Rocker Gaset Replacement Advice

[NewbridgeJob 0]

Hello all,

 

Discovered that my rocker cover gasket was the cause of an oil leak. Just received the gasket in the post today and i'm going to attempt to change it at the weekend.

 

Im no expert so was looking for any advice on doing this and anything i should look out for when changing it

 

Cheers!

[volksworld13 0]

engine ? 16v vr6 , 8v?

[NewbridgeJob 0]

ooops sorry mate

 

Its a 1993 16V

 

Cheers

[volksworld13 0]

the inlet manifold needs to come off, ignition leads out, and then undo the ring of 10mm nuts that fold the cam cover to the head.kinda difficult to explain, just start slow, and remember where all the nuts and bolts go

[mimjed 0]

as im doing this tomorrow, weather permitting....

 

i read that using silicone to help seal it is a good idea :scratch:

 

really? i wouldnt have thought it was the smartest thing to shove on it?

[eugopnosaj 0]

as im doing this tomorrow, weather permitting....

 

i read that using silicone to help seal it is a good idea :scratch:

 

really? i wouldnt have thought it was the smartest thing to shove on it?

 

I did mine when i replaced my head and no, i wouldnt suggest using silicone...i used grease to help create a seal before i put the new gasket on dunno if it helped but there's no leak, not that i had one before but as i was replacing the head and needed to remove the rocker cover i thought i should replace the gasket

[mimjed 0]

good stuff, im glad its not just me thats thinking it aint the brightest idea.

[NewbridgeJob 0]

Glad someone brought that up. Read on another thread that they'd put extra sealant in there aswell.. I'll avoid it aswell then.

 

I can imagine it might create a bit of a mess aswell.

[eugopnosaj 0]

Glad someone brought that up. Read on another thread that they'd put extra sealant in there aswell.. I'll avoid it aswell then.

 

I can imagine it might create a bit of a mess aswell.

 

Well the sealant will just peel from the metal, its not a very strong rubber and deteriorates easily, especially under stress and heat....you can get gasket paste which, in the absence of a proper moulded gasket you can use this stuff but as you've got one it seems pointless to use something like that, the grease i used to help the gasket stick whilst i lined it up properly, once tightened it will squeeze out and you can just wipe it off :grin:

[demons uk 0]

A proper gasket sealer wouldn't be a terrible idea, but isn't needed aslong as your careful. Silicon wouldn't be a great idea at all, its not rated to that kind of temperature for one, unless its fireseal :D

 

One tip though, When your doing up the rocker cover don't start in one corner and do the nuts up one by one clockwise.

 

Work in opposites,do them all up so there tight~ish the top left nut done up reasonably tight then bottom right and so on, don't tighten all the fronts before you've even got the back nuts on, a friend did this on his 16v and thought he'd done them all tight, once the car was started the vibrations shook the rocker down another few mm and pissed oil everywhere :lol:

 

Its not terribly important, chances are you'd be fine but its good practice anyway and theres alot less chance of the gasket getting snagged if its getting pretty equal pressure.

[eugopnosaj 0]

A proper gasket sealer wouldn't be a terrible idea, but isn't needed aslong as your careful. Silicon wouldn't be a great idea at all, its not rated to that kind of temperature for one, unless its fireseal :D

 

One tip though, When your doing up the rocker cover don't start in one corner and do the nuts up one by one clockwise.

 

Work in opposites,do them all up so there tight~ish the top left nut done up reasonably tight then bottom right and so on, don't tighten all the fronts before you've even got the back nuts on, a friend did this on his 16v and thought he'd done them all tight, once the car was started the vibrations shook the rocker down another few mm and pissed oil everywhere :lol:

 

Its not terribly important, chances are you'd be fine but its good practice anyway and theres alot less chance of the gasket getting snagged if its getting pretty equal pressure.

 

There isn't an order to tightening the nuts/bolts (depending on the year) for the rocker cover unlike the head but if you want to do it then start in the middle rather than the corners. Make sure you've cleaned up the mating faces, dont scrub them hard with anything abrasive just to remove any residue from the old gasket, apply the gasket paste if you want to then put the new rubber gasket on. Its a really simple job just annoying that you have to remove the inlet to get to it :lol:

 

(sorry demons i didnt want to sound as if i was correcting you :( )

[mimjed 0]

one of the few good things about a g, inlet can stay where its supposedto be.

[NewbridgeJob 0]

When you remove the rocker cover is there much oil that will drip anywhere? Just wondering if i should be prepared for some to come out and drip onto the rest of the engine.

[davidwort 0]

nope shouldn't be any oil apart from a film under the cover

I'd suggest putting a small amount of sealant in the corners where the gasket goes up over the distributor and cam pulley, that's all, no need anywhere else, but they often leak from these corners.

silicon sealant isn't a bad idea, a tiny dab in those corners will help the gasket seal and the engine won't get too hot for it, I've got silicon baking tray that go in a 200 degree oven!

don't squirt a ton in though, it has a habit of blocking oil pickup pipes in the sump!

 

This is tried and tested BTW (silicon), but those cam cover seals are a crap design, VW didn't learn much from the crap cork 8v ones :lol:

 

as for a tightening sequence to the nuts, they only torque to 10ft/lb :lol:

[mimjed 0]

did mine this morning. nice and straight forward and happy that everything looks to be well lubed.

 

there was certainly alot more oil at the back where the gasket sat so fingers crossed thats the trickle of oil stopped.

 

30042010233.jpg[/attachment:28jjvg5n]