killabee

So lastnight I was working on my car when I noticed that cam cap number 3 had a small crack forming on it. So I pull the cap to To take a look and sure enough the cap breaks. So I think to myself no big deal I will buy another cap.....WRONG!!! The honda dealer told me that you cant get just that cap that you had to buy the whole head. So I told him that couldnt be and that that was crazy. So I had him fax me over a copy of the page that breaks down the parts so I could tell him which one It was. I got the fax and sure enough it showed that the head came with the caps and no other way. Do you guys have any Ideas? I dont want to repair It and put It on my car and on top of that Thats not even a option because of where It broke. Do any of you guys have a spare junk Head to where I could buy the cap from you ?

Thanks In advance.

camuman

wow, i didnt beleive it either to i just looked. one thing i am wondering, why would it matter what head they came from, there not matched parts are they? try to find someone with a ****ed up head and ask to buy just one cap, or maybe a few just in case. i cant see why it would matter, people swap cams without changing those, and thats the only thing i could maybe see mattering, but it doesnt.

Momentum

The caps are bolted to the head then bored, they are a matched part since they are machined together and are not technically interchangeable. This is the case on almost every over head cam motor out there. That being said I have had a cap off a spare head in my motor for a long time because of the same issue you had. I have checked the cam and there is no abnormal wear, of course I may have just gotten lucky. If you can't get a cap from someone local I could send you one. Obviously I can't recommend you do this but whats it going to do damage the head? Just make sure the cam spins freely, maybe check it with some plastigauge or something.

m R g S r

Just check the oil clearance on the new (used) cap when you put it on.

Find someone with a trashed head and buy the cap you need off of them.

ya@inlinepro

Another alternative is to find someone selling parts off a blown motor. You ATLEAST want to just get a set of cam caps from another head.

You cannot mismatch caps, but if you get the whole set of caps from another used motor you should be ok.

Good luck

s2000Junky

Wow what a joke. I'd be inclined to just go for the replacement cap, maybe get a few of them and try mounting them all to see if there you notice any fitment discrepancies. Make sure the cam turns freely as mentioned. Maybe put some assembly/break in lube on that cap, it may work in a slightly new surface and be totally fine. I'd say a looser fit would be better then a tighter one in this case if you noticed any fitment differences between caps.

And how lucky was this, that you noticed that cap before it broke, that could have been bad. I've never heard of a cap cracking/breaking. What would cuase this? Just a fluke or bad from factory you think? Kind of makes me want to check mine

Artisan7471

You can mismatch caps, however you must have a machine shop line bore them, in order to get the clearances correct. The process is very similar to what they do to repair a rod that has had a spun bearing. The machine shop will grind off around .005 of the cap face and then bolt the 2 halfs together and line bore back to the correct diameter. However I dont know if this would be any cheaper than buying a used set of cam caps.

Spoolin

Can you post a picture of the cap that cracked? I'd like to see where it happened and what it looks like.

killabee

Yeah I will get a pic up asap. I work two jobs so It could take a min.

dsddcd

I have a complete assembly I will give up for $40 shipped