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Aluminum vs Original Valve cover

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kodanja

kodanja

Obi Wan
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I'm having problems keeping the rear of my aluminum valve cover from leaking oil, I have try over and over to seal it.
I tried cork and byutle gaskets...
It will stayed sealed for about 100 or so miles the start to leak again. Should I just go back to the original Steel cover.

or does anyone have a better method, or adhesive?


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Are you sure that it's the gasket? I ask because I chased a gasket leak over and over that turned out to be the bolts going through the rear engine lift bracket. Copper gaskets are now on those and no more leaks.

I used to have a problem with the exact same cover as you when I first got it. I later sanded the sealing surface with a block and 80 grit paper, after which I applied a coat of Indian Head Red Shellac and let it tack up for a few minutes.
I then placed the gasket on and weighed it down even to allow it to stay in place and be sealed equally all around.

After setting up for two days, the gasket was in place perfectly and I have gad no leaks in 2,000 miles, except for the bolts that I mentioned above.
 
My alloy valve cover would leak because the hold down nuts
would get loose after driving it for about one hour.
I was afraid to tighten them up and crack the valve cover.
I put lock tight on the nuts and that helped.

Then I took the car in for a valve adjustment. They were not afraid to really tighten them buggers up. Now no leak and no loose nuts (except me).
 
Ill try the sanding trick 1st

I'm pretty sure it's not the lift bracket bolts or the cover bolts.
Seems like it comes out the rear of the seal...Hmmmmm

I'll also try the Indian Head shellac..

What do you prefer cork or rubber gaskets with an aluminum cover?
 
The cork is working fine for me. Erik replaced it again after I did, when he adjusted the valves this spring and it's been great so far. I'm sure that he used cork.

We found that leak at the bracket bolts by accident when we were chasing down the valve cover again in error. With the battery out it was much easier to find exactly where it was coming from.
 
Another possibility of leaks with the cast aluminum valve covers, and this was true with mine, is that they aren't always level on the sealing surface. Sometimes there is a slight 'twist' front to rear and it results in uneven pressure on the gasket. Its not just common on Triumph cast aluminum valve covers either. I was going to plane mine flat and have a groove cut into it so I could use an o-ring style gasket. With the aluminum cover, the gasket can be a paint to keep lined up. Especially if you don't take the time to cement it to the valve cover and clothespin the gasket in place while the cement dries.
 
See what I mean about it never ending with these cars???

Let's see if I got this straight:

1. Buy new aluminum valve cover & gasket - $170.00 plus tax & shipping. (Assuming that you have clamps, clothes pins and gasket shellac)

2. Install, admire for about 300 miles and discover oil leaks or excessive consumption now occurs. Use up all extra V/C gaskets trying to get them aligned properly. Order more gaskets at $2.95 each, plus that infernal shipping cost.

3. Take old cover to platers to be rechromed to replace leaky oil consuming new aluminum valve cover. Another $125.00 plus tax and another $2.95 gasket and extra nyloc nuts for another $6.00 plus the ever present shipping.

4. Spend $200 for a separator from Richard Good and pull the oil pan to have a bung welded in to reroute oil from non baffled $170 valve cover back to crankcase. Parts and labor will be another $150 for that plus the shipping to get several new oil pan gaskets in because you just know that they are gonna leak!!!

OR

5. Pay a machine shop to level the new "twisted" aluminum cover on a plainer and CNC in a groove to allow a new style seal to be installed (which has yet to be found). That could cost another $200.00 unless you are holding machine shop owners wife and daughter hostage, in which case you may not have to pay that stupid shipping.

Or you could invest in or buy a machine shop so that we could all ask you to do work for us for free to fix something that should be trouble free and easy to install as you bought it!!!!!!!

That will only be $500K to $2.5M, just to fix an oil leak and look good doing it. It never ends..........
 
Or you could let it leak like it was designed to do and just wipe the excess oil off the block once a week.

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Are you kidding me!!! Wipe it clean??? Have you seen the cost of Bounty paper towels these days???
 
Harry_Ward said:
Or you could let it leak like it was designed to do and just wipe the excess oil off the block once a week.
Click to expand...

Just what I was thinking, but you beat me to it!

It's an old British Sports Car, fer Crissakes!
 
Well, back when I was a teen and drove a 1955 Jaguar Mark VII 3.5 liter Grand Saloon ...

My dad told me it's a lot cheaper (and easier) to wipe the drips and add some oil, than to replace the valve cover and gaskets. I think he'd approve of Harry's suggestion.

Tom
Oh to have that Mark VII again.
 
Tom ,that's the first logical suggestion anyone has made up to this point.

I'm sure that Kodanja is really glad he posted this one...
 
Now we can add line item #6 to the previously mentioned cost breakdown.

Red shop towels: $10.50.

Clean engine to take pictures of: Priceless
 
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