Valve Cover Gasket Help

[ryonker]

I am close to checking out my valve clearances so I purchased a new valve cover gasket. As I re-read the article on the 8 valve engine, I saw that he also put on a new breather gasket and little half moon gaskets. Do I need these as well? Are they mostly ok or should have those on hand as well when I dig in to check the valves?

Also, do most people use a torque wrench?

Thanks!

Rick

[Nessism]

Depending on what kind of bike you have, you might not have to disturb the breather cover; 550E, 550T, and 1000G can stay put but my ’82 850 required taking the breather off. Half moon pieces are okay to reuse; coat them with some Ultra Gray urethane and put them back in.

Good luck.

[hampshirehog]

If you don't take off the breather cover you won't need a gasket (there's no need to take it off, though it could be worth checking to see if you've got a load of grunge in there).

If you're careful and lucky you may even be able to re-use your existing cam cover gasket. If it does bust up, be careful to make sure you don't drop bits of the old gasket in to the valve gear as it could block an oilway.

Usually there is no need to replace the half moons either. They do go hard but you can easily seal them with a dab of silicon sealant.

Do I use a torque wrench? Yeah, I know I should by rights but I only use it for head nuts, which is pretty critical. Just don't try and overtighten your valve cover bolts - '2 fingers' is plenty - and tighten them evenly i.e. tighten them all loosely then all a bit more then give all a final tighten, following a pattern similar to the way you'd tighten a head.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. ryonker,

Since I started using Real Gaskets, I don't replace my half moons every time. If they're not leaking, why bother? If you're very careful during disassembly, and don't damage your breather gasket, you can re-use it too. I don't remember what bike you have. Some bikes have enough room so that you don't have to separate the breather when you take off the valve cover. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[80GS750]

i dont have to pull my breather cover on my 78 gs1000, or on my old 80 gs750

my half moons are OLD, and i use them, they are leaking now, but i didnt put any silicone gasket maker on them, next time i change the oil i will pull them and put some in, and that will fix it.

[jim0899]

Using the Real Gasket silicone gasket for cam cover

Hi Mr. ryonker,

Since I started using Real Gaskets, I don't replace my half moons every time. If they're not leaking, why bother? If you're very careful during disassembly, and don't damage your breather gasket, you can re-use it too. I don't remember what bike you have. Some bikes have enough room so that you don't have to separate the breather when you take off the valve cover. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

I used the Real Gasket (silicone) for the cam cover on my '82 GS650E and now I can't get the tach gear to mesh (the silicone gasket is noticeably thicker). I actually torqued the cover down to 20 inch pounds as recommended, started the engine, no leaks, but the tach gears were damaged and made noise before I shut it down. Has anyone else had trouble getting the tach gears to engage while using the silicone gasket for the cam cover? I purchased another standard gasket, put the cam cover in place with the standard gasket (no sealer) without bolting it down and the tach gears engage.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[BassCliff]

Unreal Gaskets

I used the Real Gasket (silicone) for the cam cover on my '82 GS650E and now I can't get the tach gear to mesh (the silicone gasket is noticeably thicker). I actually torqued the cover down to 20 inch pounds as recommended, started the engine, no leaks, but the tach gears were damaged and made noise before I shut it down. Has anyone else had trouble getting the tach gears to engage while using the silicone gasket for the cam cover? I purchased another standard gasket, put the cam cover in place with the standard gasket (no sealer) without bolting it down and the tach gears engage.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Mr. jim0899,

From what I've read in the forum, this is a common complaint from those with the tach gear in the valve cover, and not in the head. I have no personal experience but have read about failures and success stories. I seem to recall that careful manipulation is required during reassembly. I also seem to recall that Mr. bwringer called the proprietor at Real Gaskets and found out that there is a different thickness of gasket for this application. But please don't take my word for it. I'm getting old and my memory is...uh,....um..... What was I talking about?

By the way, welcome to the forum. Please stop by my little BikeCliff website and pick up your mega-welcome.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[SqDancerLynn1]

As far as the models with the speedo gear in the cam cover. I would bet if you installed the gear AFTER you installed the cover it would solve a lot of problems.

[psyguy]

there are different thickness real-gaskets to use with tach-geras in the head vs in the valve cover

torque setting is quite low for the valve cover bolts
unless you want to spend money on various torque wrenches, you can do them up with a short-handed spanner
tighten a little and if the gasket leaks, tighten a bit more (taking care that all bolts are equally tight)

[ryonker]

What is a short handed spanner?

When you say various torque wrenches.... there is more than one basic type?

Thanks!

Rick

[Nessism]

What is a short handed spanner?

When you say various torque wrenches.... there is more than one basic type?

Thanks!

Rick

Torque wrenches have a range (you need something that reads inch-lbs for torquing a valve cover gasket). You can't use the same wrench for both a cylinder head and a valve cover since the tightness specs are different from one another.

If you don't have a torque wrench, and don't plan on getting one, the suggestion to use a small handled wrench is a good one (a 1/4" ratchet wrench with a 10mm socket) - easier to judge how tight the bolts are compared to a longer handled wrench.

[SteveL-J]

Also, (especially if you don't use a torque wrench) check the bolts again after a hundred miles or so. I did use a torque wrench on my valve cover (83 GS1100ED) and after a hundred miles or so noticed that there was some seepage, grabbed the TW and lo and behold half of the bolts had 'lost a couple of pounds'. Ten minutes to make sure all were up to spec and no more seepage.

[ryonker]

I do have a torque wrench (maybe not the greatest quality--made in china), and it seams go from 5 to 80 lbs. It seems like quite a big wrench to use on the valve cover gasket, but I guess if I can dial it in to around 8lbs I am ok, right?

Thanks for your help!

Rick

[SteveL-J]

I do have a torque wrench (maybe not the greatest quality--made in china), and it seams go from 5 to 80 lbs. It seems like quite a big wrench to use on the valve cover gasket, but I guess if I can dial it in to around 8lbs I am ok, right?

Thanks for your help!

Rick

High end of the torque setting (according to Haynes) on mine is 7lb. The most critical thing IMHO is making sure all are the same to avoid any warping.

[ryonker]

So really size of the torque wrench is secondary to being able to dial it in? Any way of actually testing this big mother wrenchs before using them on our bikes?

Rick