Old valve cover gaskets.. Yuk!

[TypeRboy]

Well I had my first break down.. Developed a massive oil leak at the back of my valve cover gasket. I didn't notice that it was a sandwich affair, with metal in the middle and cork on each side... Not the best design from what I can see.

The cork gasket is very thin, and it shrank away from the metal part of the sandwich in the few short miles I have used the car, leaving a big hole.. Lot's of oil everywhere.. I don't like using silicone on gaskets, but in this case I have to make an exception.

Just to make things more aggravating, after washing the motor down to get fid of the oil, my charge light will not go off.. Just gotta love those british cars..

 

[aeronca65t]

re: emergency valve-cover gaskets: one word......"pizzabox" (that's one word, right?)

 

[Dave Thielke]

TypeRboy
While fixing the gasket, check the valve cover for flatness, we had a few problems with warping when they were overtightened.
The piza box sounds like a good stop gap.
Are we having fun yet?
Dave T

 

[TypeRboy]

Ha ha.. love the pizza box idea.. guess it has to be a new one.. The cover is very flat, I checked it again on a piece of glass.. The problem is solved now with the addition of the silicone.. I use the RTV motorcycle stuff.. Besides being grey and therefore invisible, it is the best stuff they make..

The charge light was a knocked off wire on the generator from my cleaning efforts..