I question about the a leaky lifter cover

To answer your last question, the little bit of oil that goes to the rockers drains down the pushrod tubes.

Do you by any chance have too much oil in the engine? If you overfill it, things get ugly in the gasket scene. Too much pressure. A bad thing. If your valve-cover surface is in good shape, and you use new cork gaskets, you should not need any sealer at all. Some of the rubber gaskets are just junk.

Just my two-bits worth.

you might have a warped valve cover

I have seen this problem alot If your not sure trade sides and see if the problem continues, or just trade out with another one.

Hope this helps Mario Vintage Werks restorations

Had also much trouble on my girlfriends wasserboxer. It helped at last to put the gasket in water for a couple of hours. It became softer and and little bigger. It was easier to install..... bye MIC

Make sure the crankcase is ventilated properly,my 67 beetle has a hose connecting next to the oil filler,this hose then is attached to the air cleaner allowing the engine to burn whatever is released. Sometimes well intended backyard mechanics will plug this vent allowing the crankcase to overpressurize, pushing oil out of the valve covers and seams of the engine. If the engine is really worn,you can have blow by pressure that does the same thing. Just another thing to check-good luck. Fred67bug

I don't think I have to much. The dip stick hits right on the full line with 3 US Qts. The book states a number that if I did the math correctly is 3.2 US Qts.

I used new cork gaskets both times, the first time I did not spend much time cleaning / prepping the surface. The second time I cleaned both surfaces very thoroughly. I also checked the both surfaces to see if they were warped with straight edge. The valve side was perfect, the cover was a close enough that the compressed gasket should have taken up the gap without any problem. It was less the

1/32 of an inch.

Chuck

Mario, thanks for the suggestion. I will try this and if it is moves the problem from one side of the engine to the other, replace the warped side. From my straight edge check, if it is warped, it is not by much. Chuck

You said you put 3QTs in it.. in my bug with a 1600cc... the same motor in your van possibly is too much oil.. Bentley manual says 5.3pints or 2.5L. You convert 5.3pints to quarts and using the formula 2pints to every quart gives you 2.65Quarts. I think you have too much oil and this is whats causing your problem. Hope this helps

Jeremie

1972 SB

This is a fairly common problem, and there are several causes, each wiht its own solution.

1) Cheap gasket, too thin. Use better quality gaskets. 2) Dried out beige cork gasket which is now undersized. Put it in boiling water for 5 minutes to plump it up, or just use the better black rubberized cork gaskets which fill the valve cover gasket area. 3) Weak valve cover spring bail. Get a new bail, or a good used one. Don't try to pry the bails off upwards, only downwards. Deformed bails can be bent back right if you have a big vise and the right tools. 4) Improperly installed gasket. Put a dab of gasket sealant on each corner and in the middle of each long side ONLY ON THE COVER SIDE. Never use gasket compound on the cylinder head side. -

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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It's been my experience that excessive crankcase pressure usually vents out via the rear pulley. Since there is no seal there, just a return thread and a slinger, even a little extra pressure will cause the oil to bleed out and run down the rear breast tin(and usually wind up on the muffler).

At least in my case, fixing valve cover gasket leaks boils down to a few 'details', sand the dings out of the sealing surface on the head(if there are any) with 400 grit sandpaper, replace the gasket and glue it to the cover with permatex RTV(I use the ultra black), and then replace the bails with new VW factory ones. The aftermarket bails are crap(such as the ones that come with the equally crap chrome covers) and do not supply enough force to hold the cover tightly in position.

A properly fitted genuine VW valve cover does not leak.

Chris

Jeremie, I did the calculation also and came up with the same amount. However, when I put in 2.6Qts (couldn't really measure the .05 amount ;-) ) the dipstick showed the engine to still be 1/2 qt low. Since there was two values in the bentley book one below 3 qts and one above 3qts, I assumed I chose the wrong one. Now I am thinking the dipstick may be incorrect. Chuck

Jim, thanks for the tips. I am worried about the cork being dried out, I will try the boil. I am also concerned about the spring bail, it slid on a little too easy from my perspective.

Out of curiosity, why do you not add the gasket compound to the cylinder head side? What is the concerns with doing this? Chuck

Yah your .5 quart too much.. my dipstick registers the same way.. I just filed a new mark on my dipstick. I think in the Hot to Keep your Volkswagen Alive book it talks about doing this too. I hope this solves your problem.

Jeremie

1972 SB

Because typically you can re-use the gasket several times before it will begin to leak, thus you glue it to the cover to hold it in position and you make sure the sealing surface on the head is free of blemishes. If you glue the side that faces the head it makes it a hell of a mess to clean up next time you remove it and then you have to replace the gasket anyway.

Chris

If the bail went on too easily, then I'd suspect the bail has been bent and now doesn't hold hard enough.

If you glue it to the head you will have a LOT of trouble getting it off the next time. Plus, once you do, you'll leave a lot of crud attached to the head sealing surface which will make it hard to seal after that. Once you finish trying to scrape the old sealant off the head, you'll probably find yourself with permanent gouges in the alum sealing surfact which you'll hate yourself for.

The key is that once you get all the right parts in there, they will always seal nicely without special attention. Note that good valve cover gaskets can be reused several times, as long as you can still dent them with a fingernail. Replace them once they become too hard to dent.

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----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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You didn't mention if this engine is stock or not, but I imagine it has been rebuilt at least once. If none of the mentioned solutions solve your problem, might I suggest that you check to see if you have a sand seal. One of those without proper valve cover venting could cause the seal sucking you are experiencing.

-Chip

Chip, to be frank, I do not know the history behind the engine. I suspect it has been rebuilt at one time or maybe more. I also know that the engine is not what was originaly in the vehicle.

I appologize for my ingnorance. I have heard this term "sand seal", but am not familiar with it. Can you supply some details? I will also do a search on sand seal and see if I can get the answer on my own. With my ingnorance of sand seals, I am not sure where or how the valve cover is to be vented. Other then through the return ports for the oil. Any further explination would be appriciated. Chuck

Hi Chuck, I'm betting you found the answer to your question, but if not, here goes. Your engine originally was vented at the crank pulley in the rear, the pulley itself has a spiral groove that throws oil (and dirt, air, etc.) back into the engine. The breather tube connected to your air cleaner makes sure this happens by creating some negative pressure. A sand seal seals the crank pulley and allows nothing in. Now you've still got that negative pressure to deal with. Which is where your valve cover gaskets come in. Literally. You're right about the air coming through the pushrod tubes, but first it has to come from somewhere outside. Installing filtered vents in the valve covers solves this problem. However, I'm still inclined to think your problem is caused by loose bails. You said one was loose, right? Replace it and let us know if that resolves things.

-Chip

p.s. I'd like to be able to tell you how to go look at your engine and determine whether or not you've actually got a sand seal, but truth be told, I've never even seen one. Everything I've owned has been stock. Maybe someone else can chime in with a hint.