Cam or valve cover seal leak?

Newbie here...is this from cam seals possibly? I'm in the middle of timing belt change and wondering if so..do I keep going and replace them? Could it be valve cover?

THANKS

 

The 2nd picture is valve covers IMHO. Someone didn't properly seal the right-angle corners with FIPG. The VC gaskets may be fine, but the FIPG at the corners of the cam tower either failed, or wasn't cleaned/installed properly.

The 1st pic I'm having trouble orienting myself to figure out where it is. That staining/leeching looks really high up on the cam tower and I can't tell. Cam seals for me were leaking down the front of the engine block.

That said, if it were me, I'd throw a full bottle of this in the crankcase and run if for a few hundo miles. It shored up my cam seal leak and they claim it only rejuvenates seals and gaskets, it won't overswell or damage gaskets or clot fluids like a lot of the magic-in-a-bottle BS does. I've read a number of pro-mech glowing reviews of the stuff for RMS leaks specifically. At least cam seals in your non-VVTi are way easier to do, so if you're replacing the TB/WP anyway, just do the cam seals at the same time. Better to do it while you've got it open.

 

PS - that ATP product is usually readily available on the shelf at Advance Auto Parts. Maybe others, but I typically shop at Advance because they almost always have 10-15% off coupons for online orders, and you can order for store pickup. Easy way to save some coin.

 

Appears to be valve cover gasket. Look at the front of the engine under and behind the cam sprocket/belt. That's were a cam seal leak would be. Agree with Shifty' and try some

$20 AT-205 Re-Seal Stops Leaks, 8 Ounce Bottle

AT-205

 

Oh, and sometimes valve covers leak simply because the bolts have loosened due to the rubbers shrinking. But be careful, the screws are known to break if overtightened.

 

Thanks a million. Learning every day from yalls information. So, I'm in the middle of timing belt...an hour a day type approach...I have questions with each work session, come here to the forum, get the answers while at work, then go home and apply...than have more questions, rinse, repeat. I appreciate it a lot

 

Will check it out this evening. Thank yall for the

$20 AT-205 Re-Seal Stops Leaks, 8 Ounce Bottle

AT-205 info.

 

"The 1st pic I'm having trouble orienting myself to figure out where it is"

sorry..I shoulda labeled them..the first one is passenger side.

Question, about cam seal job..so do I just mark a sprocket tooth with a sharpie and a corresponding mark on the back cover so I can put it back exactly where it was, then take it off?

Having never done this, I'm not sure what I need to do/not do to mess up the positioning of the sprockets as far throwing things out of wack after I put them back on for timing alignment purposes.

THANKS

 

I see youre right. I saw this in forum.

" So I noticed a leak coming from where the passenger side valve cover meets the head. So I went to the dealer to pick up a new gasket and spark plug tube seals. When I went to remove the valve cover bolts, they all unscrewed with virtually no resistance. The Haynes manual says the torque specs for these are 53 in/lbs which obviously is not very tight at all, but these almost seemed like I could unscrew them with my bare fingers! Got me thinking that maybe this is the reason I'm experiencing a leak there"

Im looking up the specs now...getting different specs but 53 is coming up alot..

 

Remember to download a copy of this, it's for your year range, it'll show the "official" process, in the event you wanted to do cam seals.

Timing belt stuff starts in section EM-11 (pg.1742), and getting into the cam seals, written "oil seal" in the FSM, EM-34 (pg.1765) and they get into the meat of things about 5 pages in on step 24 for removal, reinstall starts at EM61 (pg.1792), or maybe partially a page prior.

If you see anything about installing service bolt (as you should in there), heed the warning. At least it's pretty crucial in the '05-'06, maybe not so bad in the '00-04 (non-VVTi V8).

You may also want to hit a couple YouTube videos for visual example if written stuff is overwhelming. It can be like that for me sometimes too.

 

53 INCH LBs specifically, don't do foot pounds!

53 inch lb is like just shy of 5 ft lb if memory serves. I think most torque wrenches for ft lb start at 10, so you can't really get that low.

 

ha..thanks for reminding me. I think you have a good idea what you're dealin with on my end...ha.

Thanks for the download link, the page numbers to go to, etc... youre Awesome, shifty!!