VTS Cam cover gasket leak ***PICS***

[jonny_lewis]

Hello chaps!

Having a nightmare trying to seal up the exhaust cam - cam cover. The gasket was seeping oil, so I thought i'd have a go at fixing it, got my self some instant gasket and had a crack at sealing it up. (shown below)

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l296/jonnylewis1988/Image332.jpg

Took it for a drive after changing the oil / oil filters and it pissed oil everywhere out the top. Took it home and re-sealed it (caked it in sealer this time, not shown). Drove to work this morning and it was STILL seeping oil. Any advice from those who have done this before? Im at a loss..cant drive to work 2mu now :n:

Any help would be awesome :)

Cheers lads.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l296/jonnylewis1988/Image043.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l296/jonnylewis1988/Image077.jpg

:wall:

[raymondbowon]

I know this doesnt solve your problem straight away but cant you get a new gasket seal. try gsf or euro car parts, they cant be to much money.

[jonny_lewis]

Nope no such thing as a replacement vts cam cover gaskey my friend. Was easy and cheap to replace on my VTR. You take the cam cover off and its just a flimsy thin rubber lining round the cover, u'll find this out if you ever have to take yours apart! :p

[Toad]

The sealant needs to be applied to a COMPLETELY dry surface. If you apply it where oil residue is, it will just slip. You also have to put quite a lot on, but it must be evenly distributed at the same time.

So start again, make sure the metal is dry and also doesn't contain any old bits. Once you've sealed the cover on, leave it for a while to bond nicely.

[Ryan]

I know this doesnt solve your problem straight away but cant you get a new gasket seal. try gsf or euro car parts, they cant be to much money.

J4 covers once the beading is damaged on them you have to use instant stuff.

only the JP4s can you buy a new seal for as the design was changed.

[Marv_106]

grind off the lugs on the cam covers that makes them sit proud

That way they sit completely flush on the head, and the sealer isnt having to do as much work

This is how we solved the problem on my gti

[Drago]

Dont use cheap sealant,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WURTH-SEBASTO-SUPER-RTV-SILICON-SEALANT-BLACK-ENGINE_W0QQitemZ250365006000QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_3?hash=item250365006000&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A2%7C 240%3A1318

Expensive but well worth the money, always used this and never had any problems.

[willsy]

grind off the lugs on the cam covers that makes them sit proud

That way they sit completely flush on the head, and the sealer isnt having to do as much work

This is how we solved the problem on my gti

I also did this!

Got the bottom lugs skimmed off. Also whilst doing this i actually found out that the cover was warped slightly so even if i had got a really good seal all the way round there would have been little chance of me getting it to seal

Skimming the lugs off cured all of this (it cost me £10 for both covers to be done) and only the smallest amount of gasket sealant was then needed

[don55]

i got some loctite from halfrauds

clean it all off so its totaly flat, even ise a bit of sand paper, then use some break cleaner to remove all residue. then add a good portion of this loctite clicky (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_17 3139_langId_-1_categoryId_165691), seal, bolt down all the way and leave for 24 hours.

[Sparco_Tom]

glad another of these threads came up as i still havent done mine. luckily the car is just sat in the garage at the moment.

[jonny_lewis]

Cheers for the replys lads, really appriciate it. Ill try giving the top end a clean / dry and get some more sealent on fri. Luckily im away this weekend so I can do it and then leave it to dry while im away.

Ill let you know how it goes!

[iw_laurence]

i think this may be the problem with mine, how much was yours seeping? Will it seep more if i drive it more agressively? any help would really be appriciated :)

[Stevo123]

Cant you make a gasket from gasket paper? I would be worried about bits of sealer floating around in the head/oil galleries with to much on.

[raunchz]

The way I've always done it and rarely leaks:

- as mentioned above, removed all the old sealant from both surfaces
- remove oil residue from both surfaces
- put a nice consistent bead of loctite sealant on the camshaft ladder (lol at the sealant in the pic on the 1st post)
- put the cover on and leave for 5mins
- put the screws/bolts in and tighten them by hand for now, leave for another 5 mins.
- torque them up and leave for a few hours before starting the engine

I personally don't see why you need to remove the lugs on the bottom of the covers.

[sexy_gt]

The way I've always done it and rarely leaks:

- as mentioned above, removed all the old sealant from both surfaces
- remove oil residue from both surfaces
- put a nice consistent bead of loctite sealant on the camshaft ladder (lol at the sealant in the pic on the 1st post)
- put the cover on and leave for 5mins
- put the screws/bolts in and tighten them by hand for now, leave for another 5 mins.
- torque them up and leave for a few hours before starting the engine

I personally don't see why you need to remove the lugs on the bottom of the covers.

when the seals come off ;)

i use a very thin bead only just enough to cover the old rubber seal.

[VTS123]

Are the seals bonded to the covers or can you buy them?

[saxo-parts]

no you can't buy them seperate or we wouldn't be using so much sealant

[pinkpanther123]

grind off the lugs on the cam covers that makes them sit proud

That way they sit completely flush on the head, and the sealer isnt having to do as much work

This is how we solved the problem on my gti



thats what i had to do too!! they raise the cover off the head my a few mm so grinding them off so its flush will help seal it up :y:

[lee23]

I went to eurocarparts a couple of weeks ago and asked for new cam cover gasket for my Vts, went home to fit it and they were exactly the same as whats already there but there was no way to secure them in or even get them in because they are so long and thin ! Used instant gasket and it's fine now ! So were the gaskets that they gave me wrong anyway ? They looked the same?

[dombrett1]

best way to clean it is to use petrol ! or tar remover/carb cleaner ! make sure you clean both the engine side surface and the covers ! if you use petrol it will dry out as it evaporates, after you have left it 20-30 mins to dry out then use the sealant and apply them to the car. also dont do all the bolts up tight leave it to sit loose. when you come to tighten the bolts the next day it will be like an actual bead itself !

that way it will be like a gasket.