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[vectrolosys]

Hello,

Last week, I replaced my Drivers side cam cover gasket, as it had been leaking, all was wel until I discovered it was still leaking from the front, but not the back, thus pointing to a warped cover.

Fast forward to this morning.

Had a bit of a situation with the Omega this morning, I thought, for some very stupid reason, 'hmm, lets tighten the cam cover bolts a little to see if I can stop the oil leak' so, I start to tighten the first one, and snap, off comes the head of the bolt.

Fast forward to this afternoon.

I have removed the plenum, inlet bridge etc and got the cover off. I removed the cam bearing cap, and managed to get the remainder of the thread out thank god!!. This does mean that I will need to completely remove the cam covers, belt and renew the seal as I have broken the seal. Not the end of the world and gives me an excuse to add a nice V6 locking kit to my tool collection.

Anyway, I have a set of Vectra Cam covers on their way to me, a bargain from ebay, £2.99 plus £10 p&p!! , so the drivers side (or back one if your in a vectra) will be finding its way onto my Omega.

Anyway, questions. Can the cambelt, once untensioned, be reused? as the belt and tensioners were new last year and have covered under 3000 miles.

Thanks in advance,

James

[theolodian]

It is risky to reuse the cambelt kit, but tempting.  Are you saying the seal came apart?  If not and it is a normal seal, then you should be able to put it back together carefully and be OK.

[vectrolosys]

Hello,

The seal was fine tbh, I'm just wary, as once I have broken the seal, surely that's it? it's the camshaft seal, right at the front, behind the sprocket incidently...

I guess I could get away with just replacing the belt, as the tensioners are only a year old......but, if you think it'll be okay, as I didn't disturb it, just removed the cap, then I'll retension the cap and leave well alone.

James

[theolodian]

Hello,

The seal was fine tbh, I'm just wary, as once I have broken the seal, surely that's it? it's the camshaft seal, right at the front, behind the sprocket incidently...

I guess I could get away with just replacing the belt, as the tensioners are only a year old......but, if you think it'll be okay, as I didn't disturb it, just removed the cap, then I'll retension the cap and leave well alone.

James

The outside of a normal seal is not very picky.  I'd put it back together carefully so that the seal is mounted straight, and then only if it shows problems later do the seal and the cambelt kit.

[JamesV6CDX]

Hello,

The seal was fine tbh, I'm just wary, as once I have broken the seal, surely that's it? it's the camshaft seal, right at the front, behind the sprocket incidently...

I guess I could get away with just replacing the belt, as the tensioners are only a year old......but, if you think it'll be okay, as I didn't disturb it, just removed the cap, then I'll retension the cap and leave well alone.

James

Sod it.. I know the kits need changing after 40k, but it won't need changing after 3k miles. Just tension a new belt on there.....

Personal opinion only.

[vectrolosys]

Hello,

The seal was fine tbh, I'm just wary, as once I have broken the seal, surely that's it? it's the camshaft seal, right at the front, behind the sprocket incidently...

I guess I could get away with just replacing the belt, as the tensioners are only a year old......but, if you think it'll be okay, as I didn't disturb it, just removed the cap, then I'll retension the cap and leave well alone.

James

The outside of a normal seal is not very picky.  I'd put it back together carefully so that the seal is mounted straight, and then only if it shows problems later do the seal and the cambelt kit.

Sound advice, thanks for that. I made sure the cap was clean before putting it back on, and the seal was not disturbed . I'll just monitor it closely, as soon as I see oil on the belt, then off it comes.

Thankfully that means just the cover and gaskets to put on.

James

[theolodian]

I'll be surprised if you have any problems.  I'd be stunned if oil gets on the belt.  There usually isn't much pressure there, so it would just seep.  If the rubber isn't rock hard then the seal should be fine.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Dont forget the dab of green sealent thats required on the front cam bearing caps....

[vectrolosys]

Dont forget the dab of green sealent thats required on the front cam bearing caps....

Hello,

Good point, just added that to the list. If anyones interested, I'll post pics of the Vectra covers once fitted. I'm only doing one side though, touch wood, the passenger side is okay....

James

[TheBoy]

Dont forget the dab of green sealent thats required on the front cam bearing caps....

Hello,

Good point, just added that to the list. If anyones interested, I'll post pics of the Vectra covers once fitted. I'm only doing one side though, touch wood, the passenger side is okay....

James

Veccy covers on omega passenger side are not straightforeward due to oil filler...

[vectrolosys]

Dont forget the dab of green sealent thats required on the front cam bearing caps....

Hello,

Good point, just added that to the list. If anyones interested, I'll post pics of the Vectra covers once fitted. I'm only doing one side though, touch wood, the passenger side is okay....

James

Veccy covers on omega passenger side are not straightforeward due to oil filler...

True, the loom runs right over where the filler would be. Fortunately, that side seems okay at the moment .

James

[Marks DTM Calib]

Yes....if you are serious about fitting the vectra cam covers it would be worth considering fitting the metal version that has the oil filler hole on the drivers side 1-3-5 bank...