How To: Replace Leaking Cam Cap/Seal

TheIVJackal

Freedom through Jesus
*This process is pretty much the same for non-vtec engines*
I believe that on most Integras, this seal ends up leaking at some point and its best to fix it right away before the oil that leaks out gets everything around it dirty. Worst of all is the smell of burned oil off of the exhaust manifold. Let’s get Started!
What you will need:
Hammer
RTV For Gasket Making
Ratchet Wrench with 10mm &12mm sockets
Rag(s)
Torque Wrench (Optional)

Remove the hose connected to the valve cover.

Remove the spark plug wire cover and pull out the spark plug boots. If they are hard to remove, rotate them clockwise and counter-clock wise while pulling up.


Remove the nuts in blue. When re-installing, torque to 7.2ft-lbs or just snug. Very easy to snap the studs so please, Be Careful!


Now with the valve cover removed, you will need to remove these bolts. When re-installing, torque the ones in red to 7.2ft-lbs and the ones in green to 20ft-lbs. One of the bolts in green was very tight, be careful not to round off the head! You can stick the socket on top and hit it with a little force to break loose its bind or use some other form, just be careful not to do more damage. If you do round off the head, try using the same socket or the next size up, put a piece of paper in it, and try to remove it that way.

This is what you’re left with when removed.

Now get your hammer out and lightly tap on the part as shown in the picture. It will break loose and you can access the old cap.


Compare the old cap to the new one. As you can see, my new Blox Cam Cap is a much better part.

Be sure to clean these surfaces well as you want as little to no RTV remaining from the previous cap.


Now apply your RTV to the new Cap, you can apply more than I did if you so choose.

Place into the same groove that the old one was in.

Now follow the directions on your RTV of choice, mine says to tighten down about half way and wait an hour so that the gasket forms. You’ll know when you tightened it enough as the RTV will ooze out of the two mating surfaces. After that hour, go ahead and torque it down. Remember to tighten the bolts from the center on out, in a star pattern.

And you’re done! Just reverse the steps and be happy you aint leaking oil! Great job :D
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- Aaron
 
Last edited:

pinkley

b@115D33p
Good write up homie! I went ahead and replaced my valve cover gaskets when I did mine sense I already had the VC off.
 


TheIVJackal

Freedom through Jesus
Thanks guys! Nice to get some appreciation for the time I dedicated to helping out the community. Replacing the ValveCover Gasket is optional by the way and its a good idea to put a dab of RTV on the sharp corners of the gasket but its not really neccessary.
 

Sammich

Active Member
i'm always nervous to do this because i'm scared of it jumping timing. good write up w/ pics though
 


dlo253

Active Member
Good write up! Mine just started leaking so ill be doing this soon. Except im gonna make my own caps...I just love working in a cnc machine shop, ahh. Get to make anything i want..
 

stallion

New Member
great write up. just be careful when torquing down. one of my cam cover bolts snapped which made this into a much more arduous and time consuming diy than intended. i had to remove the specific cam cover, drill and use a bolt extractor (left-handed drill bit works, too, to remove snapped studs, stripped bolts etc) to remove the snapped bolt and redo the cam seal w/ rtv not to mention the hell of finding a new bolt since the dealer was out of stock and there were none locally on craigslist. luckily, i found a nearby shop that had a similar bolt that worked. so seriously, be very careful when torquing down. you don't wanna go through what i just went through since this is an easy diy. but, after all that work, the initial info in this write up worked great b/c no more leaking cam seal or valve cover and no smell of burnt oil when i drive. just had to get through that huge impediment of a snapped cam cover bolt.
 
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dlo253

Active Member
Super bump!!
Anybody that plans on doing this anytime soon, don't hesitate to hit me up for a custom billet aluminum cam seal.
Just find my FS thread or shoot me a PM.
 

Prozon

Kris
Super bump!!
Anybody that plans on doing this anytime soon, don't hesitate to hit me up for a custom billet aluminum cam seal.
Just find my FS thread or shoot me a PM.
^ I can vouch for his work. He is a great machinist. I even had him make me a part from scratch with just some specs I gave him. :)
 
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