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Free upgrade to next day shipping for me because they are in Dallas. Woohoo! They'll be here tomorrow and I'll measure these next to the Apex and post the results.
Do the parts manufacturers not test this **** before selling them? Valve seals, hubs, cam seals, crank seal... how many of the non-oem parts for our cars are complete garbage? Seems like most of it. Only OEM seals and gaskets for me from now on, not worth risking having to do the job twice.
Free upgrade to next day shipping for me because they are in Dallas. Woohoo! They'll be here tomorrow and I'll measure these next to the Apex and post the results.
Do the parts manufacturers not test this **** before selling them? Valve seals, hubs, cam seals, crank seal... how many of the non-oem parts for our cars are complete garbage? Seems like most of it. Only OEM seals and gaskets for me from now on, not worth risking having to do the job twice.
I’ve found non-OEM parts for most cars to be garbage, not just a Miata thing. I think the aftermarket makers buy an oem part and copy it, without knowing the exact material composition etc. so while it ‘works fine’ it doesn’t work fine. OEM or bust man. Yes OEM stuff is more expensive. My time is too valuable to do a job twice. Buy once, cry once ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Only problem I have with that is that many Miata parts have been sitting around for years. I definitely prefer their metal water pump and mixing manifold gaskets, but always worry about the cam and crank seals being 18 years old.
Only problem I have with that is that many Miata parts have been sitting around for years. I definitely prefer their metal water pump and mixing manifold gaskets, but always worry about the cam and crank seals being 18 years old.
I'm pretty sure those seals are manufactured on a regular basis. At least the ones you get through the Mazdaspeed site. SM goes through a lot of them. But I hear you . . . our cars aren't getting younger.
Shaft seals are a fairly common item. These were't designed just for one engine. They have standard sizes the engineers picked and designed the cam shaft ends around. So they will be available for a long time to come, and made new.
Just wanted to update this and say thank you to everyone for all the advice. Just drove the hell out of the car and for the first time, no leaky cam seals. Woohoo!!! I have UV dye in the oil, and so far I have been able to see any leaks immediately. Will update after a thousand miles or so.
What worked for me:
Clean the areas on the head and under the caps where the cam seals slide into with brake cleaner.
Use Mazda OEM cam seals and clean them with rubbing alcohol to prep for the RTV.
Do a light coat of Permatex Ultra Black on the outer ring of the cam seals.
Make sure the outer ring is covered completely with the Ultra Black and be sure not to get it anywhere else on the cam seals.
Dip your finger in oil and put a light coat all the way around the end of the camshaft so the seals slide on nicely.
Make sure you don't get any oil near the rtv or the area you cleaned with brake cleaner.
Install the cams seals as normal, but instead of seating them flush, leave them sticking out ~1/10".
Let dry for 24 hours and then reinstall timing belt and valve cover.
I don't know if this is relevant but one set of my seals kept creeping forward and leaking on a new build.
I kept pushing them in, they would not leak for a few days then creep forward and leak again. In the end I made a metal tab and the lower bolt hole to hold it in place and it stopped leaking.
03-26-2018 | 09:22 PM
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