o-ring replacementhow to?

I need to replace the o-ring on the rear cam shaft that the distributor in on . I have ordered the parts and have tried to remove the pin in the cam but wont move I am not using to much force I dont want to do any damage to the cam. How about heat?
My car is a 1981 308 gtsi. Any help would be great. thanks jim

 

To get the pins out of my 328 camshafts I had to grind away a bit of the top where they had been flattened (peened?) and then use a pin punch and heavy hammer and a fair bit of violence to get them out. I REMOVED the camshafts from the engine to do this. I was told that beating on them in-place could cause them to snap (and I believe it now!). Maybe yours come out easier. I believe the 308 pins are 3mm in diameter whereas on my 328 they are 5mm.

Erich

 

Many Pros replace the O-ring with the cams in place.
In summary the procedure is as follows:
They cut the O-ring and pull the old one out.
The new one is cut & tied to a piece of string.
The string is pulled thru the channel then the O-ring is pulled thru.
The O-ring is glued together.
Put the cover-on and you are good to go.

Mark

 

I dont even see the o ring is that normal?
i would try that cut method i have done something similiar.
thanks jim

 

What o-ring are you talking about? ("pin" implies something at the dist drive end; whereas, the cut-and-splice discussed is for the large o-ring at the belt end). Can you give a PN or post the corresponding SPC illustration?

 

the o ring on the cam shaft by the distributor.
thanks jim

 

So item 49 in this jpeg?
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Yes that is it. The pin is in there very tight. I was thinking about some heat to expand the metal but then the o-ring would be melted If i could not get that pin out I would be screwed.
thanks jim

 

Personally, I like Erich's advice to bite the bullet and remove the camshaft to do the replacement (to prevent damaging the camshaft itself -- and the prior "splicing" advice doesn't apply).

What is your "problem" -- is it leaking so much oil at the o-ring that oil is somehow getting past the lip seal into the distributor?

 

The 328 camshafts don't even have o-rings on the plug. Maybe they're not really needed. I would guess your oil leak may be from the larger "spring-loaded" oil seal (lip seal) that is pressed into the distributor base mount thingy.

 

The pin that holds the distributor drive into the end of the cam is peened over and is extremely tight. I assume that you have the cam removed from the motor, otherwise it will be next to impossible to remove the pin. You must grind off the head of the pin until it is flush with the surface of the cam. Then the cam must be supported in a fixture that will hold it and allow the pin to be driven out. It take a huge amount of force to drive the pin out.

When installing the new pin, it must be peened over on both sides. This takes a much force as driving the old pin out. The end of the pin must now be supported in a die to force it to mushroom, otherwise you will just drive it throught the cam.

Why are you removing the drive, is it damaged? Otherwise I can see no reason to remove it.

Brian B.
Patrick Ottis Co.