348 Cam seal - to do or not to do?

Welcome to fchat.

Are you sure the oil is coming from the cam seal and not the cam cover? Just seems a bit coincidental where the covers were off less than a month ago and now you have a leak where there was none before. The origin of an oil leak in that location is hard to isolate - could be stealthy oil migration!

 

I know the brothers are gonna yell and scream at me for this, but if it's a small leak (no accumulation on the floor) and money is tight I'd leave it for now but keep an eye on it.

 

I am surprised these weren't replaced during your major, leaking or not?

In any case, if it does turn out to be your cam seal then this is a perfect example of why one should have them replaced during the major, whether or not they are leaking.

 

Has the additional weep hole been drilled before (or was it done by the shop during the major service?)

Mine leaked until the weep hole was done -- and they've been perfectly dry ever since.

 

No problem. Check out this thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267158

 

If you just had the timing belt done and the cam seals replaced, almost certainly the cam covers were removed as well. The drain holes that Daniel referred to are an important upgrade and should be done.

Unless the oil leak is insignificant (your call), it looks like you'll be getting a do-over on the whole job. There's not much to be done without taking it all apart again.

 

If the cam seals and cam covers gaskets were not done as part of your belt service it was not done properly and the cams certainly weren't in degreed. If they were done then it should be under warranty. Give your technician and Service shop an opportunity to properly diagnose the concern and take care of it for you.

 

Yes, agreed-oil is relatively cheap.

 

People, People, People.


He said more than once he had a cam belt change and an annual service.

Not a major service.


It is very different.



The oil leak he is now experiencing now is a result of not doing the entire, far more expensive complete service.

He bought the less expensive service and this is one of the potential outcomes.



The argument if any is whether he was advised well on which degree of service would have served him best. That may or may not be the repair shops fault.

 

Pitchforks and torches.

 

I missed the part about Oct 07.

 

I presume from your original post you are from the UK. As I understand it in your country what you recieved is not unusual. In the US due to the expense of removing the motor, on the 348, TR, 355 a complete major service at every timing belt change is far more common. Also due to the differences in the cars, the engine management system and the emission system our cars are far more sensitive to cam timing so removal of the covers, replacement of the seals and exact timing of the cams is done by the quality repair shops at the same time.

 

There's always something else to do "while you're in there". The cost savings of doing just the minimum is not without risks.

 

Paul, how long does it take to amass those 4 drops? Overnight?

Also, the cold weather means less tolerance - seals contract and lose elasticity. Best of luck.

 

Naw,

You either have:

a) the o-ring for the cam seal housing leaking
b) the cam seal is leaking
c) the valve cover gasket is leaking
d) a combination of any of the above
e) all of the above

The problem is that oil getting onto the alternator is not good. Eventually your alternator will bite the dust because of oil contamination. You can also end up getting the crank sensors contaminated with oil which will start to cause the engine to run bad.

So you really need to pin point exactly where the oil leak is coming from. You could get lucky and find the o-ring and cam seal are just fine, and that all you need is a new valve cover gasket. Or you could find that you need to yank the engine to replace the cam seals.

So clean things up and then find where the leak originates.

Oh yeah and welcome to FerrariChat.

 

You'd yank the motor for 4 drops of oil over a few weeks? Really?

 

For me, it would depend on what was leaking and where Plugz. That and because it was leaking on the alternator.

If it was just the valve cover or o-ring, no. I would replace the valve cover gasket with the engine in stu. I would also use Hondabond HT to help seal the new gasket. I would also try using the Hondabond on the edges of the o-rings, where they meet the head and the valve cover. While I was in there I would replace the rear valve cover seals, and again, use Hondabond. Then I would see if that holds.

Now if it was the cams seals, the engine is coming out. But that is just me. Why? Because I don't wanna chance the oil getting onto the cam belt, and then the rubber on the belt going bad. That could lead to the belt failing = H U G E money to fix a busted engine. Then again it costs me nothing to pull the engine, because as you know, I do my own work.

But that is just me.