[T3] Valve. Covers..

[Jim Adney]

On 29 Oct 2011 at 16:45, ftalker at gmail.com wrote:

> While there may be many reasons for covers to leak, particularly after
> their recent removal, my experience tells me that a likely culprit is
> a gasket which slides out of position, (mostly, but not always on the
> bottom), creating the leak. One thing I did on all of my VW covers, (I
> keep a set ready to install), is to braze a two inch tab parallel with
> the sloped, more or less horizontal interior bottom-side, extending
> outward toward the "head" and no farther than the cover's outside edge
> dimension.  This prevents the aforementioned slippage of the gasket,
> (particularly on oiled or greased gaskets), off of its intended ledge
> and into the cover's interior...not good. 

This is a really great suggestion, and ISTR that I've seen this done 
elsewhere. Are Type 4 valve covers done this way? That tab could 
probably be spot welded or even soft-soldered in place.

> With a smooth slather of RTV red silicone on the cover side, the
> gasket goes in place for many leak-free motoring miles. 

I generally just do a few critical spots, rather than the whole 
surface. The important thing is to NEVER glue the gasket to the head.

Having a spare set of preprepped covers on spare heads is a luxury 
that most people won't be able to do, but if you can, you probably 
don't need the extra tabs.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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