ALH Cam Seal

[Shawnz]

The car is my 2002 Jetta TDI automatic.

This is the seal:

What is the preferred method to replace this? The valve cover is of the car since I'm int he middle of replacing the timing belt. Will I be able to pop it out from the back side if I remove the front most camshaft cap and leave the cam in place?

Thanks,

Shawn

 

[MotorCityMadman]

That's the way I do it.

 

[Shawnz]

Thanks!

I'll give it a shot and get some pics. I couldn't' find a write-up for the life of me.

 

[flatlanded]

Have a look to see if you new seal matches your old seal. The PTFE seals can be more of a pain to install correctly than the OE seal.

 

[Shawnz]

Have a look to see if you new seal matches your old seal. The PTFE seals can be more of a pain to install correctly than the OE seal.

Will do. Luckily my injectors are out being re-nozzled so the 4 hour wait post install isn't a problem.

 

[Shawnz]

Right or wrong, here's how I did it:

This is the cap I removed:

both nuts removed:

Cam cap removed (took a little wobbling to break free):

You can then push out the old seal with you finger from the back side:

The new seal is the teflon one. Do not lube and dont' turn the motor for 4 hours after installing, as per the card that was in with the seal:

I slid the seal into place, fully seating in in the head:

This is what it looks like from the back side:

I cleaned the cam cap and greased the saddle:

Re-install the cap and torque to 15 lb/ft:

Seal is done, now let it sit 4 hours.

If I did something wrong, please let me know so I can fix it before I get the car put back together.

Thanks!

Shawn

 

[runonbeer]

Looks good to me. As long as you are sure you didn't snag the lip on the groove in the cam taper.

 

[flatlanded]

Will do. Luckily my injectors are out being re-nozzled so the 4 hour wait post install isn't a problem.

It's not the time required that's the issue. It's the chance of damaging or rolling the lip. I've had to fix a few leaky cam seals because of this.

Funny thing is that the dealer always diagnoses the leak to be from the oil return line for the turbo.

 

[dogdots]

I just use a piece of electrical tape over the keyway when I slide on the teflon seal. I also use a couple dabs of silicone on the edges of the cam cap that houses the seal if I remove it. I only remove the cam cap if I am replacing the cam, otherwise I remove the seal with my pick. If you don't have the cool cam lock tool and you have the valve cover off for a timing belt job, its probably faster to remove the cam cap.

 

[UhOh]

Cam seal on the daughter's car is leaking (I'm in the middle of an TB job). TB kit that I got contains a cam seal but it's not PTFE. Should one follow these same procedures with non-PTFE cam seals?

I'd like to avoid pulling the valve cover unless it's necessary (my cam indexing tool doesn't require pulling the valve cover). The valve cover could really stand to be resealed but I'm not really in the mood right now (PO appears to have tried resealing, so no telling how messed up that job was- I found that the vacuum pump seal got RTV on it as well).

 

[dogdots]

If your seal has a spring inside just put a little engine oil on the cam nose after you clean it, protect the lip against getting garfed by the keyway then reassemble. No waiting period before starting the car with the old style spring seal.

 

[UhOh]

Can I remove the old one and put in this new one (non-PTFE) without pulling the valve cover and the cam journal(?)?

I cannot get the stupid valve cover star-head bolts loose. Idiot PO reefed the heck out of them (after RTV-ing the cover). My bit and ratchet are on the verge of breaking. My hand impact doesn't have an adapter to go down small enough to accommodate the bit. (I'm stuck at home)

 

[csstevej]

Yes you can. Use a sheet metal screw, dry wall screw and start it into seal away from cam.
Then use a pair of pliers and pull it out, 90 degree needle nose works well.

 

[UhOh]

I suppose I should double-check whether this is the cam seal or the valve cover gasket that's the culprit. Here's what I'm seeing:

 

[dogdots]

Cam seal is leaking in the picture above. The old one will pop right out without removing anything else.

 

[UhOh]

Got it! Now's hoping that it works.

 

[joewilhite]

i always put just a dap of sealer on the cam cap at the front to keep it from leaking, sometimes it leaks and looks like a seal leak. i just noticed that you didn't, but i could be wrong..

 

[Bran Diezel]

yeah ditto on putting some black silicone under the cam cap to keep it from leaking. most all cars require that

 

[UhOh]

i always put just a dap of sealer on the cam cap at the front to keep it from leaking, sometimes it leaks and looks like a seal leak. i just noticed that you didn't, but i could be wrong..

Are you saying to put sealer around the circumference of the OUTER face edge as it meets the head (toward the TB/cam gear area) or, on the outer circumference of the seal itself?

 

[dogdots]

Are you saying to put sealer around the circumference of the OUTER face edge as it meets the head (toward the TB/cam gear area) or, on the outer circumference of the seal itself?

The only place you will need sealant is in the corners of the cam cap where it meets the head if you had removed the valve cover. No need on the seal at all.

 

[UhOh]

The only place you will need sealant is in the corners of the cam cap where it meets the head if you had removed the valve cover. No need on the seal at all.

OK, yeah, that's what I'd thought. I didn't remove the valve cover so not applicable to me.

 

[Bran Diezel]

most cars have a cross hatched area on the cap underneath on the mating surface to the head that you apply it there. i've also siliconed around the whole outside of the seal because certain cars will grab it and spin it right out

 

[UhOh]

I'm rating this thread "Excellent" as it's a great resource (despite my involvement!) Everything anyone would ever want to know about cam seals!

 

[Uncle Karone]

Which seal is better?

Preparing for a couple of TB changes. Which seal is the better seal? Spring or teflon and why?

 

[Genesis]

There's no easy answer; I'm not particularly partial to one style over the other.

Teflon requires more care in installation and a "resting" period before you start the car or it WILL leak. Both also require that if there's a "ridge" on the the camshaft from the previous seal(s) you avoid the new seal surface running on it; a very small offset on where it sits in the bore is sometimes required to avoid that.

Personally I don't change 'em unless they're leaking, and if I DO change them I pull the cam bearing cap to get to it as it makes removing the old seal and installing the new one SQUARE (which is utterly essential) very easy. One thing that I *strongly* recommend is placing a small piece of electrical tape over the keyway on the cam nose before installing the new seal because otherwise there's a very real risk the edge of the keyway may damage the new seal.