Valve cover gasket (Tips, tricks, advice) ?

[fick1wp]

I know, I know. Probably thousands of threads on these, most of them are outdated though.

I'm replacing my Valve Cover Gasket, 2nd time, Yay on my 2006 E90 320i

Anyone have any tips or tricks to seal this bad boy to last me for a while. For one, I,ve cleaned the surface good and proper, looks like new, all grease, oil and previous sealer removed.

Any advice on a good sealer, i've got Victor Reinz, REINZOSEAL sealing compound.

Do i need to put it on thick or apply liberally? All over or focus on kinks and corners.

Apologies for all the questions, just wanna seal this bad boy proper this time.

FYI, i recently replaced my PCV and pipes which i think was creating uneven pressure which possibly caused the leaks, hope that fix, fixes the leaks too.

 

[zippy320]

I have personally never used any gasket sealer or maker on my cars valve covers , I just made sure the surfaces are clean , fitted the new gasket and torqued the bolts to the correct setting This is on my W124 and E30 . And I have never had a leak.

I did notice that BMW used some sealer on those two rubber things on the side once . When they changed the gasket again , they didn't use any sealer . I think some people use the sealer when the rubber gets hard or shrinks which in that case you should replace the gasket with a new gasket set.

I dont think there is a need for it unless the mating surfaces are warped or the rubbers have shrunk and are now hard. But if I had to use it I would use victor reinz . Maybe apply a little liberally around the mating surface , focus on where you see it leak .

I still feel that there isn't a need for gasket sealer .

 

[tyu333]

Please stay very far away from sealants.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gizmo]

If your tappet cover is warped it won't matter what you use as in a few months the new seal will be leaking anyway. You need to replace the cover, not just it's gasket. It is rather common that these plastic tappet covers warp, I have replaced a couple on customers cars before.

 

[fick1wp]

Thanks for all the replies folks,

Much appreciated.

Any idea how much a tappet/valve cover goes for. Guess i have to contact the stealers :skit:

 

[JayDrft]

Hi Fick,

As the other guys mentioned - sealant is not necessary...

As stated - surfaces should be clean and smooth. Over and above the correct torques being applied - part of the secret is the way you tighten the cover up.

You have to criss-cross or zig-zag your way through the bolts while tightening. Get all the bolts finger tight, and slowly start nipping them tighter until your final tightening sequence, takes a bit of time - but very rewarding in the end.

Hope it helps.

 

[fick1wp]

All prepped and ready to go. Previously was a bit of a rush job and i didn't remove the wiring harness that runs across the engine so i worked underneath it, was a pain in the ass. This time round i have more time so i made sure i had enough space to work. Way more enjoyable doing it this way too.

One is before clean and other is after clean