Cam cover gasket woes

[Red Rocco]

Hi all, I replaced my leaky cork cam cover gasket with a rubber one including the studs a couple of months back and all has been well, however, I noticed a small patch of oil under the car and it's coming from the cambelt side at the back. I tightened all the nuts up as tight as they would go but now I'm wondering have I over tightened them and ruined the gasket? Would anyone recommend the use of a gasket sealant? Or should I buy another and try again?

Regards,
Rob

[the edmundator]

should I buy another and try again?

Yes.

The torque wrench setting for the bolts is 10 Nm (or 7 lb ft), according to Haynes, which won't seem very tight at all.

[james butler]

Are you sure you seated the gasket correctly before tightening down?
Chech the cam seal isn't weaping

[unknownmale]

I did that same thing and replaced it recently, this time i just used my tiny 1/4 ratchet and snugged the bolts up and all is good.

[mark1gls]

Also check the rocker cover is straight as over tightening can distort it.
As already said check the cam shaft seal as they can pop out, simple seal the change and not expensive.
http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l/c/V ... 955&000426

[ghost123uk]

And don't use sealant on the cam cover. It's not needed there and can ooze out, into the motor and block oil ways.

[james butler]

oh blast, ive cursed it now.
mines leaked oil on my drive and guess where its coming from.
bloomin rocker cover gaskets.

[james butler]

should I buy another and try again?

Yes.

The torque wrench setting for the bolts is 10 Nm (or 7 lb ft), according to Haynes, which won't seem very tight at all.

Are you sure it's 10 nm?
After all that's the torque setting if your using an origenal cork gasket.
What would the torque setting be for a mk3 golf that uses a rubber gasket?
I would have thought their would be a difference.

[the edmundator]

There may be a difference with the rubber gasket, but the point is that 10 Nm is really not very tight, so if you're doing it by hand you're quite likely to over-tighten it.

[ghost123uk]

No one has mentioned the "spreader plates" yet. The three Roccos I have owned have all had them. They are like flat thin steel plates that run along the outside edge to help even the downward load from the nuts. If they are missing, it will be much easier to distort the cover when tightening it up.

[james butler]

I've done some digging on my motor and have found its not the rocker cover that's leaking, it's the air filter where the breather attaches that's leaking oil. Not sure how to fix it other than a catch can.
Compression is good but no idea why my engines chuckin oil up the breathers

[ghost123uk]

I might be able to help there. Inside the cam cover, just below the breather, there is a chamber that is filled with perforated metal plates. They are there to stop droplets of oil finding there way into the breather and also to condense oil vapour into droplets, which then drip back down, rather than go up into the breather pipe and hence to the air filter.

Over the years, the perforations get gummed up with horrid deposits. Although one would think "blocked up" would stop oil getting up into the breather, the real function of the system is upset and oil does get past, up into the breather and air filter.

I have seen this three times over the years. Once on my old 1600GT, once on a mates Golf and once at a breakers where the guy had bought a replacement motor, only to be told about this too late.

However, the fix is not as simple as it may seem because the "gook" does not come off with any solvents etc and that chamber cannot easily be dismantled (it is welded in place). I did succeed on mine by using the following method, told to me by the owner of the breakers mentioned above.
Heat the chamber, and the area around it until it is VERY hot, like almost dull red, with a blow torch, or better a welding/cutting torch. Then grab the cover with mole wrench or summat and bang it hard against a wall or summat. A shower of carbon dust and particles will fall out of the chamber. Keep doing it until it is clear. Then flush it all out with some petrol, make sure it is clean and re-fit. You might now want to re-paint it too !!!

The easier option is to buy a new cam-cover.

Hope that helps.

[mark1gls]

One I had to clean on a Mk2 golf Gti I had for a short time, I blocked the end with a bit of hose and left some "Gunk" to soak for a day then washed it out and added some more to soak for another couple of days then washed it out again with a garden hose spraying through the hose end.
Seemed to clear most of it out.

[scrumpyone]

Then flush it all out with some petrol,

Best to let it cool down a bit I reckon

[ghost123uk]

Then flush it all out with some petrol,

Best to let it cool down a bit I reckon

Blimey Mr mark1gls, that one was bad, and still looks a bit mucky afterwards. The gas axe treatment left mine sqeaky clean, but it needed painting afterwards of course. By the way, the gas axe treatment made a lot of black smoke that STANK.