Cam cover gasket (again...)

[paddy]

With my daily driver out of action for a couple of weeks I've been using the Elan for the daily commute. Once or twice I had a loss of oil pressure on a roundabout so I lifted the bonnet to top it up.

Wow, what a mess, oil absolutely everywhere. The cam cover gasket (which is cork|foil|cork) had delaminated, and one of the cork layers had gradually slipped out leaving a monster hole - in just the right place for the dripping oil to drip onto the alternator pulley (and, from there, to everywhere else).

Has anyone had this before? The last time I replaced the gasket I took someone's advice to put RTV on only one side so the cover could be removed non-destructively.

I haven't been keeping the cover very tight because my experience is that if you keep tightening it, the gasket just gets thinner and thinner and splurges out the sides. So the nuts have been more than finger tight, but not by very much. Maybe I needed to keep them a little bit tighter.

So I guess I'm going to go back to putting RTV on both sides unless there are any alternative suggestions. (Yes, I already know I can omit the gasket altogether but it seems to me that I should be able to get the original design to work properly.) The gasket was from QED so I wouldn't question the quality.

Paddy

[robertverhey]

I just put silastic on the cover/gasket side, and leave the other (lower) half dry. That way the whole lot comes away and doesn't get damaged while I'm fiddling with cam-related bits. I do the cover bolts up reasonably tight.

But in my experience, some gaskets will migrate....just because they CAN!

[1964 S1]

Hello Paddy, RTV on one side or the other is a good idea, either one. I believe your problem arose from loose cam cover bolts. Finger tight plus a twitch is not enough. They've gotta be snugged up with a wrench, not too tight but tight. The most critical thing for me is that the surfaces are lacquer thinner clean.
Blow by is the only other thing I can think of that causes cam cover blow outs.
Eric

[reb53]

"I should be able to get the original design to work properly".

As they say in this part of the World, " yeah, right.....".
If you try to make the original cork gasket stay oil tight for any length of time you will be
"pushing it up-hill".
And there'll be a leak in the rope you're pushing it with......

Get some of the gasket in a tube type stuff, put it on the head, put a thin coat of grease on the cam cover and partially bolt down until the next day. Then just gently snug the nylocs up a little.
It will seal well and you can take the cam cover off easily because the gasket material doesn't stick to the side you greased.

Cheers
Ralph.

[RichardS]

Are the Cometic gaskets any better or easier to maintain than the ordinary cork gasket? They are about 3 times the price of the cork ones but I wonder if they would save using gasket sealant and be more useable for repeated cam cover removals. I've no idea but spotted them in the Burton catalogue https://www.burtonpower.com/product_mai ... m%20gasket

Richard

[paddy]

Thanks for the replies.

The gasket was stuck to the cover but not the head. So ordinarily it would not move - the only reason it moved was that the glue between the cork and the foil failed, so the two halves of the gasket separated. Either the gasket is stuck to the head as well (so the cover can only be removed by destroying it) or it isn't, in which case it would move if the parts delaminated in the same way.

I don't expect it to be completely oil-tight, but until this happened it was perfectly acceptable (say for 12 months, 3000 miles) - the joint would always have a slight glaze of oil on it, but no drips at all.

So I agree, it needs to be kept tighter - not to reduce how much it leaks, but perhaps this will reduce the likelihood of the parts separating.

I might try the cometic one - thanks for the link.

Anyway, it's all back together now with RTV until I get a new gasket.

Paddy

[elansprint71]

Wellseal. I would not use anything else; never had a problem on any car with a cork gasket.

It's a real bugger to get off your hands- which is a good sign.

[alexblack13]

I'm 100% with Pete here. wellseal it is for me too. That and the best quality gasket you can find. I've got one in stock at the moment and its delaminating merrily... I am thinking taking it apart and wellsealing the whole kit n caboodle back together again. leaving it under some weight.

Should be ok & easy fixed if it fails eh? .....Nah.Think it going in the bin.

Alex

[elancoupe]

Paddy, if you try the Cometic gasket, give us a report. I'd like to try one, but was hoping to get some feedback in advance.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Can someone describe the "Cometic" Cam Cover Gasket please?
There's no information on the Site given on the earlier post & the Pictures are too small to see anything.
IMHO Cork is a primitive Gasket material that will weep Oil due to its inherent porosity but in the case of the Twincam where the Cover lacks sufficient rigidity & the clamping force via the 4 pairs of Studs is localised rather than being equally distributed, Cork or something equally flexible is probably the best solution (Together wit the previously mentioned Sealants of course)

Cheers
John

[alexblack13]

Paddy... You are hereby designated to preform a running test on this gasket, and report back..

1st impression.. material used.. ease of fit/accuracy. does it work? The normal stuff..

Seriously though..Mr elancoupe's idea of the report is a good one. Let us all know what you think, there's a good chap.

AB....

[Frank Howard]

Get some of the gasket in a tube type stuff, put it on the head, put a thin coat of grease on the cam cover and partially bolt down until the next day. Then just gently snug the nylocs up a little.

Ralph gave some excellent advice but it seems to have gone right by almost unnoticed. For "gasket in a tube stuff" I use clear household silicone, the kind you would put in your caulk gun to use to seal your bath tub. I use oil instead of grease. I apply the oil to the head surface rather than the cover surface because in the event I want to get rid if it, it will be easier to scrape it off the cover than off the head as I can do that on the bench.

No sealant will prevent the cork/foil/cork gasket from delaminating. The ones available nowadays are junk.

[john.p.clegg]

Frank

I'll second that...

John

[reb53]

"but it seems to have gone right by almost unnoticed".

Don't worry Frank, happens to me at home as well........

Just found the tube of gunk I successfully used a few years ago,
"Loctite Hi-temp Red RTV silicone gasket maker 596".

Just in case someone wants a quick, easy, and effective solution to the problem....

Cheers
Ralph.

[neilsjuke]

I spray the gasket cover side up with impact spray glue then fit to cover and then leave it on a flat surface to cure with some weight then wealseal between head and gasket ,As one side is fixed it seems to come a part and can then be reused again with some more wealseal and the glue is easy to clean of with thinners.
Neil