In reply to a message from Dennismo sent Tue 3 Mar 2015:
Dennis,
No need to buy special premium-priced washers. As long as
they’re the right size (and pure dead-soft copper), they’ll
be fine. However, they must be FLAT, with no edge-burrs or
other imperfections on the sealing surfaces. A few seconds
with a sheet of 600-1000 grit sandpaper on a flat surface
should do the trick. Also have a look for problem areas on
the cam-cover ‘‘bosses’’, where the washer will seal. And
maybe the flat bottoms of the nuts themselves. A bit of
Hylomar on both sides of the washer, way less torque than
you’d guess, and I think your problems will be gone.–
Bob Frisby, S2 FHC
Boise ID, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from Bob Frisby sent Wed 4 Mar 2015:
Thanks for all the comments.
I have never used any sealant and the idea to use it is great.
What about a small coating of the Permatex aviation stuff that
always stays tacky??–
Dennis Vancouver Canada 69 Roadster
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
So, here’s a thought. What’s the consensus of cutting an o-ring groove
on the nut and slapping in the o-ring to do the job? Too lazy to go
out to the garage, but is the nut face big enough to lay a groove in
it? Willing to do the test and I think I have some BUNA rings for it.
maxOn Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 11:01 AM, Dennismo dennismaxmolnar@gmail.com wrote:
In reply to a message from Bob Frisby sent Wed 4 Mar 2015:
Thanks for all the comments.
I have never used any sealant and the idea to use it is great.
What about a small coating of the Permatex aviation stuff that
always stays tacky??
–
Dennis Vancouver Canada 69 Roadster
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from Max sent Wed 4 Mar 2015:
I think that is a lot of work in a very small space. We need a
rubberized composite washer that cannot crush too much under
torque. The fibre washers I had years ago were almost the right
thing!–
Dennis Vancouver Canada 69 Roadster
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from Dennismo sent Tue 3 Mar 2015:
Since I used stat-o-seal washers on my fuel and oil
lines which worked the first time around I would highly
recommend stat-o-seal washers for the valve covers.
The small ‘‘O’’ rings those washers come with stop any
leak and will last a long time.
I have the list on those washers if interested.
Walter--
The original message included these comments:
I can’t seem to source really soft copper washers so I went on a
website (superiorwasher.com) that has specialty washers and
thought I would order some washers. Years ago I did source
–
Walter Schuster 78XJ6 FI Ser.II, 2002 xtype 3.0
Albuquerque/New Mexico, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Reviving this thread to seek opinions on a different solution. It seems the copper washers are mediocre, working mostly but not always, and I’ve been chasing oil leaks around the cam covers. Searching for a better answer, I think that Parker Hannifin “Thredseal” washers could be a perfect solution. I’ve seen Stat-O-Seals mentioned on here, but those are designed for the shoulder of a bolt where there aren’t threads, while their Thredseal washers are the Parker’s solution to seal the threaded part like the cam cover studs.
Photo below of the washers and cross section. The Thredseal washers have the triangle-like elastomer in the middle to self-center the washer for best sealing. The 1/4" washer is exactly the same OD as the Jag copper washers. They are available in a couple different elastomers, one Nitrile rated to 225 deg F and a Fluorocarbon seal to 400F. They are also available in different metals, including zinc or cad plated carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. It seems to me that if these were copper-plated they would look original.
Has anyone ever tried these, and if so your experience? I’m willing to be a guinea pig here if no one has used these before.
Do you think the 225F-rated part is sufficient, or is the 400F necessary?
For plating, my understanding is the zinc-plated carbon steel would be the best substrate as it is much harder to Cu plate stainless and aluminum. Thoughts?
I’m planning to order some to experiment with and see if I can either plate myself or have a plater do them, but wanted to solicit some opinions here first. Thanks!
Paul, do you recall why you used Stat-O-Seals instead of the ThredSeals? My understanding from reading Parker’s app notes is the S-o-S are made for the smooth shoulder of a bolt and not sealing on threads while the ThredSeals are designed to seal the threads like one has on the cam cover studs.
If you have aftermarket acorn nuts. The nuts are sometimes to shallow and bottom out on the stud not allowing them to tighten . they feel like their tight but not.
Thanks. Just wondered if you didn’t use them for a reason. It’s a good sign that if those worked well, the ones specifically for threaded application should be better.
The problem I ran into, is that the new acorn nuts, from one of the usual’s were not threaded square to the bottom of the nut. No matter how tight (whiten reason) they leaked!@#$%^&* I sorted through my collection of used nuts and replaced the leakers with old nuts, problem solved. I suspect they were made in china…
An update on the concept. First, a shout out and note of amazement regarding McMaster-Carr. Yesterday morning I ordered a set of the Thredseal washers from them at around 10:45am and they were delivered less than 4 hours later. Wow! How do they even do that? I don’t think this is the type of item they’d have sitting at last-mile distribution centers or anything. Impressive.
Anyway, I installed them on a half dozen of the cam cover studs that have been the usual problem spots for me. I did a drive yesterday and one today to run them through the warm up/cool off cycle a couple times, and then show nary a wisp of oil leakage. So far so good. Next step is to make them look like copper washers. More to follow…
I’ve got the polished covers, and like the original look of the copper peaking out. I’ve been tweaking a number of things on the car to make it look original except for those things that are clear improvements (like the radiator and cooling fan), and I think the cam cover washers are one of those things that I can take advantage of better technology and still make it look vintage.
Thanks, but copper is the original look that I’m trying to stay with. I know you found the Stat-o-seals worked for you, but I think the Thredseals are the better one for the application since they’re designed to seal on the threads and not the shank of the bolt. I’m going to experiment a bit this weekend with plating and see how that works out. Love doing little projects like these!
