JerseyDog
.020 Over
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2020
- Messages
- 41
- Ride
- 2014 Rocket III Roaster (that pipe gets hot!)
Just did the Cam Cover Seal on my 2014 R3 Roadster. It was beginning to leak, and there were places where it looked like the seal was being blown out of position. (first photo) It took us about six hours, including about an hour disassembling various radiator covers and such to find the front coil bolt that dropped.
My son was helping me, he's an ex-Hyundai technician and has a vast assortment of specialized tools including low-profile ratchets, wrenches, hex drivers, etc. so getting tools in that tight space was not as much of a challenge as most DIY mechanics would face.
When we got the cover off he noticed right away that the powder coating extended all the way under the cover onto the mating surface for the gasket. He specialized in rebuilding engines and found this very disturbing. Using a razor scraper, acetone and brake cleaner, we stripped the mating surface down to bare metal. (second photo)
After examining the marks left by the seal on the surfaces my son concluded that the gasket was not installed properly, most likely it had shifted while the cover was being replaced. He said he could tell someone had been into the motor previously because the cover bolts showed tool marks in the hexes.
We're hoping that removing the powder coat from the cover will prevent future leaks, he feels that the powder coat as a mating surface will not provide a good seal and will allow oil to seep through. We will see...
Photo 1 - Gasket out of place
Photo 2 - Cleaning off the powder coating from the sealing surfaces.
My son was helping me, he's an ex-Hyundai technician and has a vast assortment of specialized tools including low-profile ratchets, wrenches, hex drivers, etc. so getting tools in that tight space was not as much of a challenge as most DIY mechanics would face.
When we got the cover off he noticed right away that the powder coating extended all the way under the cover onto the mating surface for the gasket. He specialized in rebuilding engines and found this very disturbing. Using a razor scraper, acetone and brake cleaner, we stripped the mating surface down to bare metal. (second photo)
After examining the marks left by the seal on the surfaces my son concluded that the gasket was not installed properly, most likely it had shifted while the cover was being replaced. He said he could tell someone had been into the motor previously because the cover bolts showed tool marks in the hexes.
We're hoping that removing the powder coat from the cover will prevent future leaks, he feels that the powder coat as a mating surface will not provide a good seal and will allow oil to seep through. We will see...
Photo 1 - Gasket out of place
Photo 2 - Cleaning off the powder coating from the sealing surfaces.