Wow, thank you for your kind words.

You are right about it not working as a removal tool in my instance.
I thank the poster for his thoughts and contribution, but in this case I don't think it would be the way to go.I would not have known (and did not initially) that my seal was glued in place, so when I first encountered what I did, I did not realize that it was not the norm.

Furthermore, the most sensitive surface to consider is the cam shaft itself. This has to rotate at a high speed within the seal which stays stationary. If you score the seat, some kind of filler like gasket maker can be used to make up the difference because the contact point is fixed. BUT if you score a groove on the cam shaft itself, there would be no way to "fill that gap". Fortunately I was mindful of this as I scraped away.

Finally, as mentioned, the piping just fit onto the inner side of the sprocket, with enough contact that the sprocket held it in place there. The sprocket has a raised inner surface where it connects to the cam shaft. If I am not mistaken, this raised area is just larger than the cam shaft. Any smaller diameter would certainly not fit around that inner part, and may be the difference in clearance as to whether or not you could begin the bolts threading.

Bottom line is I would not risk a smaller diameter piping coming into contact in any way with the cam shaft journal.



Yeah, you described the feeling I got... I called my best friend and told him, "I think I finally got into my engine to a point where I will not be able to recover". Frankly, I really did not have the money to do the tow-to-the dealer thing.

Besides, I have observed some mechanics, and to many of them, this is just a job and they are on a schedule... so, if more damage is incurred, they can just pass that along (of course not all are like this, but many are). Point is that if I got it to a dealer, they too would have to fight through the process, but perhaps with less care. I was thinking (worse case scenario) that I would have to pull the top off, which would have been really involved.

So given all considerations and the point I was at, I figured I really had nothing to loose. With that, I just took to it with gentle (paranoia oriented) care and a lot of patience. I started with what I could see and get to easiest, frequently referencing the shape of the new seal to anticipate what I was working with inside. If you had read Klaus' comment on how it appeared in the pick that much of the metal was gone... that is a little deceptive in the imaging, but the fact is that area is where I started and really did not know quite yet what I was poking into, so it got a little more scored. Once I got a bit of a peak inside, I was able to work with a little more know-how, which is another reason I took the pics. For me, once I see something - pictures or in person - it is much easier for me to understand, and that is a great value I find in picture posts online. I knew what I needed as far tools go, but I had to look around a bit to find them. As a note, the Sears Craftsman pick set did not bend at the tips the way the other did.

In the end, I had to take a lot of patience. I have a big magnifying glass I picked up at the .99 store, and that has come in real handy when working on my car. Fortunately they made this Magnifier with a light that beams down where you point the center. This is what helped me to see what I was doing under the hood, then the photos when put on the computer in full size gave me a still image in detail to examine. All this combined is what led me to see what grooves existed that needed to be cleaned and scraped with the pick.

In the end, the greatest hurdles overcome give the greatest satisfaction.
I have gotten myself in those big panic situations before, and each time when I prevail, the sense of accomplishment is greater. I really thought I had gone to far this time, but in the end I got it all back together and running...

Now I need to keep an eye on it and see if that new seal holds. If it does not, I will have to go back in and use adhesive, but at least I will be armed with experience and knowledge this time.

In the end, I want to publicly acknowledge Klaus and Mark (Rule 308) for their responses, advice and guidance. Their experience and input gave me the confidence and or affirmation to press on. Thanx guys!

Cheers
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1995 850T Wagon 120k