I have a small leak on the front bank distributor. I was thinking maybe of trying to replace the seal myself, but then started reading about cam shaft removal, etc. and thought maybe not? I looked for a writeup or video but haven't really seen anything that details the steps to do this job so trying to gauge if this is something I should leave to a pro or should I attempt this myself? And if I should leave it to a pro, is this something that needs doing fairly soon or can it wait. Been waiting for my mechanic to be available but has been a while. Here's a picture of it... I'm guessing it's coming from the black seal in the center... but I have no idea. Image Unavailable, Please Login
No need to remove the camshaft -- the seal #3 is mounted in part #1 or #2 (I'm never quite sure what "front" means ) here: https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/diagram/ferrari/308-gtbi-gtsi/037-engine-ignition Just remove the distributor rotor and part #2 (or #1) and replace the seal #3 and the gasket #5.
So do i need to pay attention to the position of the rotor or does it only go on one way? BTW I'm in Austin, not sure where you are in Texas. Thanks again!
I've seen 2 variants of the camshaft oil seal offered: Viton (Fluorine) and Nitrile (NBR). Which synthetic seal is optimal for this application?
Good question , the viton has higher temp resistance, and is more chemically resistant. It does take a set more than nitrile, so for eg some orings the nitrile may be best. And nitrile has better very low temp characteristics. Viton is more expensive. For this rotational seal in a fairly high heat environment, the viton would appear best. When I ordered various cam crank and dist seals from Eurospares, they are all the brown viton. Made by Corteco.
Viton is your go to. This job is not too bad, although the front bank (bank 2) is harder if the lid is in place.
I just did this seal on mine last week. So easy that I'm going to do the other distributor just to be safe... the old seal was hard as a rock. When you pull the distributor, you will lose your timing. Not a big deal if you line things up and mark them beforehand. Turn the motor until the rotor is pointing at the static timing mark on the housing (Photo). That way you can put the splined shaft back in the motor the same way it came out. Also use a paint pen to put a few marks across the top of the distributor going back to the motor... so you know where the timing adjustment was set before. The seal is in the triangle aluminum piece in the cover. To press in the new seal, I heated the aluminum piece with a heat gun to make the new one easier to press in. You will also need a new triangle gasket. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
