I have been absolutely unable to stop valve cover leaks on my new build. I have gone through 3 sets of gaskets and cleaned and sealed but still have leaks.

I know 914 rubber made some high performance gaskets but could not find them.

Considering bolt on ones. Any suggestions for sealing or recommendations for new valve covers?

What type of gaskets are you using?

I would guess that your valve covers aren't flat.

Real Gaskets in Nashville, TN. They make the reusable ones in silicon.
Rick Maury

Standard Victor Rienz cork.

I only see what appear to be Type 1/2 gaskets listed under VW. Do you know whwre they are listed on thioer site?

Mike I did bolt on ones in my last build,the issue with them is the stain they put on the rocker stubs,I had a set of 8mm conversion ones they were HT and correct thread into the heads,much stronger and had no leaks without any sealer when covers torqued to 8ft/lbs.
The good thing about them is they retain the gasket better than stock steel ones,however I believe @markhenry had a fix for the steel ones.
I didn't want to fit these without the larger thread outer rocker studs as didn't want to risk failure.
Click to view attachment

I am pretty sure the LE-200 heads have the 8mm rocker arm bolts. Also have the tabs welded in to retain the gaskets.

Had no issues with old heads.

I tried a set of silicone gaskets and they didn't leak... they poured

Was very disappointed. Don't remember where I got them from.

The tabs may keep the gasket from sealing if they contact the head. You may have to bend them inwards a bit. Stock gaskets should work fine, silicone gaskets are snake oil.

Ordered some of the slightly thicker 914 Rubber ones in cork.

Tabs seem clear of head and I have ground them to insure a loose flat fit of the gasket. Still open to any ideas.

Read the same ,I used VR gaskets and really no issues,maybe Mike has another issue?.
I know the "six" silicone bead gaskets are better but that's a different set up.

I have a pair of red silicone gaskets I got from 914Rubber back when they did I a group buy that you can have for the cost of shipping. PM me if you want to try them

This isn't a complex system we're talking about here. If you've gone through 3 sets of gaskets and they all leak you can be pretty sure that it's not your gaskets.

Hey Mike, sorry to hear about your leaks.

See how the covers fit over the heads with no gaskets, with an eye/feel for whether or not the covers have some wiggle room, indicating no interference.

My own trick for leak proof sealing is to use 3M yellow gorilla snot to glue quality cork gaskets into the covers. I glue them in place and then clip them to a pair of old heads in the shop and prop them so the valve covers are beneath the heads, that way excess glue will run down into the covers and not the heads, making it easier to remove the covers without disturbing the gaskets from the heads the next day.

Hope that helps.

Mine are the same, cork gaskets glued into the covers. Also make sure you have good tension in your cover springs. It should be a very tight fit.

FWIW (probably not much) I tried welding tabs onto a pair of old valve covers and NEVER got it working right. I trimmed them, pushed them in, and they leaked worse than a set without the tabs. Not sure why, but maybe there was still some interference somewhere or maybe the welding distorted the shape of the covers. Do you have a set without the tabs you can try?

Good luck, Mike, I know it's frustrating

Hey Mike,

I agree w/Len, mine leaked until I glued them down to the valve cover.

The VR cork gaskets seem slightly thinner than the older cork gaskets. Try the 914 rubber ones if they are thicker.

I have some older cork ones. I'll send you a set if you want Mike

Mike good to hear that you have a set of our cork ones on the way.

Ours are actually a little thicker to take up a little more variation.

They should do the trick. The silicone ones we were selling worked great unless you were racking. The silicone was slippery enough that you could suck it in enough to get a leak the complaints were mostly from guys that were racing, but until we do a molded versions we stopped making them for the time being. The majority didn't have a problem but figured we would pull them as they could be improved.

If you've added extra tabs like I do make sure the new tabs don't sit too proud, or they can touch the head. That would cause a good leak.

My latest set VC's with tabs. Like Len said they have to be perfectly straight.

Will do this for sure. Definitely not your heads but it one of those things you have done 100s of times with no issues and then multiple epic fails!

I am sure there is some degree of operator error in this but having both sides leak every time seems like a statistical improbably. A drip from one ok sure but both sides were pouring! Should have the look of concern from my neighbors at the amount of smoke break in oil makes when pouring on headers!

Got the 914 Rubber ones coming and will see about the old set from Perry as a back up.

You don’t have a set of those available do you? My tabs are much longer than that and I am thinking that could be the issue.

My tabs look like this.

I am willing to admit operator error. But I had an older gasket that I checked and it dropped in. While my newer ones had to be pressed in at the tab areas. They could be lifting and not sealing at tabs.

Click to view attachment

This gasket has the ability to expand when compressed. My newer ones fit tightly with no gap at all between the tabs and valve cover. I am betting this is the problem.

Looking for all options so I will take you up on that. Will PM you address and let me know how much. No hurry here I am taking it slow and a few other items won’t be here until May 7th.

tabs are too tall. I also had this issue. just work then until the cover fits without a gasket, remove and install the gasket.. took me a couple years what my problem was..

Those aren't tabs, they're plates.
Look out for rocker arm interference.

Yea there was certainly some in the past. I have ground back those spots.

More than likely the tabs are hanging up on the heads, preventing the gasket from ever seating.
That's about the only way you'll have a steady leak.
I always wiggle the covers around to make sure that isn't the problem, as even without the tabs it happens easily.

Sent you a PM

I can tell from the pic that your tabs stick up too far and you are likely catching a tab on the head VC sealing surface. That will cause a good leak.

Take the cover and place a new gasket in, look at the factory tab and you'll see it's about 1mm short of the gasket thickness. You have to trim the tabs so they are no higher than the factory tab. Once that's done you should carefully inspect the cover sealing surface to be sure the tabs do not touch the head seal surface.

I tried a set of the Real Gaskets silicone gaskets and was very disappointed. As someone else mentioned, they leaked like a sieve.

The best gaskets I tried are the 914Rubber thicker cork ones.

Silicone gaskets for the 911 you have to use like only 5lbs torque or they squish out. New nyloc's every time are a must. Some guys like them, I don't.
On a T4 I bet the spring is too much pressure.

OK despite my pain this is turning out to be a goo thread. Now I have heard that there is an upside and a down side to the valve cover. I have always installed mine with the VW symbol upside down (I think). So is there really a best wat to orient the valve covers?

I'll admit, I haven't used the Real Gasket ones yet on my new 2270 rebuild, but they are a god send for my Lycoming aircraft engines my airplanes. Still going to try them when I quit doing 20 minute run valve checks.
Rick