So 1500 miles back I did an oil change and valve adjustment. While I was in there I put in some new cork valve gaskets dry. Car had 116,500 miles on it. Who knows when they were changed last. I noticed some oil smell in the car and extra oil on the driveway. Hmm.. better check that out. Looks like the valve cover is pissing all over my heat exchanger. This was the hard one to change out too. Any tips on fixing this?

A find the gaskets shift and don't seat while trying to install the covers thus resulting in leaks. Not sure if this is the cause in your case. Anyway, I use a few dabs of gasket sealer to hold the gasket onto the cover.

They will leak every time dry. I use permatex gasket sealer on the cover side and wheel bearing grease on the head side.

I just use the sealer in the corners to hold the gasket into the cover.

Make sure you put the "VW" logo on the cover on upside down.

--DD

I use sealant to hold the gaskets to the valve covers also but I like to use the slightly
thicker cork gaskets that 914Rubber sells. I also clean the surface of the head where the valve cover fits to make sure there is no dirt or foreign crud to screw up the seal.

Sometimes, the bottom edge of the valve cover will shift a bit when you push the bail into place. It will leak.

Check the position of the valve cover before and after you push the bail into place, you'll be able to see the difference if there is one. Release ad reset the bail if it happens or try to reposition the valve cover by hand.

The thicker wider ones help. Should solve you problem.

In cork
http://shop.914rubber.com/914-Valve-cover-...m?categoryId=-1

In high temp silicone
http://shop.914rubber.com/914-High-Temp-Si...m?categoryId=-1

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/9...alve_covers.htm

Here's the way

Here is my trick... When I bought my car they were not leaking. So when I did my first valve adjustment I did not change the gasket. When I popped of the cover the seal was secure to the valve cover. I put the valve cover back on without messing with the gasket. No leaks. I have done 8 or 10 adjustments since then. Same process. Same original gasket. Still not a drop.

I did think about keeping the old ones in there. It's too late for that now.

Some good tips here. I'll try to re-seat it tomorrow.

A THIN smear of RTV on the gasket to bond it to the valve cover will ususally solve any leaks from that spot.

And, the gasket will last a very long time like that - several oil changes. The bad news is that if you pull the gasket, you have to scrape all (and I do mean ALL) the rtv off the valve cover before putting in the new gasket. Not that big a deal.

Zach

I can't take credit here, but I did this one:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/9...alve_covers.htm

I still use Hondabond/Yamabond to glue the gasket to the valve cover, then use Curt's grease idea to seal the mounting surface. No leaks so far, even after track use.

Next I'll spring for some of the silicone versions from Mark (914Rubber)

A couple of tips:

1 - Some, but not all, valve covers have tabs on the inside that keep the gasket from "squirting" out of place (to the inside where you cant see it).
This pics shows them:


If you dont have these, someone can weld some on.

2 - I have used this method many times and you should never need to replace them again:
Using Blue RTV, glue the cork gaskets into the cover side leaving the head side dry, wait an hour and install them on the car with the mating surface CLEAN. Wait for them to dry.
Remove them, and put a thin coat of the same silicone on the side of the gasket that mates to the head and wait for it it tack up.
Coat the head mating surface on the head with oil and install the cover.
Now next time you remove the cover it should come right off with a very smooth mating surface. If you did this right, the gaskets will last for a very long time.

As you guessed it, the gasket was all crooked on the lower edge. I put it back on with some gasket sealant. We'll see if she holds.

Great advice, subscribed to thread