Stupid rocker gasket

[fix]

Go buy a tube of 'blue hylomar' halfwits sell it I think, apply very thin smear to cover and gasket, allow to be 90%dry then stick together,dry face to the head as nowt should be needed there, nothing to leak out like with rtv etc,
mike

Heard of that stuff just couldn't remember the name, will get some.

I'm over your neck of the woods this week mike, sadly not in the van as my girlfriend won't go away in my van till its painted so were in a tent!

[VWCamperfan]

I have posted this previously with mixed replys but the rocker gaskets should never be greased for exactly the reason you are now having a problem.
Grease is a lubricant, designed to help surfaces slide over each other. If you put grease on your rocker cover gaskets, they are going to move and piddle out oil all over the road! Those who have greased theirs and have so far got away with it are lucky but it's a bit of a time bomb waiting to happen.
All surfaces should be grease/oil free when assembled and the clips should be quite hard to get in place if they are strong enough.
Your engine should be fine. If you didn't get the oil warning light come up then you are in the green and you engine will be ok.

To be honest thats a load of balls, they even teach you in college to use a smear of grease on one side of the gasket

So they teach you in college how to reassemble a flat 4 VW engine do they?
Smearing grease on some gaskets for some engines is fine... For the rocker covers on these it is not. They will slip and leak oil.
Personally I couldn't give a monkeys if people put grease on or not, just trying to save someone a bit of grief when thier oil ends up all over the road.

[PEET]

I replace rockers often on customer vans and dont grease em anymore hylomar blue or a spray adhesive now, the grease can make a new gasket slip on these engines as u pull the rocker cover spring clip into position - well it has happened to me often enough and make me swear!
And my easiest way to pop the spring son and off is with a bit of rope threaded thru - there probably is a special tool for it but this works everytime for me!

[CovKid]

Would agree with that. The position of flat four rocker gaskets makes it somewhat foolish to make the job even harder. I'm fairly sure the concept of using grease on one side of a gasket was to aid locating. It sure doesn't do much in the way of sealing although I have (on very difficult occasions) smeared oil (not grease) on inside of rocker cover where gasket sits, to stop it simply falling out during assembly. On a troublesome rocker cover, Hylomar used VERY sparingly may help but you don't want that stuff in oilways so use only a tiny bit. A stock cork gasket and a very tight spring should keep it oiltight.

Thats over 25 years of hard experience talking. They're not the easiest things to bed down sometimes and if they won't seal its usually due to a warped cover or a weak spring. Deffo wouldn't use grease, gasket will slide all over the place then and be a pig to seal properly.

[Plasticman]

Whereabouts are you going/staying
mike

[fix]

Thanks for all the help will get some hylomar and hopefully it should seal ok, won't use a lot and only on the cover side. By the way should I get the blue stuff that doesn't set?

I'm staying at reighton sands mike, tent broke in the wind when setting up last night, had to go to Argos in brid and get another

[Aidan]

college uses grease cos it's cheaper than hylomar, everyone should have a tube in their van for the beside the road cornflake packet gasket repair time

[CovKid]

With you there 100% Aidan - no bad idea to keep cornflake packet card onboard with the hylomar. I always said about the bug, that you could get by with a 13mm spanner and a lump of chewing gum. T25 is a bit heavier but down there in the engine bay is a little 'ole bug engine - albeit with bits added to it

[sarran1955]

Hello,

For what it's worth,

30 years greasing, lightly round cork rocker cover gasket, yet to have a problem.

Hylomar, by the way was developer for Rolls Royce, if its good enough for them.....

However, I have had problems with cheapo silicone gasket compound.

When I have an oil gasket (tr: joint) to do I use SPATEX paste. In a toothpaste type tube you apply to both mating surfaces, drop on the gasket, and then the component, (in this case the oil cooler tower on a CT). Torque the part down, and remove excess sealant. After 10 mins you will see a band of sealant around the gasket. This is because the sealant expands before finally setting. Particularly good for magnesium alloys.

Used this when I was at Mercedes UK.

Here is a french link, I am sure however, that this must be available in UK.

http://www.raccords.com/catalogue2.php?gamme=1680" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Cordialement.

[Plasticman]

My worry would be that folk apply too much and whilst you can wipe the excess from external faces/joints surely there will be an equal ammount that you cant see inside
mike

[fix]

That's true Mike, but the same could happen in many situations for example the head gaskets, just got to be sensible when applying sealant

[VWCamperfan]

Just noticed earlier post... Get the sealer that sets, keeps the gaskets in place!

[Plasticman]

Youve go good t'internet acess int tent, posh as can be is reighton
if your into plants then go up the road to reighton nurseries, we travel from here for their stuff
mike

[fix]

Yep all the mod cons in the tent, internet phone works well apart from for some reason it won't send private messages on here just previews them instead of sending which is weird.

Even got tv and dvd player for on an evening, but I underestimated the power they use and my jump starter box lasted only 2 hours so not much point bringing them.

Oh well board games it is then!


Thanks for the tip my girlfriend is obsessed with gardening we will take a look

Vwcamperfan Thankyou I will get the stuff that's sets, not much point getting the other stuff I guess lol

[Plasticman]

YO14 9 RT for the nursery, mine will have to meet yours as also garden mad
Yep plain old hylomar blue does it every time, miniscule smear on both sides allow almost comletely dry and stick together
mike