Itinerant Air-Cooled

perhaps distortion upon removal when such pesky adhesives are overly adhesive?
just throwing it out there...
never had issues myself

airkooledchris wrote:

Amskeptic wrote: pesky valve cover leaks from distorted valve covers that only get distorted from people using overly aggressive adhesives to stop leaks

how would an adhesive cause the valve covers to distort? you mean the cork gaskets or the covers themselves?

Imagine that you have some nasty adhesive hanging on. You pry the valve cover away from the head, and the metal actually bends at the other end of the valve cover. Ethan can vouch for it. We had to use a hammer and a socket to restore the proper flatness of the gasket contact surface to the lip. It was bowed. We stopped one gasket leak immediately with just hammering the very most outer lip of the cover to make the flat surface a true flat. Unbelievable.
Colin

lilpig88 wrote:perhaps distortion upon removal when such pesky adhesives are overly adhesive?
just throwing it out there...
never had issues myself

There is a difference between "adhesive" and "sealant". Sealant is OK. Adhesive makes life miserable.

Permatex Aviation is a sealant.
Permatex Indian Head Shellac is a mild adhesive, recommended for valve cover gasket-to-valve cover.
3M weatherstrip adhesive is an Adhesive!
RTV is a mess of a semi-adhesive sealant until it is saturated, then it looses all adherence.
Colin
( . . . and Chloe is acting all high head temps? what high head temps?)

that's some serious adhesive to be bending the metal when pulling it away from the head.

thanks for the reminder on why I even own Indian Head Shellac. it's been in the garage for a good year now, but I couldn't even remember why I picked it up anymore. :P

I had been using blue hylomar for years now, but it's starting to go bad, where it starts peeling up like a booger if you don't squeeze out a bunch and get some fresh stuff from deeper in the tube.

Amskeptic wrote:

There is a difference between "adhesive" and "sealant". Sealant is OK. Adhesive makes like miserable.

Bingo!

What is the best combination of sealant (easily removable) and adhesive (keep cover gaskets from migrating)?
Indian Head?

Colin showed me Indian Head Shellac, for the gasket to valve cover side, and heavy grease for the gasket to head side. No more leaks, and a breeze to remove. Besides, I like the name. Guess no one is complaining...yet.

Jivermo wrote:Colin showed me Indian Head Shellac, for the gasket to valve cover side, and heavy grease for the gasket to head side. No more leaks, and a breeze to remove. Besides, I like the name. Guess no one is complaining...yet.

Does this allow you to reuse valve cover gaskets?

asiab3 wrote:

Jivermo wrote:Colin showed me Indian Head Shellac, for the gasket to valve cover side, and heavy grease for the gasket to head side. No more leaks, and a breeze to remove. Besides, I like the name. Guess no one is complaining...yet.

Does this allow you to reuse valve cover gaskets?

As long as they don't shrink and threaten to pull inside the valve cover, you can reuse valve cover gaskets almost indefinitely. Chloe has been through four valve adjustments in the past 9,000 miles (since November canyabelieveit??) with the same valve cover gaskets.
Colin

Well, the Maestro has answered already, but I'll tag on that it is now easy to r & r the covers, and reuse the cork. Prior to his instruction, I would always slather both sides up with good ol' Permatex, that my hands and fingernails would wear for the next month, and which guaranteed that I would not get a second use of cork.

I must be incredibly lucky. I've never used any sealers, grease or anything else when installing valve cover gaskets. I certainly make sure the bails are tight. I only use good cork gaskets as well. Now, the oil strainer covers, that's an entirely different subject..

Colin,

You travel posts, pictures and story telling keeps me coming back. The best part of this website for me. My only "mild" critique is you don't always answer a question in these posts or follow up on a condition that you're struggling with. Example, you mentioned clutch chatter in your bus but never commented on the dealio with it?

What's up with the head temps BTW?

wcfvw69 wrote:I must be incredibly lucky. I've never used any sealers, grease or anything else when installing valve cover gaskets. I certainly make sure the bails are tight. I only use good cork gaskets as well. Now, the oil strainer covers, that's an entirely different subject..

Colin,

You travel posts, pictures and story telling keeps me coming back. The best part of this website for me. My only "mild" critique is you don't always answer a question in these posts or follow up on a condition that you're struggling with. Example, you mentioned clutch chatter in your bus but never commented on the dealio with it?

What's up with the head temps BTW?

I don't want to get lost in technical discussions here in the Itinerary Forums. I should/shall update these mechanical conundrums like the chattering clutch that behaves when cold and is a pill when warm. I can't do a thing about it right now so no update possible. I have a marathon of appointments that I must dispatch and a pile of inbox questions that I must somehow answer as well. I am now in deep West Lafayette IN, 169 miles and a full day appointment since my post here this morning. By the day after tomorrow, I will have executed a total of forty hours of appointments, traveled through three states, and battled Chicago traffic to Grayslake IL another 180 miles. I hope to catch up here on June 8.
Colin

Curil T is a nice sealant...just sayin.

Boxcar wrote:Curil T is a nice sealant...just sayin.

We had another annoying valve cover leak today. The instant that a gasket slips out of position, it expands in the presence of oil and buckles. We Indian Head Shellac'd the heck out of it in the valve cover and it seems to be behaving. Be careful with these new uber-skinny cork gaskets, they are inadequate. We have to adhere them to the valve covers.
Colin