads are O.K., you should be able to use that torque figure. But as I said, in most cases, there is damage to the threads already.

[asacuta]

Tighten the bolts gently until their shoulders seat on the cam bearing caps. Don't bother using a torque wrench. If you're using new rubber donuts, don't worry about how far they compress: when the bolt shoulders are on the caps, the rubber donuts will be correct. After a week, you can check to see if the bolts are still tight. I've never found one loose, and I set them just barely snug.

Other than one Honda tech who did the first valve adjustment, no one but me has removed the cover. Therefore, the mounting threads are in good shape. If your threads are damaged, you might still get by without repairing them as long as you don't get carried away with the wrench.