Half Moons- Lip in or out?

[t-money]

I'm about to replace my leaking "half Moons" or Cam shaft cover end plugs..or what have you.

I see varying opinions on the "Best" Way to do this.

Should I put the Lip on the inside?..(as some do) to prevent from popping out?

What say you?

Also..I also see some people reccomend A sealer on the round part of Moon only?

What say you?

I'm just looking for the Most reliable/best way to do this.

Thank you

[Dogma]

Put the lip in if there is room between the head and the cam end.

Some say to use a piece of Teflon tape under the round part. I don't like that way. It doesn't keep thing where there belong. I like just a smear of black Permatex (or equivalent high-temp silicone). Don't use enough to make a blob inside the engine. Once this has cured, it really won't matter much which way the half-moon is installed, because it shouldn't fall out. Put the lip inside anyway, just in case.

New half moons will stick up above the gasket face of the head about 1mm. If you're using a RealGasket, this will leak. Maybe with a regular gasket too. I like to install the cam cover without a gasket overnight to squash them down to size. By the next evening, they should be flush to the gasket face, or close to it.

[FLHGSRay]

I installed mine lip out with a little black Permatex and an OEM gasket. No leaks.

[mike_of_bbg]

I'm about to replace my leaking "half Moons" or Cam shaft cover end plugs..or what have you.

I see varying opinions on the "Best" Way to do this.

Should I put the Lip on the inside?..(as some do) to prevent from popping out?

What say you?

I put mine on the inside. The risks associated with having the lip on the outside is very minimal. Popping out shouldn't happen often at all - particularly if you do use sealer (though, there have been reports of it so it IS a risk, if minimal). It was suggested that having the lip inside might help with cam end float noise - though that has been disputed and I haven't bothered to analyze the situation. In any case, I've yet to see an argument for any advantage - however minimal - for having the lip outside except for "that's how they did it from the factory". Perhaps, like the crank seals, Suzuki's choice is sub-optimal. It would look better with the lip on the outside if you were running without the cam end caps.

Essentially a toss-up with a slight nod to lip inside votes me.

Also..I also see some people reccomend A sealer on the round part of Moon only?

What say you?

I'm just looking for the Most reliable/best way to do this.

Thank you

Yes, a thin layer of sealant on the rounds. Threebond is a good choice here if you have any.

[Steve]

I install mine with the lip OUT.

Personally, I just can't imagine what would push them out in normal operation.

The only reason they would get "pushed" out is if there is a LOT of pressure behind them.

If you have that much pressure in that vented space, you have other problems that are much more serious than your half-moons.

.

[blowerbike]

lip in........

[sparki]

always in..... cannot hurt and likes already been mentioned, just that little bit of extra reassurance that they're not moving..

[t-money]

thank you all for your advice..I think I'll try Lips In.

[chef1366]

I put mine in because that's the way they came out.

[JEEPRUSTY]

Lips out
Moronic to think otherwise as its in the manual.

[Dogma]

Lips out
Moronic to think otherwise as its in the manual.

Wouldn't be the first time the manual was wrong. In some later post I'll be the one quoting the manual as infallible, OK?

[sparki]

Lips out
Moronic to think otherwise as its in the manual.

.... praise be to the manual... lol

..... forbid there ever be a different way of doing it!...

i wish my life was as simple as yours, just black n white 'eh, no grey areas. if the book says it; gospel it is

[TheCafeKid]

Lip in. Perhaps we can get an expert in hydrodynamics to explain why that makes more sense. (fluid will always run downhill, or chose the path of least resistance)

I disagree with sealant, simply because I don't want any of that oil passage clogging goo somehow making it's way somewhere it shouldn't. Call me paranoid. Teflon tape will do the job, even used it on old leaky ones and sealed them up nicely. If you're using a realgasket, as Dogma said, don't use the tape. The clamping force isn't sufficient to keep them there without sealant/adhesive because of the light torque spec required by the realgasket.
I've never had one pop out in the god knows how many GSes I've owned. Leak? Sure. That's what GSes do. Weep around the valve cover, somewhere. It's inevitable.
As to the claim they'll quiet cam end walk chatter? Not likely. Installed either direction they don't extend deep enough. I had thought to make some out of delrin or some sort of heat/petrol resistant plastic. But really it's not worth the trouble as the noise is only audible at idle, and there seems to be no detrimental effect from the action in a reasonable length of ownership. Perhaps if ya had one for eons, maybe get some new cam caps, or a head replacement if you're worried about premature bearing/journal/cam failure. Lotsa slop built into em though, as compared to later generations.

[1_v8_merc]

I install mine with the lip OUT.

Personally, I just can't imagine what would push them out in normal operation.

The only reason they would get "pushed" out is if there is a LOT of pressure behind them.

If you have that much pressure in that vented space, you have other problems that are much more serious than your half-moons.

.

Yep, exactly.

If you put them outward there's more room to RTV 'em.
Always use some contact cleaner first, just to dry the area.

[Hap Call]

Lip in. Have been doing it for 30 years on my 1100E I did it first because Byron Hinds (of Vance & Hinds) did it on all of his bikes, both street and race. I didn't put anything on them until around 2000, when I began using teflon tape (and not too much tape). The bike has 270,000 miles on it with no failures of the halfmoons. Can't say that about the valve cover gasket unfortunately.

Hap