timing cover re-seal
 

I just re-sealed my timing cover... got the horseshoe gasket and cam seal.

I put black sealant in the corners of the horseshoe gasket, but I did not put any on the metal to metal mating surfaces.

Is this a fatal flaw? when i pulled the cover, it didn't have any sealant there.

I did this work after doing a fan bearing bracket and water pump.

In this group, I am also doing the rotor, distributor cap and valve cover gasket.

All of this stuff was original on our 1989 300ce with 109k miles.

Lee, your process for installing the new upper timing chain cover gasket is proper ... a dab of sealant at each end of the U-shaped gasket only. If you're sure the gasket remained in place (in the thorougly clean recesses of the upper and lower timing chain covers) when you set the upper timing chain cover there should be no leaks.

That's exactly the way I did the job successfully on my daughter's 1991 300CE.

Thanks, Fred..... i did it this way once before, I think..... it was about five years ago on another car.

getting the cover back on seemed easy... i did it dry a couple of times.... getting the cam seal to cooperate was a slightly different story....

Lee, I wrapped a thin piece of plastic around the camshaft to facilitate installation of the seal. The seal slid easily over the plastic while I tapped the seal into position. Then I simply removed the piece of plastic. Not sure if I came up with that idea on my own, or read about it when I was preparing to replace the upper timing chain cover gasket.

i guess i will try that the next time....

Ughhh...I just did the same job and wish I would have known that little trick on the camshaft! I had to use a little muscle and weight to push it down and forward on mine (I did use the plastic piece on top of the U-Shaped gasket to ensure it didn't roll forward when pressing the cover in). The manual says to use sealant on all of the metal mating surfaces and to put sealant in the groove that the u shaped gasket fits into. I bought some of the Mercedes RTV stuff and it is fantastic. It dries very fast though, which can be good and bad depending on the job at hand. As long as it doesn't leak, then you are A-OK!