Holes not covered by valve cover gasket?

I was in the process of putting my valve cover gasket back on when I noticed that there are two "galleries(?)" in the top of the head that are not covered by the valve cover gasket. They are near the #1 & #4 intake valves on the front side. This sure seems strange but I honestly have no idea what they are. Should gaps actually remain here after the cover is tightened into place?

 

It's just an empty slot. Won't leak if thats what your worried about.

 

I wonder why they would design it like that and have the valve cover with a corresponding shape??? Seems like quite a waste if it actually has no function.

 

Like my dad always told me, "it was designed to make you ask questions"

 

I'd just like to make sure before it blows oil all over my freshly cleaned and polished bike.

 

Could be the European model had some differences, and the bike was made initially for the other side of the world.

 

Something's not right. That gasket should go all the way around, following the contours, like in this pic:



Where did you get the gasket? Is it maybe the wrong one? Did it just get folded under in that spot?

 

I'm with BigFitz52 here..

I just changed my gasket and all the blanking holes are covered and the edge of the rubber follows the edge of the rocker cover precisely. There are natural bends in the rubber in all the right places.

Looks to me, if you look closely, that the rubber has got twisted. Either that or the gasket is the wrong one or it's not been aligned properly.. Take it off and take a look.. If there's no way you can adjust the rubber to match the contours and holes of the rocker cover then it's the wrong gasket.

 

Mine has got the same gap and has never lost a drop of oil out of it. My friend just got an xj750 and I noticed his has got the same gap. Maybe its just a different style of gasket or something. Hasn't caused a problem on either of our bikes.

 

I ran into this exact same situation and was concerned that something was amiss. I had replaced the original gasket with one purchased from Chacal and did not notice that it did not cover that one spot when I was installing it.
Concerned that the gasket was twisted or folded over, I removed the valve cover. The gasket was not twisted or folded and was installed properly and it does seal at this spot although the gasket does not extend
out into this area. My gasket looks exactly as the one in the above photo, and it doesn't leak.
P.S. the gasket I bought was the aftermarket one that Chacal sells.

 

Oh it will leak. All it takes is a good ride and you'll see oil all over your fins... and I mean ALL over from front to back. Had the same problem. I went with an aftermarket gasket which is a little smaller than OEM for some reason... as far as I know. I am going with the OEM gasket next.

 

Now I'm confused. I bought this aftermarket gasket from chacal because it was 1/3 the price of the OEM:

HCP2095 OEM rubber VALVE COVER GASKET, for all XJ550 models:
$ 89.95

HCP1623 Reproduction rubber VALVE COVER GASKET, for all XJ550 models:
$ 32.00

He and I had an email conversation about this last night. He wasn't sure why those holes are not covered.

It looks like I did not save my old gasket for comparison, but this photo I took after removing the cover clearly shows that the old gasket didn't cover them either. On the other hand, I did have oil all over my head. On the third hand, the "doughnuts" on the bolts were were pretty hard. Bear in mind that my bike was not running when I bought it (and still isn't), so I can't provide any direct observation about what was happening previously.

The photo also indicates that, even if the OEM gasket covers those holes, that port or gallery or tube or whatever you want to call it is non-functional. That is, the OEM gasket would simply cap it off. For those of you who have had the head off (or might even have it off now), what is on the other end of that hole?

 

That's the trouble with aftermarket.. it's a gamble.. Mine was OE.. Sold on fleabay by someone who bought the wrong one, so I got it for virtually nothing. Dry as anything.

Does anyone know the torque settings for the cover bolts by the way? Haynes either called them something different or omitted the torque settings all together.

 

Sorry mate.. Missed that you have a 550.. I'll shut up now.. 'Cept to say that my OE from fleabay cost me $13 including shipping!

 

My understanding is that this is not too critical because of the stop collars on the bolts. I'm definitely not an expert, though, as I demonstrate on a daily basis here.

Thanks for your other responses.

 

Looks like this may be another "my oil is better then your oil" argument.
The fact is that the gasket seals on the inside of the blank hole as if the hole was never there. But it does seal. For a third of the cost, I don't mind having a little gap over what is virtually nothing. I if it makes anybody feel better, you could shoot a little black rtv in there and make it look like the gasket has that useless little ear on it

 

I've been putting 90+ miles a day on mine for the last three summers, riding pretty damn hard a lot of it and not a single drop of oil has come out of the gaps in mine.

 

Well mine leaks but only out of one side. This is the second aftermarket gasket I have used on this bike and it leaks and only at that gap. I am also a 100 to 200 mile per day rider and 400+ miles on my days off. I don't ride her hard anymore, but still leaks. But then again... i could have a problem with my cover or I am not properly securing the gasket. So who knows. i don't really have a bike. i just come here for something to do.

 

Or cap those holes, for that matter. I'd still like to know what's on the other end, though.

Thanks for that report. I notice you've got a 650, though, and that's a different gasket (and head, I would presume). Is that hole consistent on all the XJ models? If so, why the heck is it there?

 

I couldn't tell ya for sure if they are different, but my 650 maxim and my friend's 750 maxim both have the gaps there.

 

The picture I posted is my '81 550, and the gasket on it is one I got from chacal. Don't remember if it was "aftermarket" or OEM.

That being said, the gasket (if I remember correctly) I got from him for my '83 does "gap" in a couple of spots but no leaks; I will take a close look when I get home and let you know.

 

Go to an auto parts store and get a small rubber gasket of the
same thickness and cut a piece to fit if you think it will leak.

Or better yet go pester the stealership and tell them you can get
an OEM for $50.00 somewhere else.
Thats what I did and the total came to $52.38
for the real deal.

 

HOLD ON. I stand corrected.

Look VERY CLOSELY at the pic I posted; the gasket DOES NOT follow that contour; that's a shadow. I had to take a flashlight and look closely.

The gasket "skips" that protrusion on both of my 550s; I looked at my spare head and there are just cast protrusions there, no drillways or holes. I also looked at the original valve cover/gasket that I pulled off my '83; the OEM gasket "gaps" that protrusion as well.

Use new donuts; torque to 7.2 ft/lbs. You'll be fine.

 

Great!

I'll add my own correction here as well. I just tried to squeeze a small cable tie through the gap and down into the hole. It feels like that is only about a centimeter deep, as far as I can tell.

Since it appears that nothing can come up through or pass by there because of a gap in the gasket, it seems reasonable to assume that the oil leaks mentioned by others were caused by something else.

New doughnuts are already in place and ready to be installed today! This has been an interesting thread. Thanks again to everyone who posted.