I need to replace my cam seals while my motor is on the engine stand because 2 of them are leaking pretty bad. I have 4 brand new ones ready to go in and I went out there to do the job and decided I'd better find out the exact procedure since I've never done it before.
I read the haynes manual and the factory service manual but it appears as if the EJ22T is not the same as the EJ20 Twin turbo motor I have. The cam seal retainer does not look the same as the one on my engine. The one on my engine has a piece that bolts on from the side with two bolts.
But this is what the EJ22T looks like.
Can someone give me a step by step on replacing cam seals on a JDM EJ20 DOHC motor?
I unbolted these bolts but the bracket doesn't seem to want to come off because the valve cover is holding it on. Do I remove the valve cover? Or can I just stick a screw in the seal and pull it out and not even have to remove any of this stuff?
98 Metro Hatch Daily Driver :)
91 SS EJ20G Engine/Tranny/Diff Swap Build Thread Here
"Your testes are close to your bottom but you still play with them all the time." Jeremy Clarkson
Also, when you remove these brackets (or seal retainer or whatever it's called) do they need to be sealed with a gasket maker or can they just be bolted back on dry?
98 Metro Hatch Daily Driver :)
91 SS EJ20G Engine/Tranny/Diff Swap Build Thread Here
"Your testes are close to your bottom but you still play with them all the time." Jeremy Clarkson
Replacing those seals can be a bit of a pain. It looks from your picture that you may be able to remove that end cap for the cam and get the seals out. If not, you'll have to get them out with a seal puller, or work at it with a screwdriver. There is a trick to it, unfortunately, it's a little difficult to describe.
Thanks. I already did it this morning . I had already broken the seal on that cam seal retainer the other day so I just went ahead and removed the valve cover and pulled the seal retainers and scraped the mating surfaces clean. Then I put the seal about halfway in and coated the mating surface of the seal retainer with a thin layer of the right stuff from permatex and bolted it back down to torque spec in the haynes manual. Then I repeated that on the other side of the engine and then I used a large socket to tap them the rest of the way in.
Then I got the new idlers, tensioner pulley, timing belt on and the cam sprockets. The timing belt was a bitch. I don't remember it being that bad one the SOHC NA EJ22 I did it on last time. I had to redo it a couple times and I swear I counted the teeth on that thing about 20 times, no joke. In the end I realized that the driver side plastic timing belt cover that goes behind the sprockets was crooked a little which was causing the mark to be off about 1 tooth and after that I everything lined up so I'm pretty sure it's good to go.
I bought a Matco leak down tester off ebay and I'm waiting for it to get here so I can see if this engine is good before I put the rest of it back together and drop it in my car. The intake is off and I was thinking it would probably be easier to listen to the intake ports for a intake valve leak with the intake off, right? I've never done a leak down test before.
98 Metro Hatch Daily Driver :)
91 SS EJ20G Engine/Tranny/Diff Swap Build Thread Here
"Your testes are close to your bottom but you still play with them all the time." Jeremy Clarkson
. I had already broken the seal on that cam seal retainer the other day so I just went ahead and removed the valve cover and pulled the seal retainers and scraped the mating surfaces clean. Then I put the seal about halfway in and coated the mating surface of the seal retainer with a thin layer of the right stuff from permatex and bolted it back down to torque spec in the haynes manual. Then I repeated that on the other side of the engine and then I used a large socket to tap them the rest of the way in.