Cam Seal Leak/RTV/Zip Tie Method?

[sweet97]

I believe my cam seals are leaking so I ordered a pair of OEM seals. What is the best way to ensure these do not leak? Do I use a thin coat of RTV(Grey) on the outer edge or no? I have heard of that and using just a coating of clean motor oil. I know the cap should have a thin coat of RTV.
Since I just replaced the cams I am not eager to remove everything again. I have read about the zip tie method of replacing cams/seals. How common is this? What tricks should I know about should I try this? I understand keeping tension on the belt so it does not drop down is critical. How have you done this?
These are Crower stage 4's that replaced my HKS 272's as I always had an interest in the Crowers and a chance came by that cost me just $150. to make the change. The seals had only 4k miles on them to my knowledge but in the future should I make a change the $20. will be spent for new seals! Thanks, Mark

 

[GVR4592]

I always install them with no RTV and they seal fine.

 

[andymoraitis]

Mark,

We used a thin layer of copper RTV on the outside of the cam seals when we put mine in and they seems to be holding fine with no leaks. As far as the zip tie method, we cranked the motor to TDC, used about 7-8 heavy duty ties and made sure that a second person held the cams gears up (we did one at a time) to keep tension on the belt once we cracked the cam bolts and removed them. Re-verifying that she's at TDC once the cams go back in with a staightedge is a must, but it's really not that bad if you have a second person to help.

Andy

 

[sweet97]

Andy what about the tension on the belt? VFAQ says tto use the tensioning tool to release tension but this tool is no longer available from the dealer. My belt has a little slack but I am wondering about the difficulty in removeing and installing the cams off/onto the cam gears. This while keeping the rockers in place, etc. Did you remove tension from your belt? I ordered the OEM seals yesterday for delivery tomorrow and am looking for some experienced help in doing the job. Thanks, mark

 

[andymoraitis]

Mark,

Shoot a PM to Dan (project_tsi) as he had a home made tensioner tool that we used to put slack in the belt. The entire process of getting slack took us close to 30 minutes since you need to do this slowly and wait a few seconds after a few turns. Nevertheless, Dan should be able to let you know the diameter and thread pitch of his homemade tool.

Hang in there!

Andy

 

[project_tsi]

Mark,

Shoot a PM to Dan (project_tsi) as he had a home made tensioner tool that we used to put slack in the belt. The entire process of getting slack took us close to 30 minutes since you need to do this slowly and wait a few seconds after a few turns. Nevertheless, Dan should be able to let you know the diameter and thread pitch of his homemade tool.

Hang in there!

Andy

8mm X 1.25 thread pitch. VFAQ Baby!!!

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbeltNOTE1.html