328 Cam Seal oil drain hole | FerrariChat

328 Cam Seal oil drain hole

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by jb74, Dec 10, 2009.

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  1. jb74

    jb74 Rookie

    Mar 18, 2008
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    #1 jb74, Dec 10, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I saw this quote in a thread somewhere about 308s/328 and it mentioned drilling a hole out to allow the oil to drain back into the motor easier to help prevent premature leaking on the front bank.


    "*** BTW, you did make sure that little oil drain hole in the gap between the 4V cam seal o-ring groove & the cam cap wasn't clogged up didn't you? Better yet, drill it out to about 3/16".
    "

    So is this something that should be done? If so, can you do it with the motor in the car? And are these the holes in question?


    thanks!
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  2. FF8929

    FF8929 Formula Junior

    Apr 12, 2008
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    Fred Flynn
    I think the holes you're asking about, are at the other end of the heads. They are holes I added for oil drain-back from the exhaust cam ends. The intake cam ends (distributer drives) already have them. Actually, only the rear exhaust cam end needs the hole, as the front, just has a blank cover. I would NOT try to do it in the car.
     
  3. ferrarioldman

    ferrarioldman Formula 3
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    Jun 19, 2002
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    #3 ferrarioldman, Dec 10, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The drilling of the drain holes pertains to the exhaust cam seals only. The drain hole for the 5-8 exhaust cam seal is in the correct location but needs to be enlarged.
    The drain hole for the 1-4 exhaust cam seal is too high and "puddles" oil behind the seal. A new hole has to be drilled. There is a factory jig tool for this. The hole for the 1-4 seal can be done in the car. There is not enough room to drill the hole on the 5-8 bank but that one is the least important one anyway. The pictures below are from a 288 and 348 but this applies to a 328 as well.
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  4. miketuason

    miketuason F1 World Champ
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    #4 miketuason, Dec 10, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Yes I did the same thing at a friend 308QV. It really does help a lot specially if you have oil leak issue around the cam oil seal area. With this, you don't have to have a bath of oil sitting at around the "6 oclock" area. It's so important to have the jig which I don't have anymore.
    One thing when doing this is to be very careful not to hit the water jacket inside the head when drilling.

    P.S. I did this with the motor in the car and cams off.b
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  5. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
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    #5 Ricambi America, Dec 11, 2009
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2009
    What's the black POS behind the ferrarioldman post?


    ;)




    ... actually, I have the proper jig, as shown in the post above. I loan it out to customers who need to drill the oil holes. At the moment, it is in California with another Fchatter. Should be back here in a few days. That jig, by my count, has now been used on about 28 different Fchat cars!
     
  6. ferrarioldman

    ferrarioldman Formula 3
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    I believe that would be the Ricambi testing car.
     
  7. ferrarioldman

    ferrarioldman Formula 3
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  8. jb74

    jb74 Rookie

    Mar 18, 2008
    16
    Thanks everyone for the replies as well as the detailed pictures. I appreciate it. I will take care of the one on the exhaust cam on the rear bank.
     
  9. miketuason

    miketuason F1 World Champ
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    Daniel, can I be added to your loaners list? as I would like to borrow the jig as well.
    Thanks.
     
  10. FF8929

    FF8929 Formula Junior

    Apr 12, 2008
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    #10 FF8929, Dec 11, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Here's some pix:
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  11. Gary Logan

    Gary Logan Karting

    Dec 19, 2009
    54
    West Vancouver, BC
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    Gary Logan
    Hello: I have owned a 328, since sold but did the majority of the work on the car myself, a hobby for me with some mechanical training. For your information, you will note that there are holes in the cam itself to allow for oil to enter the bearing area. In my opinion those may be the hole the article is talking about. Again in my opinion those holes would be the ones to enlarge if you choose to do that because that would encourage oil into the bearing a little quicker particularly on a cold start. However, I am unaware of any technical information suggesting this and I certainly had no problems with adequate oil reaching the cams nor leakage of oil outside of the valve covers provided the gaskets are installed correctly. Despite Ferrari suggesting no silicon gasket seal, I used it sparingly to ensure no oil leakage. If you choose to drill the holes in the cams, they have to come out. Personally, I would be very cautious about doing this and if you do cleaner than clean for removal of any drill bit fines.

    Cheers
     
  12. eulk328

    eulk328 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2005
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    Does this in any way lower the level of the oil "bath" that the cam or cams sit in when the engine is turned off?

    Kind of hard for me to tell if it would or not but if it did I would probably not want to do the mod. if it just leaks very slowly. Rather have cam/cams sitting in as much oil as possible during start-up.
     
  13. Verell

    Verell F1 Veteran
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    #13 Verell, Dec 23, 2009
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2009
    The cams don't sit in an oil bath with the engine off. In no way would drilling these holes reduce lubrication to the cams.

    The quote that started this thread is from post #18 I made to this thread:
    308 cam cover gasket
    http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=187078

    I was referring to the oil drain holes at the front of the cams that are so small they're frequently clogged up and are often overlooked when changing cam seals. When clogged they result in a puddle of oil behind the cam seals. Drilling them somewhat oversize greatly reduces the chance of clogging.

    As for drilling similar drain holes in the head at the other end of the cams, IMHO It's a good idea, should cut down on the oil getting into the distributors.

    This discussion was NOT about drilling into the cams, on these engines the cams flow a generous amount of oil into their journals.
     
  14. eulk328

    eulk328 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2005
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    Good info. Thanks Verell and Happy Holidays!


     
  15. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
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    Mike - if you still need it, the tool is back from another journey around the globe. Just PM or call me and I can send it out.
     
  16. jeffhall009

    jeffhall009 Rookie

    Dec 24, 2009
    5
    Its a big problem which should be solved immediately. Other you will find many problems.
     
  17. dino clay

    dino clay Karting

    Oct 31, 2007
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    san mateo, cal
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    clay cavanaugh
    You have gotten very good advice from everyone. This is a problem with many Ferraris. You are actually building up oil pressure at the back of the cam and a leak will happen by design. A quick note: do not drill out the camshaft oil supply oil as someone advised, this will only exasperate the problem by in creasing the oil supply to the area in question.
    clay
     
  18. miketuason

    miketuason F1 World Champ
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    I was told that there was a bulletin written about this mod. Does anybody has a copy of this bulletin or a place where I can read about it? I'm about ready to change my cam seals and O-ring and considering the cam seal oil drain hole mod as I'm borrowing Daniels jig. Thanks. :)
     
  19. 335s

    335s Formula Junior

    Jan 17, 2007
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    T. Monma
    THIS IS A FACTORY modification.
    There is a FACTORY/FNA toooll for this.
    It applies to 4 valve cars ONLY...
    It is done for a REASON, constant cam seal leaks from cars which sit too long, uni-directional seals which are not of a high enogh quzality from vendor/mfgs, and, less than perfect installations by individual practitioners of widely varying degrees of skill and experience.
    I was employed as an an engine builder, I have seen the TSB, I have used the tool(own 2 of them), it is a genuine and legitimate "running change" modification recommended for ALL 4 vvalve caRS as a post production, in use service mod during the course of a 30K....
     
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