Help, cam seal leak, can't stop

[Charlie Sachs]

Subaru friends, I have a '98 2.2 that has just undergone a timing belt and
shaft seal replacements (3). Originally the crank seal was bad its
replacement is doing fine as is the RH cam seal. My problem started when I
nicked the LH camshaft with a drill bit while trying to pull the old seal.
I removed the seal housing/sensor casting and polished the area so that no
burrs were left to slice the new seal.

I blued the shaft end where the seal rides and did a test fit to see if the
sealing lip was in contact with the drill bit nick/ gouge. The first time I
placed a new seal all the way in to the bore against the bottom face. When
that arrangement leaked I installed another new seal and a new housing O
ring. I pressed this seal in 1/16" deeper than flush but not bottoming as
before. This position also located the sealing lip inboard of the shaft
gouge. I'm thinking at this point: there's room inside the seal for
drainage while the seal is running on a good shaft section. Wrong. It also
leaks- not quite as much but enough to deposit a few drops after a long
drive.

This Legacy has 120K and is not worth the investment of a new shaft The car
can run this way indefinitely as long as the oil stays away from the pipes.
The previous crank seal leak was a smoker. This one drips from the lower
water neck and goes to ground. So I ask the more mechanical of you to offer
any thoughts or ideas.

Thank you, Charlie in Pittsburgh

 

[Jim Stewart]

Subaru friends, I have a '98 2.2 that has just undergone a timing belt and
shaft seal replacements (3). Originally the crank seal was bad its
replacement is doing fine as is the RH cam seal. My problem started when I
nicked the LH camshaft with a drill bit while trying to pull the old seal.
I removed the seal housing/sensor casting and polished the area so that no
burrs were left to slice the new seal.

I blued the shaft end where the seal rides and did a test fit to see if the
sealing lip was in contact with the drill bit nick/ gouge. The first time I
placed a new seal all the way in to the bore against the bottom face. When
that arrangement leaked I installed another new seal and a new housing O
ring. I pressed this seal in 1/16" deeper than flush but not bottoming as
before. This position also located the sealing lip inboard of the shaft
gouge. I'm thinking at this point: there's room inside the seal for
drainage while the seal is running on a good shaft section. Wrong. It also
leaks- not quite as much but enough to deposit a few drops after a long
drive.

This Legacy has 120K and is not worth the investment of a new shaft The car
can run this way indefinitely as long as the oil stays away from the pipes.
The previous crank seal leak was a smoker. This one drips from the lower
water neck and goes to ground. So I ask the more mechanical of you to offer
any thoughts or ideas.

What I want to know is how someone as clever as
you could do something as silly as use a drillbit
to try to get a cam seal out. Was the drillbit
in a drill and turning?

Enough for the smartass reply. I would use the
time-honored country mechanic method. Take out
the camshaft, clean it carefully, fill the void
with JB Weld, after it hardens, carefully dress
it with a file and fine sandpaper to restore the
shaft radius and put it back in.

A better fix might be to take the shaft to a
welder and have him fill the void using a tig
welder. Again, you'd have to carefully dress
the weld down to the same radius as the rest
of the shaft.

 

[TG]

The tolerance is to critical for JOB weld or welding (unless returned in a
lathe). They make thin chrome sleeves for this propose...sometimes the stock
seal will work, if not a seal with an inner diameter to fit the sleeve is
available. TG

 

[Henry Paul]

Or better yet take it to a machine shop so you can guarantee the diameter of
the shaft is within design tolerances so the seal will not leak again. I
wouldn't trust myself to get it round enough not to leak. These oil seals
are fussy enough as it is.