New and leaky valve cover gasket tip.

[Tim Donahoe]

I had my engine out recently for various reasons; and while it as out, I thought it would be easier to adjust the valves. But when I installed my new silicone valve cover gaskets, the left side leaked.

I took the leaky one out and installed a good cork gasket. It leaked also, in the same area--bottom front.

So, today I learned a nice little trick from an old VW mechanic. Install as usual, but tap the ends of the valve cover to seat the gasket. Just a few taps, fore and aft. It actually works.

The above assumes you have good cork/rubber gaskets; nice, tight bales; and OEM valve covers. A little Gascacinch to the bottom half of the valve cover before placing the gasket is also a good idea.

Tim
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Richard O'Brien

[vwoldbug]

Good tip .

[Zundfolge1432]

I like Gaskacinch it cleans up easy.

[Knusprige Flicken]

After cleaning both the head and the valve cover, I use a thin coat of silicone Permatex to cement the cork gasket to the valve cover, then a thin coat of grease to the side of the gasket that goes against the head. When I put the valve cover on, I wiggle it around to seat it, then hook the bail on, then push it around alittle to center it up. No leaks. If you're having leaks on one particular spot of the valve cover, check for gunk or trash on the head, or a twisted /bent valve cover. The grease prevents leaks and lets you reuse the same gasket for numerous valve adjustments, just wipe it off and apply fresh grease each time

[cletus_zuber]

Thank you Tim for the tip.

I was going to post my way of doing it but that is not the point of your post.

An experienced owner like you posting a new idea or learned thing is more valuable than a "I do it like this" post.

no offense flicken, i do it (sort of) like you
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1972 1302
HPMX 40's & 019

[Knusprige Flicken]

No offense taken, and no offense intended. Just trying to give something back to a group that had been an invaluable resource to me🙂

[Tim Donahoe]

Cletus, I don't mind any additional input. My only reason for the post was to show one way of dealing with a simple repair when that repair was not going as planned.

Over the years, I've adjusted valves on many of my bugs, buses, a couple of Karmann Ghias, and I think a Type 4 (I don't remember the Type 4 as having non-adjustable valves). However, I'd never had the kind of leak that I just encountered. The gaskets were well fitted, too; but I still got a leak. So, the tip I got from Al Kraut worked, and I thought it was a good idea.

If anyone else has had similar problems with new, good cork gaskets leaking on you, please feel free to add your expertise to this thread.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[67vetteal]

While we are on the Topic of Gasket Fitting etc. I use GE pure silicone from Lowes, Home Depot for my engine sealing along with the proper gaskets. Works fine and a cartridge lasts a looooooong time if sealed properly. Al W.

[wcfvw69]

For decades I never did anything but install new cork gaskets on the valve covers. When I put the valve cover up to the head, I'd slide it back and forth to center the cover and then pull that bale up to secure it.

A year or two ago, I pulled up to a friends house trailing oil. The cork valve cover gasket had shrunk up and a leak developed. When I pulled the valve cover off, the bottom portion of the valve cover gasket had raised up. I'd never seen that before even though I was using the best cork gaskets. In the picture below, you can see the entire gasket had shrunk. When it was new, it fit the cover tightly all the way around.

Now, I glue the gasket to the valve cover with Indian Shellac so it won't do that again. Many others have experienced this lately as well.
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[Tim Donahoe]

Bill, is that what's going on? They're getting chincy with us in the manufacturing process?

Today, I had several sets of valve cover gaskets--about ten sets, actually. Two sets were from an old 10-paxk of gaskets from MidAmerica. The PO gave them to me when I bought his bug. They were very black and there seemed to be very little cork in them, so I bought some down at Wolfgang International here in town. The Wolfgang gaskets looked a lot more like I had remembered buying years ago: plenty of cork, although maybe not as much as in the past.

However, even these didn't seem to fill up the interior edges of the valve cover, at least not as completely as I remembered from the last time I owned an acvw (18 years before). But my second attempt today was using these better gaskets (I threw the MidAmerica ones in the trash). And the amount of oil leaking was very surprising. Not a lot, but more than I would wish for if taking the car on a 2-hour freeway run to a VW show, like the McCloud event at the end of September.

In the future, I'm going to use the Gascacinch on the valve cover side, but I'll also grease the other side of the gasket. That sounds like a good idea. Then, if I still get a leak, I'll tap on the ends to center the gasket (it worked today with no grease, anyway).

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[heimlich]

I had problems with one of mine. I tried sealant, new gaskets, etc but it continued to leak. This was on a set of new heads too. So finally, I put another valve cover on it. It stopped leaking.

I always like to oil my gaskets when putting them on. Just like you do when putting a new filter on. Take a little bit of oil and rub it around the edges.
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[wcfvw69]

[Zundfolge1432]

The off road guys used to weld a couple of small tabs onto the cover helps hold gasket. Might be a good time to revisit how this was done. Once upon a time Fel Pro made a semi permanent rubberized gasket that worked well enough, don't know if still available. You'll remember 67 rust avenger nearly toasted an engine because of leaky gasket. The aftermarket part situation is getting ridiculous.

[67rustavenger]

[wcfvw69]

I think this picture illustrates the importance of gluing the gasket to the cover now.

67- it would be a nice case study if you did get another valve cover gasket and glue it to the cover. Then pull it off in 1-2k miles and see how it looks.
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Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc

Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
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[Zundfolge1432]

Pic of modified valve covers was done back around 1970 and can be found in a "how to off-road VWs " by dan hibbert I think. It was actually two tabs instead of one. Seems like a problem that has been around a while, is it gasket or cover causing this? If force is equal all around seal how can it ride up?

[busman78]

That valve cover gasket looks to be an example of a crankcase desperate for air, not saying your engine sucks, but your engine is sucking, your engine is creating a lot of negative crankcase pressure, can't breath, easiest gasket to suck past is the valve cover, kind of like those engines with too much positive crankcase pressure out the valve cover or main crank seal. Not sure if sealant would help, a crankcase breather would be a better option.

All Type 4 valve covers came with tabs on the valve cover. Seem to recall that there was some T1 or T3 covers for a short period of time had the tabs.

[wcfvw69]

[ROCKOROD71]

Could be as simple as that baffle between the case and gen stand be installed incorrectly, or a clog/kink in the breather hose. I have seen some lesser quality gaskets bow up like shown in Bill's pic, but never as bad as that one with the tab, that is crazy. I have used a dab of permatex to set the bowed part back along the bottom and reused the gasket again, dozens of times, before replacing it. Engine in my bug has about 20k on it since being built, no leas from the Valve covers, and they've been off about 10 times, been re-using the same cork gaskets the whole time.
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1971 STD BEETLE- DD-1st car, 1st love. keepin' it stock! 1600DP, Solex 34-3 Mexi Bosch SVDA Dist NOW w/POINTS
1977 WESTY "KrustyKamper" 2L FI

[mondshine]

I have two sets of valve covers for my Thing so I can have a set clean and ready to go on when I adjust the valves.
I made a plywood form to position the gaskets while they are glued to the valve covers with Gasgacinch.

In the last photo, you can see the two valve covers lightly clamped in a vise ready for the next morning.