Timing cover seal leak
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,160
Likes: 171
Timing cover seal leak
Gonna tackle a timing seal job sometime in the future. Just did a cam swap and the seal looks to be leaking pretty bad. Used a Sac city alignment tool and torqued per How to Rebuild LS Series Engine book. Used a seal from Oreilly, cant remember the brand. The only thing that might be an issue is the ridge on the back of the cover that the seal rests on was missing. I just installed the seal flush with cover. Any ideas what I might have done wrong so when I redo the job I dont screw it up again?
Pro
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 675
Likes: 195
From: Green Oak Township, Michigan
I hate those seals. Took me 2 trys. The aluminum ridge is cracked on mine about 3/4 of an inch. Someone pounded the seal in too hard at somepoint in time. I epoxied the broken step and then put the seal in flush with the cover. I then epoxied the outer diameter of the seal to the cover so that theres no way that it can leak or move. Overkill??? maybe.. It must have worked, because it doesnt leak. I dont see how the wear material on those seals even works. Seems too hard and brittle.Call around to some Racing Engine shops and see what kind of seals they use on their LS builds. They may have a better idea figured out.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,160
Likes: 171
I hate those seals. Took me 2 trys. The aluminum ridge is cracked on mine about 3/4 of an inch. Someone pounded the seal in too hard at somepoint in time. I epoxied the broken step and then put the seal in flush with the cover. I then epoxied the outer diameter of the seal to the cover so that theres no way that it can leak or move. Overkill??? maybe.. It must have worked, because it doesnt leak. I dont see how the wear material on those seals even works. Seems too hard and brittle.Call around to some Racing Engine shops and see what kind of seals they use on their LS builds. They may have a better idea figured out.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,160
Likes: 171
I think I'll get an OEM seal also. It better not leak on me. No rtv along the bottom of the cover, just in the corners?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,160
Likes: 171
Texas speed has OEM cover, seal, gasket, and bolts I'm gonna buy. Probably dont need the cover but that piece the seal rests on that's missing bugs me. Too much work and I wanna get it right time.
