Buy a gasket or...

So im in the middle of my rebuild and the valve cover is leaking oil all over the motor so i know i need a valve cover gasket but so shud i stop being cheap and buy the gasket or use the liquid gasket black stuff u buy from an autoparts store.

 

I believe Chacal has the gasket for about $30. I was looking for the pm with the price, but I couldn't find it.

 

The non OEM for my 1100 is $15.00 from chacal. I would replace it. Do it right and avoid any problems in the future.

 

The non OEM for my 1100 is $15.00 from chacal. I would replace it. Do it right and avoid any problems in the future.

 

whos chacal and does that person have a website of some sort??

 

congrads that is the worst leaking gasket i have seen. You wont find a more knowledgeable parts person then chacal thats all he does
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewforum/f=23.html sometimes it can be a bit hard to find what your looking for but pm him he will fix you up garanteed

 

yeah the guy that give it to me for free treated it like crap u should see the dirty disgusting air filter i pulled outta the box

 

nothing that some gunk or pressure washer wont fix

 

...least it shouldn't rust!

 

A New Gasket and Cover Securing Bolt Donuts would be the way to go.

A correctly installed Gasket will not leak and will also allow you to remove the Cover for maintenance and inspections.

The Gasket, alone, might not be sufficient to eliminate the leak.
New Cover Fastener Rubber Donuts may be needed too.

You can Clean the Engine with a Biodegradable De-greaser.

Or, ... Buy a Hozon Brass Siphon Device and use a couple of Bottles of Dawn Detergent to make a concentrate and spray the Engine of with the Grease-cutter and a garden hose.

http://hozon.com/

 

The gasket alone will NOT be sufficient to eliminate the leak; you definitely need to replace the metal/rubber composite "donuts" on the hold-down bolts. The bolts have stop collars to prevent overtightening; the "donuts" are what actually press the cover against the gasket. If you replace only the gasket, it will still leak.

Based on the neglected condition of the bike, you need to do a valve clearance check anyway so do it while the cover's off.

 

That's interesting to see that kind of leak. Wow!
I must have got lucky when I did my valves. I not only re-used the old valve cover gasket, I also used the old rubber donuts when I re-assembled it, without one drop of oil leaking. I used red RTV high temp silicone to seal it and it worked!!
I think the secret is to let the RTV set up before tightening the bolts, which forms a better seal. Keeping things clean is also important.
I figured as long as my donuts were still "rubbery" and not hard, they should be good for another go round.
By the looks of that bike, I'd defintely go with new donuts and gasket for sure.

 

You figured right. As long as they're still "springy" they should be fine; it's when they get baked hard as a rock and petrified compressed, they don't do the job.

Gasket sealer shouldn't be required on both sides of the gasket; it's best to use a sealer of your choice to "glue" it into the cover, then lightly lube the other surface to help it conform to the head as it "squishes" down.