Rocker Gaskets

You should only need one seal

Some of the aftermarket covers and bails ( spring clip ) are not so good and will leak ! Make sure you have good ones.

Rich

Ant wrote:

One gasket (even a cheap one) should be enough thickness. Bet the wire "bails" are bent out of shape or maybe the rocker covers are dented.

Speedy Jim

New bails

Jan

Original bail arms are often better than new ones. Just a thought... check they are the same way up that your manual shows. Are the head surfaces OK - not gouged at all? Shuffle the cover around a bit and push upwards to get the seal against the bottom of the rocker cover.

And don't use silicone! There's only (I think) 2 of the dozens of silicone gasket products that actually resist oil. Better dry than with silicone - or when sparkly clean, use some gaskacinch to attach the gasket to the cover, let it cure, then apply with it dry to the head surface. Bails can be re-bent but it is tricky. They may be on upside down, but more likely need to be tweaked or replaced. Some covers get pretty badly distorted. All is for naught if you have a whole bunch of blow-by in the engine as that will blow the gasket out. -Bah

Do a Google search on this group, using probably "valve covers" and you'll likely find some very in-depth discussion about this from over the years.

As cheap as they are - what's the harm in using 2? Better than leaking oil all over.

Hi all, thanks for your answer - not sure what "Bails" are. The rocker covers are aluminium, and are finned. Held on with two bolts. I've checked everything else. Heads are clean etc....

Anymore advice? taa ant

In this case, your covers are aftermarket and the bail suggestions won't apply to you. Aftermarket valve covers are of varied quality, so it's not at all clear what your problem is.

OE covers are steel and are held on by heavy spring clips that run from side to side (front to back, actually.) They pivot down to allow the cover to be removed. They work well, so if you continue to have trouble you could consider going back. Few people will look under there.

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

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I would put another washer on the bolts going into the cover. This would let the bolts tighten just a little more and may make the seal. Or not. Make sure the covers are flat where the gasket goes of course.

-- the Grokdoc Tom Malmevik all that groks is god

I've never EVER seen bolt on covers that did not leak. Use stock covers and bails

this simple reason is why we do not sell bolt-on covers, even though people would buy them.

John Aircooled.Net Inc.

I know you won't believe me John, but the engine I removed from the Puma had bolt on covers that did not leak. On the new engine I used chome ones with new chrome bails and guess what....leaks. Dennis

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Yes, you have to watch out about those "new" chrome bails. They don't hold their shape as well as used german bails. I've been running them on my engine and had an oil drip problem that was only remedied by putting on a set of used german bails.

You must have lucked out and got a set of bolt on covers with exceptional build quality. But, I think the design of the bail style covers is much better for dealing with the thermal expansion/contraction cycle of the engine. Plus, it is so convenient to not have to undo a set of bolts to get at the rocker assembly!

Geoffe Elias '74 Super Beetle

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bolt on covers have their place; off road vehicles. Bails can get popped open by sticks, or big rocks, where bolt ons will stay put (for the most part). But bolt-ons leak, it's commonplace. Stock cover and bails are self adjusting to temperature expansion/contraction, which is why they work so well. Bolt on covers continually tighten (compressing the gasket), then loosen, causing leaks. So you have to stay on top of them, keeping them tight, which is not the case with clip on covers. Now, I'm not saying all clip ons work, the only ones I recommend are GENUINE VW coves and bails. The aftermarket ones are often not true, and the bails are not spring steel, so they easily loosen up.

John Aircooled.Net Inc.