Fixing 7M cam cover LEAKS!!!

kwatso23

New Member
Jul 11, 2010
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Mid north coast
Hi guys there is probly a thread for this somewhere on the forum but I am yet to find a thread with any diffinitive evidence of a solution for cam cover leaks.
I recently rebuilt my 7M and suffered the common leak out the back of the cam covers but I am confident that I have solved the problem!
I applied the same principle to the covers that you do with BHG problems, i went with studs and shake-proof nuts.
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You can't quite make it out clearly but I used 40mm M6 grub screws with stainless washers and stainless nylocks.

The pics are a bit blurry coz they were taken on my mobile sorry. i actually thought i took more pics but i guess not.
I took off one cam cover at a time and used a metho soaked piece of cloth to clean out the threads. THIS IS A MUST otherwise the threadlock will not stick!
I then applied some thread lock to my grub screws and wound them in using a set of vernier callipers to make sure each stud was sitting at the same height.

I then proceeded to metho down the top of the head where the cam cover gasket sits against the head and metho'd the gasket as well. I also applied a thin film of copper maxx liquid gasket (by Loctite) to the gasket to ensure a good seal. Unfortunately i don't have pics of this but it's simple enough.

Once the cam cover was on I used stainless washers and stainless shake-proof (nylock) nuts done up firm and consistent. At this point i realised that two of the grub screws wanted to turn in their holes because the holes go right through. Luckily grub screws have an allen-key recess in the top so I used an allen-key to hold the grub screw still and a spanner to do up the nut.

This procedure was repeated on the second cover. Keep in mind that I did not do the nuts up super tight!! You don't need to, just till firm and do up in a diagonal pattern to ensure even pressure.

Any questions please ask.

P. S. I'm not an expert but I have now done over 500k's without a single oil leak so it works!