valve cover gasket installation

when replacing this gasket, the old one had some sort of adhesive on the channel that faces down on the engine. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Thanks, muchoxj550

 

Clean the Channel and where the Gasket goes surgically clean.
Get your Mom's Elmers Glue.
Cut a Carb Cleaner Tube's end at a 45-Degree angle.

Smear >> Lightly Coat >> Lightly apply.

Smear some Elmers in the Channel using your Handy-Dandy Carb Tube which fits the channel Like a glove.
Don't waste time.
Get the Gasket Mounted in there and Position it before the Elmers dries.
SEAT the Gasket.
Wipe-off any Elmers the oozes out on to a Paper towel you have tucked into the band of your pants.
Position the Gasket PERFECTLY!
Let dry.
Good show.
Now, get an artist Paint Brush.
Paint the Gasket with a nice thin coat of Oil.
Paint the Engine Surface where the Gasket will touch with a thin coat of Oil.
Put the Cover on and POSITION IT.
Tighten down ....>>>> Slowly! Let the Gasket SPREAD-OUT as you Tighten.
Torque to spex
It will NOT leak.

 

would black rtv sealant work? My mom ran out of elmers... ;-)

 

The RTV Sealant is messy.
But, it will work.

 

Another thing that might have been in that channel is Hi Tack Gasket Sealer. In Fitz's fantastic pictorial instruction post, he says to paint the channel with the stuff using a paint brush ...

 

The nice Part about the Elmer's Glue Trick is that the Gasket moves to where is needs to be during the torquing down and then stays put.
Its easy to get the Gasket OFF later because you don't use a lot of glue.
Then, reusing it is easy because the Old Glue releases the Gasket nice and cleans-up with water.

 

Yamaha glued them in with something too, not sure what.

I like Hi-tack because it's so sticky; it does require solvent to remove however.

The main point is to glue it to the cover and lube the other side so the gasket can mash into place, yet be easily removable.

 

My favorite adhesive for this job ...
Good Old "Elmer's Glue"

Use a little as possible.
Spread it in the Channel with a Carb Cleaner Red Tube (Perfect Tool)

Throw the Gasket on and position it while the Glue gets tacky.
"Seat" the Gasket when you have the pattern adjusted just right.

When you install the Cover ...
Paint-on (using a tiny brush) some Oil to BOTH Mating Surfaces.
The flat Rubber of the Gasket and the Top Surface of the Head.

When you tighten down the Cover the Gasket will flatten-out and reposition itself for a Oil Tight Seal.

 

Why not silicon rather than oil?

 

You want the two surfaces to come together without introducing an element that will detract form the precision of the two surfaces coming together.

The Oil lets the two surfaces mate ... perfectly.
Plus: It allows the Cover to be removed ... maintenance done ... and replaced without muss or fuss.

 

By the way, the hold-down bolt torque should be 7.2 lb ft.

 

Awesome info, I have to do this job this weekend when my valve shim arrives. Believe it or not, I'm going to have this machine fully tuned up before Halloween come hell or high water!