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[Enceladus]

I am in the process of replacing the cam cover seals on a '96 V6. I have just noticed blocked holes / drillings
either side of the camshaft caps right beside where you put a dab of the black sealant. If you look at the seal itself it seems to be designed to stay clear of the holes when the cover is mounted.

Some of my drillings seem to be blocked with the old sealant gone rock hard. What are the holes for and do they have to be cleaned out? How best to do it? I seem to have had some success with a small drill bit. How do you stop the new sealant being pushed into the drillings when the cam cover is put in place?

Or am I worrying about nothing?

Thanks,

[joff]

They are oil ways, and yes clean them out the best you can, 

[Enceladus]

Thanks for the reply. Indeed I had thought that they were likely to be oil ways.
Looks like placement of the dab of black sealant needs to be quite accurate else re-instating the cover might push sealant into the hole?
Am I trying to achieve sealant on only on the outside edge of the seal or underneath it?

[Matchless]

Those holes act as drains for the space behind the camshaft oil seals. If they get blocked, oil escaping from the front cam bearing causes pressure to build up behind the camshaft oil seals and they leak bigtime.
usual cause of blockage is overuse of black goo when fitting camcover seals.