Tips for Installing Timing Cover Seals and Camshaft Seals

What are Automotive Lip Seals?

Designed to keep lubricant inside the engine and keep dirt, water and contaminants out, lip seals are used on many different engine parts including timing cover seals and camshaft seals. Made from rubber, rubber with a metal carrier or a PTFE-style seal, each type has different considerations for installation. Fel-Pro® has the advice and know-how you need for working with these seals.

Removing Timing Cover & Camshaft Seals

Avoid using tools like a screwdriver when removing an old timing cover seal or camshaft seal, it can damage the sealing surface or the bore the seal resides in. Using a seal puller tool is the best way to ensure that the sealing surfaces remains undamaged. If the timing cover is already removed, you drive it out from the back using a hammer and punch.

Pro Tip – Drilling a small hole in two or three places into the face of the seal (don’t go too deep) and installing sheet metal screws into the seal can give you a place to grab the seal and pry it out.

Cleaning the Surface

Once the old seal is out, clean the sealing surface and bore areas with degreaser. Inspect both sealing surfaces making sure that where the seal lip rides is in good condition with no pitting or grooves as well as the bore where the OD of the seal goes. Light pitting or surface rust can be removed with a Scotch-Brite pad. You can use your fingernail to see how deep the groove is in the shaft. If your nail catches, replace the worn component or use a repair sleeve to restore the sealing surface.

Pro Tip: Fel-Pro offers repair sleeves for harmonic balancers that may have a deep groove worn in the seal surface. This restores the balancer sealing surface and saves the installer from having to replace the balancer.

Preparing the Seal for Installation

The material the seal is made of dictates how you prepare the seal for installation.

Rubber: Lube the sealing lip and the outside diameter (OD) of the seal very lightly with engine oil.

Rubber with metal carrier: While the seal may come pre-lubed (look for dots of lubricant), for those that aren’t, lube the rubber sealing lip with engine oil. The OD of the seal is coated with a sealer so keep that area dry.

PTFE: Lightly lube the outside diameter with engine oil to help facilitate the installation. Place no lube on the sealing lip or shaft.

Installation Tips

Seal Driver Method: Using a seal driver kit can simplify the process. Featuring various sized pucks and a universal handle, it makes it easier to drive the seal into the bore.

Pipe or Socket: In the absence of a seal driver kit or if a shaft is sticking out, an appropriately sized pipe or socket can be used to install the seal. Make sure the pipe or socket is the same size as the OD of the seal. Put the seal in the bore and drive the seal in place by tapping the pipe or socket with a hammer. Be sure to drive it in straight until it bottoms out or the face of the seal is flush with the outside.

Alternative method: If the shaft is sticking out and there isn’t enough room to use a hammer to drive in the seal, you can use a pipe, washer and appropriate bolt to install the seal. Start the seal in the bore and put the pipe onto the seal, then a large washer on it onto end of the pipe. Then thread the bolt through the washer and pipe; as you thread in the bolt, it draws the seal in.

Pro Tip: On the inside of the lip seal, there is a garter spring that can become dislodged due to the excessive force during installation. To keep the spring in place, you can pack the inside of the seal with the appropriate lube.

Learn more about Fel-Pro quality gaskets that are specifically designed for the repair environment, find your car part, or find where to buy your auto part today.

The content in this article is for informational purposes only. You should consult with a certified technician or mechanic if you have questions relating to any of the topics covered herein. Tenneco will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any content.