ivonius4.2

I am the proud owner of a Leaking Right Rear cam plug. Is it possible to dig this out and tap a new one in without removing the valve cover and splitting the aluminum halves?

jimrobertson

I tried last week to get mine out.Could not, it has small grooves that match the cam halves.Bentley manual was of no help here other than showing the need of a special tool to remove the seal. Tool 3420 extractor. Torque for the cam caps is 15 ft lbs per Bentley.7 ft lbs for valve cover. Cam seals should not be oiled. Good luck.

SmoothJimmo

How many miles?
Consider pulling the valve covers and either loosening (others) or removing (what I did) the cams to make the job cake. They sell the gaskets in kits for a reason, since they do tend to go south near the same time (cam,valve cover and tensioner seals). Get a manual for cam alignment, torque specs and procedures. Tightening sequence for the cam caps and covers is important.

There is a tech article for the 2.7 that may be of some help. It has pics of places to be aware of. I think there used to be a tech article for the 2.8 but you can probably dig it up from the archives.

What viscosity oil are you running? I have always used dino here in CA. 5w-30 weeps a little. 10w-30 bone dry.

Also take a peek at your suction pump (see tech article). If it's clogged (look for oil residue near the hose connections), there might be some overpressure under the covers helping to force oil out the seals.

4Driver4

It is very easy to remove and replace this plug. I just stab a screwdriver through it at an angle and pop it out. 10 minute job.

dhavi4226

What about installation, were you able to reinstall easily? What about sealer (rtv) on the plug.

4Driver4

I just pushed the new cap in by hand. Sealant is not required nor recommended.

dhavi4226

Keep thinking about other ?'s for you. I have the same issue right now. Oil leaking from plug and cam cover gasket on to manifold, and the infamous oil smell in the cabin. Is the plug metal or plastic? No leak after installation?
Thanks

4Driver4

It sounds to me like you have a cam adjuster/tensioner seal leak.
For the cam plug, it is just like a seal but without the hole in the center: metal covered with plastic or rubber.

dubchampion

w00t, glad I found this. did my valve cover and plain forgot to put in the plug. was able to pry old one out and install new one in about 5 minutes.