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Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket
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Hoody
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:18 am    Post subject: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

What's the consensus on the best brand of valve cover gasket? The type 4 store only sells Elring. Are the Victor Reinz ones better? Is there a preference among the two?
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SGKent Premium Member
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:33 am    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Bob - I've used both and had both leak. The issue is how old they are I think. The older they are the harder they get so they don' t flex as much to conform to differences in distance between the head and cover. I can squeeze some with my finger and feel the give while others are as hard as a rock - and more prone to leak. below is a post from 2011 about what you are asking.

SGKent wrote:
I ordered some VC gaskets from SAB in Riverside based on Colin's recomendation. In the meantime we stopped by Bugformance on the way home and picked up some T4 valve cover gaskets so I can get it taken care of this weekend. They were Elring also but they were much lighter in color - more cork in them.

me, "Gee, these sure look lighter in color. Elring?"

Bugformace "Yes. - did you have some Elring that were darker by just a little?"

me, "Yes....

Bugformance, "We got some of those too. Looked the same in every other way but too much rubber in them so they leaked. Had lots of leaks for about a week until we figured out it was a bad batch. Had to pull them off the shelf so many came back."

So - there you have it. These are going back to the east coast where they came from.

edit: I just pulled my stash down. These are maybe 1 month old. The color is barely different (a tiny bit darker in spots with more rubber) but most of them are as hard a rock in spots where as the Elring I just got locally are soft and pliable evenly. The gaskets never sealed up. So if you buy some T4 valve cover gaskets from a place back east we all buy from make sure they are soft and not hard like a rock or you will think your push rod tubes are leaking too.

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Hoody
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:42 am    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Thanks Steve! Do you know if there are production dates listed on the packaging or is it just a roll of the dice?
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tootype2crazy
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:20 am    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Gasgacinch. Clean all surfaces prodigiously, apply Gasgacinch to all 4 sealing surfaces and wait 5 minutes. Stick the gasket in the valve cover surface and press onto the head and apply the bail. It will not leak. Upon opening up the valve cover again simply wipe it off with lacquer thinner. I've done hundreds of cars at the shop this way, trust me, it works.

http://www.amazon.com/Gasgacinch-440-Gasket-Sealer-Dressing/dp/B0012TTDN8
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:57 am    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Hoody wrote:
Thanks Steve! Do you know if there are production dates listed on the packaging or is it just a roll of the dice?


roll the dice. I have some that were thick and some thin from the same vendor and manufacturer. As for sealers - when the actual gasket is hard and thin - nothing works unless it is slopped on. And that is a mess to clean up each time. In 400,000 miles on my 1971 I never had a valve cover gasket leak. In 5,000 miles on my 1977 I have run into this several times. Also have to make sure the covers are not warped. Lay them on the head with no gasket and see if they rock. The more they rock the more flexible gasket you will need.

I don't know if he still recommends them but here is where he was getting his, and I had good luck too. SAB in Riverside CA http://saveabug.net/
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Last edited by SGKent on Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:54 am; edited 1 time in total
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Tcash
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:35 am    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

http://shop.914rubber.com/914-High-Temp-Silicone-Valve-Cover-Gaskets-set-of-2-914HTVC2.htm
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:57 am    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

I remember years ago seeing these silicone ones. But I have never heard of anyone who actually uses them. Maybe I need to a search on a 914 board or the type4rum?
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Rubber Duck
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

These guys have a whole bunch of them for all the different uses in a beetle and bus. All except the one I'm really looking for, which is the rectangular breather box one. For some reason, I seem to get an oily film on the engine, and I attribute it to this one not being tight. Then again, it also doubles as my oil filler opening and I may have spilt some oil.

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/SearchResults.cfm

I've been very lucky with the valve covers on my bus. Never had them leak before and I'm using the same cheapo cip seals for a couple of years now. A

s for the wire bails, I can slide mine off and one using finger strength alone, so they can't be all that tight. They've just never leaked. Always made me wonder if oil never really enters that area...after all, whenever I adjust valves, the area is dry. I wonder if maybe my engine is always low on oil. Rolling Eyes
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:23 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

i know it sounds dumb but make sure you have your valve covers the right way up , they will leak if wrong Rolling Eyes The little vw logo needs to be upside down to be correct . I did try the silicone ones , but put the cover on wrong way and had a horrendous leak , thank god I never drove more than a few miles Shocked Never tried them again , using Victor Reinz ones now .
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ac78
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 2:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Rubber Duck wrote:
These guys have a whole bunch of them for all the different uses in a beetle and bus. All except the one I'm really looking for, which is the rectangular breather box one. For some reason, I seem to get an oily film on the engine, and I attribute it to this one not being tight. Then again, it also doubles as my oil filler opening and I may have spilt some oil.

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/SearchResults.cfm

I've been very lucky with the valve covers on my bus. Never had them leak before and I'm using the same cheapo cip seals for a couple of years now. A

s for the wire bails, I can slide mine off and one using finger strength alone, so they can't be all that tight. They've just never leaked. Always made me wonder if oil never really enters that area...after all, whenever I adjust valves, the area is dry. I wonder if maybe my engine is always low on oil. Rolling Eyes



Rubber Duck- I'm curious to know how many miles you have on your engine and if your oil breather has the pin hole in top of the cap(like mine)? I was also getting oil on top of the engine/cap. After redoing the top end this summer with Mahle P&C kit, I no longer have the oily residue on top.

My fear is that your rings are failing and each stroke is producing blow back of a fine mist of oil through the pin hole as mine was. The inside of my intake manifold was really oily too.

Wipe off your cap and then check it again in about 30 days to see if you've got oil up there again.

This video is after I pulled the 3/4 head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJx3Z2mRuk


TCash- I can take this to a new thread if needed. I don't know how to move his quote though.
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 3:15 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

if you get actual oil out that small hole in the top of the breather the diaphragm in it is perforated and it is bad. If you have FI you will need to find a solution to replace it or your FI will never run right. In addition the vacuum getting into the case thru the torn diaphragm will pull in valve cover gaskets and create other issues. The valve is NLA. I think maybe there are 3 NOS ones left in the world and they are all accounted for.
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ac78
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Maybe I wrongly made a corolaration between an oily cap and bad rings. My experience was an oily cap and top of engine with old P&C kit. I have about 4,000 miles on the engine since July 15th and just checked the cap, no oil. Previously it would only take a few hundred miles to notice oil on the cap.

I'll start searching for the test procedure of the diaphragm to see if that is truly bad.

Edited- I forgot to mention that my other 78 had the same exact pin hole in the cap. Are you saying it's not supposed to be there?
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Yes the hole is supposed to be there. But if your seeing oil on top of the PCV valve cap the diaphragm inside has failed. I tried years ago to get this diaphragm reproduced as well as another critical diaphragm. The person who said they may have been able to make them wasn't able to. It's nothing more then a disc with a spot for the spring to sit. It's some type of rubber or silicone. I think Viton would be perfect for this application. Someone else tried to make molds and cast them but nothing ever came of that as far as I know. I have seen people "plumb" PCV valves from other cars into the hose that they said worked. It sure doesn't seem like a hard diaphragm to reproduce. It seems to me that the correct material and a perfectly round one that seals and moves up and down as it should is the challenge. Search PCV valve and you will see many discussions on this. Hope this helps.
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Tcash
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:11 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

The OP said he adds oil through the breather. So I'm thinking he has a screw on cap.
Tcash
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Best brand of type 4 valve cover gasket Reply with quote

Rubber Duck wrote:
Then again, it also doubles as my oil filler opening and I may have spilt some oil.


The function of the PVC valve on the Porsche and Type 4 car engines which it sounds like you have is different from the function of the crankcase ventilation valve on the bus engines. You need the correct system for your application.
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