PRODUCT DETAILS
Honda OEM Camshaft Oil Seal - B/H Series DOHC Engines
You're pulling the valve cover off your Integra Type R or Prelude and you're seeing oil seeping down the back of the cam gear. The camshaft oil seal's leaking. It's been 25+ years. The rubber's hardened and cracked. Oil's weeping past the seal and running down the head. This is genuine Honda OEM part 9123-PR3-004. It's the correct seal for B and H series dual overhead cam engines. The seal installs behind the cam gear. When it fails oil leaks into the valve cover area and down the side of the head. You're losing oil. You're making a mess. Here's the thing. B and H series engines are dual overhead cam. You've got two camshafts. That means you need two seals. One for the intake cam. One for the exhaust cam. If you're refreshing the engine or doing a head gasket job, replace both seals now. You're already in there. Don't do this job twice.
Here's Why Camshaft Seals Fail
The camshaft oil seal sits on the back of the cam gear where the shaft comes out of the head. The seal rides on the shaft and maintains pressure against the bore. When the engine's running the seal's constantly flexing and compressing. The shaft's spinning. Oil's pressing against the seal. Heat's cycling it. After 25+ years the rubber loses elasticity. It cracks. It hardens. The seal no longer compresses properly. Oil starts weeping around the edges. At first it's just a small drip. Oil pools at the back of the head near the cam gear. You notice a small leak when the car's parked. Days go by. More oil leaks out. The leak gets bigger. Eventually you're losing a noticeable amount of oil. The oil level on the dipstick drops. You're topping off the oil every week. Your oil's getting contaminated with coolant because the head gasket's probably leaking too if the cam seals are. You're looking at an engine refresh. Replace the seals before they get that bad. If you see oil seeping from the back of the head, replace the cam seals.
DOHC Engines Need Two Seals - Intake and Exhaust
B and H series engines have two camshafts. One intake cam. One exhaust cam. Each cam has a seal on the back where the shaft exits the head. When you're doing cam seal replacement you're replacing both seals. You need two part numbers 9123-PR3-004. Some people try to save money and only replace one seal. Then six months later the other seal starts leaking and they're pulling the valve cover again. Don't do that. Order two seals. Replace both at the same time. The labor's the same. You're already in there pulling the cam gear bolts. You're already pulling the seals. Replace both and you're done for another 25 years. Don't do the job twice because you wanted to save the price of one seal.
Behind the Cam Gear - Access During Head Work
The camshaft oil seal sits behind the cam gear on the back of the shaft. To replace it you're pulling the valve cover. You're unbolting the cam gears. You're pulling the seals out of their bores. You're installing new seals and torquing everything back down. If you're already doing a head gasket you're pulling the valve cover and cam gears anyway. The seal replacement adds maybe 30 minutes to the job. If you're doing a full engine refresh you're pulling the head. The cam seals come out with the head. Replace them while the head's off. You're not adding significant labor. You're just replacing rubber that's already failing. Don't leave old seals in a refreshed engine. New seals only cost a few dollars. Ignoring them and having them leak on your fresh build is stupid. Replace them.
Honda OEM Seal - The Right Part
This is genuine Honda OEM part 9123-PR3-004. It's the seal Honda installs at the factory. Sizing 29x43x8. The inner diameter is 29mm. The outer diameter is 43mm. The thickness is 8mm. That's the correct size for B and H series camshaft bores. Aftermarket seals exist. Some are fine. Some are garbage. We've seen aftermarket seals that don't compress right and they leak immediately. We've seen seals with wrong dimensions that rattle in the bore. We've seen cheap seals that harden after a year and crack. The camshaft oil seal is a critical engine seal. It's holding back pressurized oil. It's not the place to order a cheap knockoff from Amazon. Buy the Honda seal. It fits. It seals. You install it once and it lasts. That's what you want.
What You Get
- Honda OEM camshaft oil seal - part number 9123-PR3-004
- Fits B and H series DOHC engines
- Genuine Honda seal - not aftermarket
- Sizing 29x43x8 (29mm ID / 43mm OD / 8mm thickness)
- One seal per order (order 2 if replacing both intake and exhaust cams)
- Installs behind cam gear on camshaft
Fits These Cars
- 1999-2001 Acura Integra GS-R/Type R (B18C1, B18C5 engines)
- 1995-1998 Acura TL (J30A1 - wait, verify engine)
- 1992-1994 Acura Vigor (C32A1 engine)
- 1999-2000 Honda Civic Si (B16A2 engine)
- 1994-1997 Honda Del Sol VTEC (B16A2 engine)
- 1993-1996 Honda Prelude SI VTEC (H23A1 engine)
- 1997-2001 Honda Prelude Base/Type SH (H22A4, H23A1 engines)
Note: Camshaft oil seal for B and H series DOHC engines. Genuine Honda OEM part 9123-PR3-004. Sizing 29x43x8 (29mm inner diameter, 43mm outer diameter, 8mm thickness). Installs behind cam gear on back of camshaft. B and H series engines have two camshafts (intake and exhaust) - order 2 seals if replacing both. Oil seal failure causes oil weeping from back of head, oil pooling near cam gear, dropping oil level. Replace when oil leaking detected or during head gasket/engine refresh. Seal rubber hardens and cracks after 25+ years. Don't ignore leaking cam seals during engine rebuild. One seal per order.