348 Cam Seals at Wit’s End!

I did not check the numbers but its probably the redesign adding an oil drain trough to the ID.

Not sure about you but for $925 per I can make the modification myself with a round file and about 3 minutes each. Done it a hundred times.

Another example of a part designed by someone unfamiliar with the interior of a motor.

 

4 years since the last major on my 1991 348 at a trusted independent shop and valve covers are still dry. Technician back then did indicate he paid special attention to how the cam cover gaskets were sealed at at the corners. So it's not necessarily a model trait. I suspect it heavily depends on how it's handled at the shop level.

 

144973 has the notch.
117275 does not have the notch.





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Oil drain.

This is not my video, but if you simply start at 4:08, you'll see what has been discussed in the preceding posts.


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It does not eliminate, it reduces the oil pooled behind the seal. A stupid design compounded by further stupid designs.
Any designer with the intellect to tie his own shoes knows you do not allow oil to be trapped behind seals with no way out.