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jensenjoe Member 
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I'm hoping to eliminate oil leaks by seating these CAM covers properly once and for all. I bought the rubber cam cover gaskets from the club boutique and started reading all the topics here relating to this subject. One of the postings suggests to put the gaskets on dry. However, I noticed that the cam head mating surface is very rough. In fact, some of the spots are much higher than others. This does not look normal to me. Shouldn't these surfaces be really smooth in order for the gaskets to seat properly? If so, what is the best way to make them smooth? ...how about using a file to smooth it out? I am eagerly awaiting feedback on this subject. Joe (VIN #19621) |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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Yes, I used a file on mine with success. |
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Jon Plowe Member
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If we all had a £/$ for every time we have said that we would sort out the cam leaks once and for all!! If you just think of it as every puff of smoke is just the engine reassuring you that it still has oil in it then it doesn't seem so bad. Some better advice might be to tighten the bolts more than the suggested torque - but not too much so as to warp the covers |
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jensenjoe Member
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My brother-in-law owns an Austin-Healey Bugeye and a friend of mine restores old British motorcycles. They both tell me this, "You must be out of oil if you don't see an oil leak". The attached picture shows my situation. Attachment: 2007-07-11_jensenhealey_engine_7a.jpg (Downloaded 74 times) |
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Ron Earp Member 
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Use lots of gasket sealer. Torque the bolts as much as it takes. No matter what, you'll still have leaks. I resovled to fix it on my Esprit, no dice. Ditto the Jensen. It is a poor design, pure and simple. |
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Harkes Member 
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just be careful, the covers are just aluminium and easily crack when you overtorque. Try to file/sand the cam housings, then use a gasket sealer as Ron suggested, put the rubber gaskets on, put on the covers and torque according to the manual. (not just to the torque specification, but there is a special order in torquing down all the bolts). I used the rubber gasket and a gasket sealer and i had no leaks at all. Well at least not near the covers..... :) My recently built 2.2L engine however has the later style design Lotus Cam covers. These don't leak at all and are much easier when you need to get to the cams (for valve adjusting for example). good luck erik Last edited on 07-16-2007 08:53 am by Harkes |
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jensenjoe Member
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My first undertaking was with the intake cover. I got rid of the cam head imperfections using a file and then seated the gasket dry. This seems to work so far. WOO HOO HOO! ...but only time will really determine its grace. I filed just enough to get rid of the really bad spots and then smoothed out a few other spots that looked like they could use it. Then the cover was torqued down to just where the gasket started to sqeeze out. Now it's on to the exhaust side. Hope this goes just as smooth. I will keep you all posted on the progess. Thanks for all the helpful comments! Joe |
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