Sealing camshaft

[Gerald cook]

I will be rebuild my engine. My question is the gasket at the rear of the engine which is to seal the camshaft. And prevent oil leaks works some times. Is prone to failure when the bell housing is shimed. the gasket will lose its seal. All modern engines have a cam plug. I have seen a flat freeze plug machined to fit. Has anyone on the ford barn site done this. I know I will have to shim my housing. I know I will have to shorten the cam shaft to compensate for plug. I hope someone can help. Thanks Jerry

[Tom Wesenberg]

I've never had a gasket problem and also never had to loosen any bolts other than the top two to install the shims.

I seem to recall someone tried a plug and found the camshaft hit it.

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by Gerald cook

I will be rebuild my engine. My question is the gasket at the rear of the engine which is to seal the camshaft. And prevent oil leaks works some times. Is prone to failure when the bell housing is shimed. the gasket will lose its seal. All modern engines have a cam plug. I have seen a flat freeze plug machined to fit. Has anyone on the ford barn site done this. I know I will have to shim my housing. I know I will have to shorten the cam shaft to compensate for plug. I hope someone can help. Thanks Jerry

There is another way. Put a O ring groove in the bell housing and do away with the gasket.
You can use a freeze plug but you will have to shorten the cam. It was made that long for a reason.
I have never found it necessary to shim the housing so much that the gasket won't seal. Try some sealer on the gasket around the cam hole. Also check the two bolt holes in the block on each side of the cam. Some times they go through the block, if so you need sealer on them.

[Terry,NJ]

You shim where the two top bolts are. Clean off the FW housing and block really good, bolt them up except the two top bolts. Then , with a feeler gauge check the gap, It should be .010. All the shims I have seen for this have been .010. The shims do not hold the FW housing off the block. I don't know what Henry had in mind when he made that surface .010 lower.
Terry

[700rpm]

I have always thought the shims at the top were to compensate for the thickness of the gasket at the bottom. I put a thin coat of Permatex #2 on the gasket and bolt it up. My three engines have stayed leak-free: one for six years, one for two years, one for three months.

[Pete]

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I almost always machine the back of the cam off and put a steel plug in the block.
On most of my engines the customer is using an after market or home made bell housing adapter. These engines are full pressure also.
For a stock engine all stock parts should never leak.

[Duffy1]

Do not put a plug at the rear of the cam . The cam will move back and grab the plug spin it and tear the gasket . Personal experience . I use silicone in lieu of a gasket . Works great.

[James Rogers]

If your gasket leaks on a stock configured engine, you didn't do it right.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Duffy1

Do not put a plug at the rear of the cam . The cam will move back and grab the plug spin it and tear the gasket . Personal experience . I use silicone in lieu of a gasket . Works great.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for the cam to walk back. It thrusts on the block in front.

[PC/SR]

Agree with Pete. The rearward travel of the cam is limited by the boss at the front of the block. If the cam spun the plug, someone did not measure right.
A pal recently installed a full pressure, 35 PSI inserted engine done by a reputable builder and is using the stock gasket no problem. However if I were using one of Petes race engines I would probably go with the plug.
Beyond that, the throttle mounting boss and the flywheel cover mounting boss are on the same plane, so the shims compensate for the gasket thickness. Trouble is, the gaskets now come in different thicknesses, from thin paper to thicker composition. First, mic the gasket thickness and get the shims to the same thickness. Might have to mix, match and sand to get this right. This will get you pretty close. Then finalize the installation per instructions in the Andrew's book, and one of the early Restorer How to Restore books describes it in detail with great illustrations.

[colin1928]

I machine the cam and plug the block it does not cost much to do (belt and braces)
and on B engines with pressure oiling close down the cam galleries