Valve Cover Removal

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WreckTangle
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Valve Cover Removal

Post by WreckTangle »

I am planning to replace my valve cover seal as it is leaking above number 4 cylinder. I have got a replacement cork gasket kit and some RTV to seal the corners where the separate plastic parts go.

It is obviously necessary to remove the front part of the airbox. I shall be doing this anyway to replace the carburettor. What is not obvious to me (and I can find no reference anywhere) is whether it is necessary to remove any of the timing belt cover. Mine has a plastic timing belt cover the back part of which appears to bolt down on top of the valve cover. Once the bolts are undone is there enough room to remove the valve cover with the timing cover still in situ? If not, does that part come out without needing to remove the timing belt?

I know this might seem a trivial question but I am reluctant to make a start on this job and find it gets rapidly more complicated. Thanks.


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GT_II
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Re: Valve Cover Removal

Post by GT_II »

You're probably better off removing the upper part of the outer timing belt cover first - it should ease out upwards once you've undone the two clips. As you've spotted, the inner part of the timing belt cover is sandwiched between the valve cover nuts and the valve cover, so that will lift out easily once the outer belt cover upper part and nuts are removed. When you put the outer upper belt cover back at the end, make sure it engages correctly across its bottom edge with the lower part of the cover as well as the inner cover before securing the clips.


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mark1gls
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Re: Valve Cover Removal

Post by mark1gls »

I would not use any sealant as it should not be needed and if any bits fall off it ends up in your engine.
Best upgrade is the Mk3 Golf rubber gasket as it’s in 1 piece.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rocker-Cover ... SwKGRfY0C2

You need to change the studs to fit the rubber gasket as the original studs have a shoulder on them to seat the cork gasket, the rubber gasket has the shoulders fitted to it.

You need to make sure your rocker cover is flat and not distorted by someone over tightening the nuts as it will always leak.


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james butler
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Re: Valve Cover Removal

Post by james butler »

i would also check you don't have oil leaking from the underside of the airbox on that side, i had a perpetual leak from the rocker cover on that side and used to pool on the inlet manifold. turned out it was oil from the rocker breather pooling inside the airbox and leaking out of the airbox join onto the rocker cover.


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WreckTangle
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Re: Valve Cover Removal

Post by WreckTangle »

Thank you for all the advice. I have successfully completed this repair now and it was fairly straightforward. I did it in conjunction with replacing a previous owner's Weber "upgrade" with my DIY-refurbished Pierburg.

What I hadn't realised was that the top rear part of the timing belt cover is very small. I had assumed it extended down behind the timing belt as on other cars I'm familair with. Of course, following GT_II's advice to remove the upper part of the outer timing belt cover first this part then lifts away when you come to unbolt the valve cover.

I used an original three-part cork gasket kit from Elring. It was a good fit. I used just the smallest bit of RTV at the four joints as suggested in another source that I read before tackling this job. I torqued the nuts to 7ft lbs in a diagonal pattern. No sign of the leak reocurring in the few runs I did before I laid the car up for the winter.

I suspect the problem was down to the nuts not having been properly torqued in the first place but then I first became aware of it after an oil change. I have read on another forum about some modern oils having a propensity for finding leaks. I used Quantum Synta 10W-40 which is presumably the right stuff.
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RussGLAuto
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Re: Valve Cover Removal

Post by RussGLAuto »

Nice one!

I got rid of my webber too. Pierburg is far better once refurbished.
That said, I found out why it had been changed for a webber... rust in the fuel system. Recommend checking your filler neck and tank for corrosion.
I'm back to square one with a blocked carb full of tank rust.


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WreckTangle
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Re: Valve Cover Removal

Post by WreckTangle »

This has been a three year (on and off) project during which I’ve fitted a new filler neck and had the tank professionally cleaned. That was actually about the first thing that was done to try to fix frequent stalling and failure to restart, especially going up hills. I bought the car reasonably cheaply on account of it having had sixteen owners before me many of whom I suspect were unable to get to the bottom of this fault.

It was always my intention to restore the car to original stock condition but the fuel system has proven to be fun!

When the stalling issue continued despite clean fuel I then implemented the restricted return pipe fix. This seemed to have been successful but there was still occasional hesitation. The car worked fine for occasional commuting during the first Coronavirus lockdown but then in the summer, on a slightly longer trip, the dreaded stuttering returned. It went back to normal upon refilling the tank so I followed a bit of a wild goose chase thinking the fuel sender (a rather unobtainable part) might be at fault.

The lack of a social life this year gave me time to restore the Pierburg. I stripped it down completely, cleaned it in an ultrasonic bath and tested all the component parts. I rebuilt it using a new gasket kit and a new throttle body heater. While fitting the Pierburg I spotted that the carb mounting gasket was split. It was quite a difficult split to spot so I suspect that was at least in part the reason for continued running problems.

Now with the refurbished Pierburg on a brand new gasket installed to spec (with the welding tip removed from the fuel return) the car runs beautifully and seems much more refined than with the Weber.

I must get around to doing a proper write-up of the project one day.

I think the takeaway from this for anyone grappling with a Weber stalling out is that it is likely to be one of the well known problems and in fact (as in my case) could be all of them!


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