Hi all
I wonder if anyone could give me some idiot proof advice to guide me through what I thought would be a fairly simple job.
After locating an oil leak coming from the back of the left hand cam cover gasket, I was advised to first check the torque of the cam cover nuts. I set the wrench to the 15lb ft setting and when I tried tightening the nuts they all had quite a lot of movement to the point that I felt I was over tightening.Being cautious, I then set the wrench to 10lb ft to make sure it was working ok,It was, but in the process I sheared off one of the nuts even at this lower setting.
I will now obviously have to take the cover off to extract the sheared bolt. My questions are:-
What is the best way to remove this bolt?
Will the other bolts be prone to shearing when I put the cover back on?
Am I over looking something basic and doing something daft?
Should I use any type of gasket sealer when replacing with the new gasket?
Many many thanks for any tips and advice you could give me.
james
Cam. cover gasket replacement.
Moderators:Aceman, ecosselynx
Re: Cam. cover gasket replacement.
Hi James,
You confused me with the reference to nuts and then 'BOLTS' so I went to look at our engine................ no studs and nuts!
You don't say if the STUD is snapped off in the head or above it?
Why did you use a torque wrench for such weedy studs, just feel them on for tightness!
As you will be removing the other nuts to take the cam cover off you can check the integrity of the paper cam joint and the 'O' ring on the tacho generator and planking plug, but more importantly the bosses on the inside of the cam cover, If these have been thoughtlessly over tightened they crack and can be snapped out making the cam cover scrap.
It is usually advised to add a little sealant where the paper joint is supposed to meet the 'O' rings there is often a gap.
I have removed and attempted to seal this area many times only to find it is initially fine but then leaks again after a few months.
So if you find a good way of sealing this area up please let me known as I have failed so far and only do it when the leak gets bad.
Best wishes
Brian
You confused me with the reference to nuts and then 'BOLTS' so I went to look at our engine................ no studs and nuts!
You don't say if the STUD is snapped off in the head or above it?
Why did you use a torque wrench for such weedy studs, just feel them on for tightness!
As you will be removing the other nuts to take the cam cover off you can check the integrity of the paper cam joint and the 'O' ring on the tacho generator and planking plug, but more importantly the bosses on the inside of the cam cover, If these have been thoughtlessly over tightened they crack and can be snapped out making the cam cover scrap.
It is usually advised to add a little sealant where the paper joint is supposed to meet the 'O' rings there is often a gap.
I have removed and attempted to seal this area many times only to find it is initially fine but then leaks again after a few months.
So if you find a good way of sealing this area up please let me known as I have failed so far and only do it when the leak gets bad.
Best wishes
Brian
MY2000 3ltr S type manual standard car with leather seats, cruise control and mistral blue metallic paint.
1961 3.8 MkII manual, Indigo blue, nolonger runs on LPG, everything else uprated
1961 3.8 MkII manual, Indigo blue, nolonger runs on LPG, everything else uprated
Re: Cam. cover gasket replacement.
Hi James and Brian,
Being an old geezer I remember the XK engine well , well that's the problem, I don't remember so well so just had a quick look in a couple Jaguar Manuals.
It's odd that new problems are reported on here that never occurred way back then. In particular the early Mk7 smooth cam cover, gaskets - I'm pretty certain were rubberised cork. Then went over to green coloured stuff that resembled thin cardboard. These were similar in thickness to the earlier ones, about 30 thou or about 1mm.
I mention this because I was surprised to see you refer to a paper gasket, implying to me that it really is paper thin. If indeed this true I'm not surprised you continually suffer leaks. I always used Red Hermatite jointing compound applied to both sides of the full length of the gasket I suppose one would use Hylomar these days.
The tips of the gasket at the rear should have tiny square cut outs to go around the sealing rings. The gasket is fitted to the head ensuring the cut outs to the rear are correctly located, then put the cam cover on. By the way , do you still have copper washers under the dome headed nuts retaining the cam cover ?
As for the rest I agree with what you have to say
James let us know of your progress
Oldtimer
PS Brian, going west on the 18th OK
Being an old geezer I remember the XK engine well , well that's the problem, I don't remember so well so just had a quick look in a couple Jaguar Manuals.
It's odd that new problems are reported on here that never occurred way back then. In particular the early Mk7 smooth cam cover, gaskets - I'm pretty certain were rubberised cork. Then went over to green coloured stuff that resembled thin cardboard. These were similar in thickness to the earlier ones, about 30 thou or about 1mm.
I mention this because I was surprised to see you refer to a paper gasket, implying to me that it really is paper thin. If indeed this true I'm not surprised you continually suffer leaks. I always used Red Hermatite jointing compound applied to both sides of the full length of the gasket I suppose one would use Hylomar these days.
The tips of the gasket at the rear should have tiny square cut outs to go around the sealing rings. The gasket is fitted to the head ensuring the cut outs to the rear are correctly located, then put the cam cover on. By the way , do you still have copper washers under the dome headed nuts retaining the cam cover ?
As for the rest I agree with what you have to say
James let us know of your progress
Oldtimer
PS Brian, going west on the 18th OK
Re: Cam. cover gasket replacement.
Hi Brian and Old timer
Thanks very much for your quick replies.
You're right Brian, I wasn't that clear. What I meant was, whilst tightening the domed nut,I sheared off the top of the stud(about 10mm long)so when I take the cam cover off i will have to remove the remainder of the broken stud which hopefully will be long enough to get some mole grips around.
Thanks for all your sound advice,which I will be following. I have a 'mate' coming round this weekend to oversee me and make sure I'm not to heavy handed this time!
Ill let you know how I get on and whether we can come up with any novel ideas for getting a good seal(what's the criteria? not leaking after a year!)
Thanks again for your help.
James
Thanks very much for your quick replies.
You're right Brian, I wasn't that clear. What I meant was, whilst tightening the domed nut,I sheared off the top of the stud(about 10mm long)so when I take the cam cover off i will have to remove the remainder of the broken stud which hopefully will be long enough to get some mole grips around.
Thanks for all your sound advice,which I will be following. I have a 'mate' coming round this weekend to oversee me and make sure I'm not to heavy handed this time!
Ill let you know how I get on and whether we can come up with any novel ideas for getting a good seal(what's the criteria? not leaking after a year!)
Thanks again for your help.
James
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