Valve cover gasket leaks/weeps

[dclowd99011]

Reviving a dead thread because I really want to solve this issue for mine. How did that nitrile gasket hold up after all?

[digger]

i swapped it out was too squishy, it needs the metal inserts similar to e36 to provide a certain crush yet still be able to torque the bolts/nuts

i'm just using OE gasket with aviation cement (non hardening) and the little plugs are RTV'd

[It's Soda Not Pop]

Yeah I've had this same issue for years. No matter what brand I run it leaks. I used 4 different VC as well.

[Digitalwave]

Subscribing because I've never been able to stop my VC from leaking either. I've tried everything.

[AWDBOB]

My not so secret successful concoction has been a dab of gray RTV around the rocker shaft end plugs and a victor reinz gasket. I have replaced so many elring gaskets that just don't seal at all. So far so good since I switched to the VR valve cover gaskets.

[zaq123]

i swapped it out was too squishy, it needs the metal inserts similar to e36 to provide a certain crush yet still be able to torque the bolts/nuts

i'm just using OE gasket with aviation cement (non hardening) and the little plugs are RTV'd

how was it holding up. I have brand new valve cover which is NLA at this point and it's warped ever so slightly. I agree with FF that rocker shaft retainer clip is somewhat on the way and gaskets just too thin once torqued to seal properly. Wonder if double gasketing with zero rtv and maybe some Curil T2 between them will do the trick. I just hate RTV.


Just to add, the warp is not super bad. I took the shaft key out and snugged the cover against the head without a gasket. The worst section is on IN side, gap between cyl1 and cyl 3 cover stud - 0.11mm and EX side between cyl 4 and cyl 6 cover stud - 0.06mm (where it gets wet, above spark plug #5 cyl). Curil T2 max gap is 0.2mm so it should cover that. I just wondering if single gasket is too thin and its squish doesn't cover the height of the shaft lock sticking out and those warped areas at the same time.

[digger]

how was it holding up. I have brand new valve cover which is NLA at this point and it's warped ever so slightly. I agree with FF that rocker shaft retainer clip is somewhat on the way and gaskets just too thin once torqued to seal properly. Wonder if double gasketing with zero rtv and maybe some Curil T2 between them will do the trick. I just hate RTV.


Just to add, the warp is not super bad. I took the shaft key out and snugged the cover against the head without a gasket. The worst section is on IN side, gap between cyl1 and cyl 3 cover stud - 0.11mm and EX side between cyl 4 and cyl 6 cover stud - 0.06mm (where it gets wet, above spark plug #5 cyl). Curil T2 max gap is 0.2mm so it should cover that. I just wondering if single gasket is too thin and its squish doesn't cover the height of the shaft lock sticking out and those warped areas at the same time.

i haven't had any issues since i last replaced the VC gasket (elring) and new bungs and used the non hardening aviation cement on gasket and your RTV for the bungs after proper clean and degrease. the trick is to re-torque it multiple times after heat cycling as the gasket takes a permanent set after heat cycling so you lose clamp over time. i retorque it after 1 cycle, 1 week and 1 month (assuming driven afew times weekly) , eventually retorquing will stabilize and just check when doing an oil change. Obviously the shaft locking pieces must not be causing a hangup

[zaq123]

i haven't had any issues since i last replaced the VC gasket (elring) and new bungs and used the non hardening aviation cement on gasket and your RTV for the bungs after proper clean and degrease. the trick is to re-torque it multiple times after heat cycling as the gasket takes a permanent set after heat cycling so you lose clamp over time. i retorque it after 1 cycle, 1 week and 1 month (assuming driven afew times weekly) , eventually retorquing will stabilize and just check when doing an oil change. Obviously the shaft locking pieces must not be causing a hangup

what torque do you set on those cover bolts ?

[digger]

what torque do you set on those cover bolts ?

The BMW spec is 10Nm (do not use the 9-11 lb-ft often stated) and make sure the studs are correct length screwed in sufficiently so there is adequate thread engagement