After doing a valve adjustment on my "loaner" 2.0, I installed the valve covers with brand new cork gaskets. Fired the car up last night and the passanger side cover leaks like someone opened a faucet. Is there a sure fire method to insure the gasket does it's job???

Could my cover be tweaked?

I always seem to have the same problem w/ the passenger side. In my case the gasket slips off the cover and into the head. I started gluing the gasket to the valve cover w/ 3M yellow weather-stripping adhesive and that solved the problem.

Mark

73 2.0

I assume that they could warp like the 356 valve covers.
When that happens they should be replaced or they will leak like crazy

To tell for sure put the cover on with no gasket and if it rocks from side to side then replace it.

Yep.. a couple of VERY small dabs on the inside of the cover will help keep your gaskets in place.

I saw a set of valve covers with about 6 small tabs tack-welded on the inside to hold the gasket in place. I thought that was a nice trick.

-Rusty

It's a conspiracy! "THEY" are actually making our left side gaskets thinner to save money and make us buy more Oil! - Those Bastards!

-Just kidding -

I have rolled up pieces of tar paper and put two on each side, just under the clip and against the cover. It makes the cover tighter. Well, It worked once. Ask me after the next valve adjustment.

-Mike D.

You may want to be carfull with making wedges, the valve cover retainer springs "click" over locks to keep the springs over the valve covers. If your valve covers arnt warped you're spring may be weak. However, normally its just a matter of keeping the valve covers in the track around the edge

Are silicon gaskets available like they have for the 911's?

Even if they are, they won't do squat if they wind up inside the rocker box. Chances are, this is what has happened. Go take a look, Mike!

--DD

PS--you gonna be at the "do" on Thursday? Want your $$ there?

Hey Dave...

Yep...I'll bet there Thursday night.....someone has to give Jereon a bad time

Yes, there is a "rubber" gasket available. Check your local Foreign Auto Pats Store. (FAPS) Hah!

Hey Zeke,

No luck at my local VW repair place.........I've gone there to get the cork gaskets and he is out entirely or only has one in stock.....no matter what I ask for, he never has it, or only has half of what I need to get the job done.

How this guy stays in business is beyond me...he never has anything Type IV in stock and if he cannot find it in his Empi book forget about it.

Thanks,I'll start seaching on the 'net for this type gasket

The all-rubber ones don't work that well, from what I have heard. I've always used the rubber-and-cork ones, and they work fine as long as they stay in the cover and the cover is not warped.

I will say it again--pop the cover off and look before you go spending more money on stuff you don't need!

--DD

The guys at my local air cooled VW shop recommended Gasgacinch for gluing the cork gasket to the cover. Looks like this:

http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?P...?ProductID=1074

It's worked great for me - no leaks.

Glue the gasket to the cover Mikey. After you get the bail clip on.. make sure to pull the cover back down. When flipping the clip back up it send the cover too high on the head. You must physically pull it back down.

Also:

Make sure that all of your hoses are connected to the air cleaner for the breathers.

B

This is a trick that Mr. Raby told me for this problem...

Use ultra grey RTV and put a THIN coat on both sides of the cork gaskets and let it hang dry for 20min, it will be tacky at this point...then set it in the cover and when you put the cover back on make sure the VW symbol on the cover is UPSIDE DOWN ... this places the tab on the cover near the bottom of the head and keeps the cover from riding up like Brad described earlier...

I have used this method for about 1.5yrs now on three different engines and havent had a leak since...plus if you are careful when removing the covers for the next valve adjustment you can reuse the gaskets...

HTH,

Tony

Tony is dead on.

I run the VW logo upside down and didnt even think about it until he said something (I went outside and looked on a car that I just adusted valves on) I still grab them and move them around to make sure they are centered.

I'm not sure that I like the idea of goop on both sides. I dont want to clean the heads if any of it sticks to it.

B

great.....I went out of my way to ensure that I mounted them with the VW logo right-side up (crawled out from under the car, hit my head and looked for one of my motors with a valve cover still on it, LOL)

2 tricks I have been using for the last 5 or 6 years...
1) I too use the ultra grey.. nothing else... I only use it on the the cover side.. allow it to set before installation.
2) I only use the napa brand gasket.. I don't know who makes it for them.. but this gasket is thicker than the others (even than the mail order ones I have gotten in the past).. I've been using the napa brand for years now. I used to run an accusump and would always blow a gasket after a .. ummm... situation...

(spin which killed the motor and dumped 3qts, extra into my 10+quart system)..

I even went to the bolt on aluminum covers (which are not necessary)... honest.. just go with the ultra grey and napa gaskets..

brant

b

Brant,

Do the NAPA valve covers gaskets have rubber in the cork ?? I grab whatever is on my shelf. I really dont have a valve cover gasket issue and I reuse them 3-4 times.

B

I tried the rubber ones my first time adjusting the valves. I thought I did something wrong they leaked so bad! Got the cork ones, used the ultra grey, turned the VW logo upside down... still leaks. Not as bad but still a few drops on the floor. Haven't tried pulling the covers down. Gonna have to do that on the next adjustment.
bruce

I use Indian Gasket Compound to stick my cork gasket onto the valve cover.

Then I smear a light coating of grease on the exposed side of the gasket.

No problems with this method for over 15 years.

brad,

the napa ones are just cork..
only difference really is that they are a smidge thicker...

I had tried tightening the bales too...
but really do like the napa gaskets now..

usually I have no problem.. unless I'm pumping too much extra oil into the motor...
we were also getting high rpm pressure at one time.. but seem to have licked that..
b

How did you solve the high rpm pressure in the valve covers?

I am having that problem with mine.
Ed

Has anybody tried that PP techical artical "914 valve cover modification" where you spot weld a 1/4" strip of sheet metal on the inside of the valve cover to help support the gasket all the way around? Or would there be more of a chance of warping the cover when welding? Just want to throw around some other ideas.

Ralph

74 2.0

I welded a strip around the inside of mine. I welded it around the entire perimeter, making a chanel for the gasket to sit in. This reduced sepage alot. I think the extra lip helps to keep oil from entering between the gasket face and head surface. It was definitely a step in the right direction in my opinion.

Ed

Like this:

HPH sells these already done. We use them on all the race engines that see 8k+ rpm.

Here is a better shot. Pretty easy to install.

Oh.. HPH uses new covers to make these up.

B

I like that. By welding the strips up high it reduces warpage, maybe actually introduces a slight curvature which increases the pressure on the gasket at the middle. When the bale is moved into place it would tend to flatten out any curvature.
In additon to adding the inner support for the gasket, I recurve my bales to add more pressure.

I use the aluminum covers too, but the gasket surface must be milled flat, and the flat on the outer surface where the bolt goes must be milled because it is on the wrong angle for a good seal. Not worth the trouble for most people.