RJSP

Ok, this happened to me about a month and 1/2 ago. In my case it was with the Zaklee clear cam gear cover, I was lucky that it wasn´t a catastrofic failure, but it could have been.

What happened is I was in the middle of a practice 1/4 pass and lost all power right before the finish line, there were no noises or bangs, the car simply lost power then died and would not start.

So, to make the story short, this is what happened: The rubber seal in the cam gear cover fell and was caught by the cranckshaft sensor trigger plate which cut it in 3 pieces (killing the sensor of course) and then got caught by the timing belt and made the intake cam gear jump one tooth and the exhaust cam gear jump two teeth, and stopped the engine. The order of events might be different, but thats not too important.

I have a spare engine for rebuilding so took care of the problem in one day using its trigger plate and cranck sensor, and the engine is running nice and smooth. I will be upgarding rods shortly, so then I´ll know for sure if any valves where bent, but again there was no sound that would indicate this, and my car´s performance has remained the same.

So if you have an aftermarket cam gear cover, do yourself a big favor and check that the rubber seal is very well glued to the cover. I reconstructed mine and have had it glued with locktile since then, and everything seem good now.

Cheers,

Ricardo

Guerillah

iTrader: (10)

Thanks for letting us know, sorry to hear that happened.

Evoryder

iTrader: (55)

Will check mine also. Good luck

Craig King

iTrader: (11)

I was considering buying one of those covers too. Thanks for the warning. Maybe I'll just buy an OEM.

RJSP

Glad to be of help in avoiding a potential problem, the Zaklee clear cam gear cover itself is a great quality item with perfect fit, but can have this flaw and result in an unpleasant surprise. I guess any aftermarket cover could also be susceptible to this, hence why I´m not bashing the product and still use it with the rubber seal safely over glued, and recheck it eveytime I open the hood...

Cheers,

Ricardo

Joshs EVO

iTrader: (46)

I caught this problem a few years ago with his covers and spoke to the guy that makes them (Zaklee) about it. He doesn't own an Evo so he really doesn't care to fix it. I met him when I complained about them on here and since he is local to me I went and met him and drove the 35 mins to Boulder, CO. He was a jerk when I met him and didn't give me my money back as I asked.

Exciting News

iTrader: (6)

I took my Zaklee off because I was concerned something similar would happen. My Zaklee has not held up well, it is hazed and cracked and my rubber seal also is looking ratty. I was worried it would break apart while the engine was running and mess up my belts so I took it off. I don't like how brittle it is and just generally don't think the quality is that great. Back to stock for me.