nwilson44

I bought a cam kit from tsp and have been having issues with getting the seals to seal. Cars been burning oil and I had the whole thing professionally installed. Changed my oil today and par of the damn seal is on the magnetic drain plug with other **** on it too. Really upset after spending $1k on a cam kit. Any ideas how to get the seals to stop breaking and leaking? Thanks

.boB

iTrader: (1)

The most common cause of that is the spring retainer is hitting the end of the seal. Did the shop check for clearance during installation?

nwilson44

Yeah I'm sure he did. He said he felt funny about the retainers but nothing quantifiable. They're titanium but should work fine in the kit huh?

DietCoke

iTrader: (18)

TSP uses the same seals as everyone else. Odds are they werent seated right.

nwilson44

Can you explain the wrong and right way so I can see how he did it?

nwilson44

Are they easy to screw up or what? Why would they all keep messing up?

2xLS1

iTrader: (25)

You can damage them not using the right tool when installing them. Or continuing to hammer on them after they are already seated.

What exactly makes an installer professional?

Sales3@Texas-Speed

iTrader: (2)

The typical cause for valve seals splitting or leaking are improper install. Either not seated properly or the installer seated them too far. The only time I have ever seen a spring retainer make contact is when the installer got lazy and reused a different spring seat or retainer that was already on the car instead of the ones we send in the kit or the valve seals weren't seated and popped up to let the retainer make contact.

Lonnie

nwilson44

What's the proper tool?

nwilson44

How difficult is it to install. I know the guy working on it is competent. Not perfect but I'm not sure how to properly get them installed or when they're fully seated.

nwilson44

I checked and he said they were all the way down and the seats were used from the kit

Mercier

iTrader: (15)

It's not hard but is easy to screw up. My first time I trashed a few. See here for the correct tool..there are also plenty of other threads on the subject.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...eal-depth.html

The tool is really simple and I see why a lot of folks use a socket. I used both and the tool just feels right and has no compromises. Pay no attention to the 1-star reviews for that tool. It is obvious they didn't know they had to remove the small springs form the tops of the seals before installing("tool squished my springs").

nwilson44

You're supposed to remove the springs before installing them? He didn't do that

Mercier

iTrader: (15)

I did not either the first time. Truth be told, with a socket, I got about half on there without destroying them. The other half were not going to work. If I were in a hurry, I could see myself leaving those on and not learning the lesson until the engine was back together. No telling if any of them were going to seal for long if at all.

I just got new ones, proper tool, proper procedure and no leaks. Luckily those seals are quite cheap.

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

Get a new set of seals and take it to a competent shop or do it yourself. I surely wouldn't go back to the original installer.