Valve Cover Leak

On my '82 Maxim 750. Actually more of a weep than a leak. I have ordered a new gasket, and was wondering if anyone here has any sage advice on replacement techniques.
It looks like the clearance between the valve cover top and the frame above are mighty tight. Do I nneed to remove the horns and coils?
Thanks-
Bill in Grayson

 

Dont have to remove anything other than the tank and plugwires. I strap the plugwires to the upper frame so they stay out of the way. I also use some RTV on the gasket to hold it in place and keep it from leaking. These valve covers are know for leaking and RTV works.

 

Just did this on my 750rh a few weeks ago. Make sure when you think you've seated the gasket in the grooves that you actually did. I did mine, took a quick glance and said DONE. Only to get 3 miles into my test drive and see oil on my pants. OOPS. The RTV is probably a good idea to hold that slippery gasket in place.

I ended up getting the gasket as close as i could, then grabbing a business card and used the corner to make sure that the fin (top side of the gasket) was pushed into the groove on the valve cover. Once i had a good seat and zipped that thing up tight.

 

Thanks for saying that Skot! I went through the same thing last week putting mine back on. Got it down, started threading in the bolts and noticed that one inside corner had slipped out. Took 10 minutes to get everything back in place.

 

And now ...,
for another exciting edition ..,
of - -

The Old School Method
by: Rick Massey
All rights reserved.

Fitting the Cam Cover Gasket.

Clean the gasket-lip channel out real good. Use a toothbrush and some Carb Cleaner and get it ... well, clean!

Rinse-out the channel with a little Isopropyl Alcohol if you have some. Any kind of cleaner with alcohol. I've used Windex once or twice. Nobody was lookin'! When I get ready to do this on my suh-whee-eat Max ... I might just use some Johnny Daniel's. His good friends don't need to call him Jack. Johnny's OK for some of his best friends.

OK ... we got it clean.
You need one tool. The best tool for this gasket job comes scotch taped to the can of carb cleaner. The little red tube that switches to guided missile; then hides!

Elmer's Glue-All.
Elmer couldn't quite figure-out what to put on the label so everybody would know it's really Elmer's Glue and not a Knock-off ... so, he puts a nice likeness of his grandmother on the front, too.

OK ... so, we got the Elmer's Glue in one hand ... and, the little red disappearing tube in the other. Normally, I should not have to explain this process any further. I'm sure there's a light bulb over the heads of a good many of you already.

Yes ... the trick is to lay a film of the Elmer's Glue all around the channel Seat the gasket in the channel. Don't sweat the mess. Use any of the ooze-out on a place that might have had the glue spread too lean. Pat it all down, all the way around ... and, use this opportunity to make the gasket fit perfectly by shifting it ... if it needs it.

When the glue on your fingers starts to get tacky; finish-up the installation by seating the gasket, once again.

Clean-off your fingers and the top surface of the gasket with a damp cloth making the flat, contact surface of the gasket ... clean.
When the top surface is clean ... Paint it with clean oil. I just use a Q-Tip dipped in Marvel Mystery Oil. Any clean oil will work.

With the Gasket oiled "Set the Gasket" all around, by running your fingers over the whole Gasket; applying a little pressure to seat the locating tab firmly.

Clean the mating surface all around the top of the Cylinder Head. The glue will be ready right after you get the cylinder head cleaned-up.

Here's the good part:

Now, paint the Cylinder Head mating surfaces with a light sheen of oil.
Paint the gasket with another light coat, too!

The gasket will not become displaced when you put the cover back on and position it.
The oil is going to allow the gasket to flatten-out when you tighten it down.
This treatment is going to allow the Cam Cover to be removed again ... without the "Gasket Hassle."

The clean-up is going to be quick and easy ... Elmer's Glue-All is water soluble.
Using Elmer's is perfectly safe.
(Little kid's have eaten the stuff)

Piece 'O Cake!

And, ... Now that you know "The Old School Method" you'll NEVER have to hassle with the gasket again.
You seated it perfectly!
It won't leak.
I promise.

- 30 -

 

Thanks for the quick responses-
I'm going to tackle this as soon as I get a weekend day not fit for riding- I had not though about the Elmer's angle...
Bill

 

, where's that 50 cal .

 

That's one advantage to living in America vs Australia.....we can keep out ammo "with" our guns!

 

The valve cover on my 81 XJ550RH is leaking from the front cam plug gasket. I have tried using permatex ultra black but that didn't work. it still leaked. I found that i had stripped the two outer 6mm bolts and the rear middle bolt. I had to drill and tap them with new 6mm helicoils. they tighten just fine now but when I went to put the gasket on the valve cover it was seated fine. It was only whe I went to put the cover on the gasket slipped and didn't seat properly. It got crushed and now it's split on the inside by the cam chain. I have since ordered a new gasket kit ($66 from partsnmore.com) and am waiting for it to arrive.

My question is, instead of using the elmers method will the permatex gasket sealant work just as good if not better? I have this stuff in the garage and have used it with success in the past for the clutch cover.



also with a new gasket will i still need to put down another layer of the ultra black? or just use the gasket sealer on the cover and the cyl head?

 

Geezz all those instructions USE yamabond OR 4 bond 1104, or 3bond 1211 if you've got it. Use it to 'glue yr Fresh Valve cover gasket to the Valve cover.. only use a little.. Put some on the half moon corners.. just as required by every twin cam engine onna Planet..
Snug it all up. Assuming the Valve cover hold down bolts (what idiot decided that so many were needed) Newer enfgins have 4 Rubber seakls have not become rock hard and compressed into uselessness (Likely most).. then the Oil leak issue is Gone.

 

Spraying engine degreaser on the front of my engine last week must have dissolved the oil gunk keeping the leak from getting worse, because now it's leaking a LOT. I've already used permatex ultra black in place of a paper gasket on an alternator cover (Honda V65 Sabre) and for the clutch cover on my XJ750RH and had no leaks at all. I'm going to use this technique for the valvecover now. Mainly because There is no way I'm paying $60 for a piece of paper for a 28 year old bike.

 

Gentlemen:

The XJ-Series Bikes are Engineered to NOT require any Sealants when the Cam Cover Gasket is fitted.

The Cover's Rubber Gasket Seals the Mating Surfaces.
The Fasteners all have Rubber Donuts that apply the Torque needed to keep the Cover from Leaking.

If your Cover leaks, ... its because the Rubber Donuts have aged and do not provide enough down-force any longer.

The Main Cover Gasket is LIGHTLY Oiled along with the Mating Surface of the Head when the Cover is placed on the Engine.

Correctly done, the Cover will be able to retain its Oil Tight Seal through many removals of the Cover for Maintenance.

 

great write up Rick, going to be doing one of these myself in the upcoming week on a new CL find.

 

i used loctite when i did my ninja.

like rick says. you shouldn't need any sealer. don't know about the maxim. but my problem was the gasket not staying in when the cover was turned over for installation.

i'd imagine any type of glue like solution will work just to keep the thing in place when it's turned over. some solutions will need a longer drying time though. before attempting installation.

dont' know why they couldn't design the cover like a car. most cars are designed in a matter that the gasket will stay in place when the cover is upside down.

 

So the gasket for the XJ750RH is rubber, not paper? If this is true, Permatex RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) should be a perfect application. It may not last as long as the rubber gasket, but 1)that is debatable and 2)given my history with bikes, I have another 8-10 months before this one is stolen(again)/hit/destroyed in some other way. I can't wait until I leave the city and can justify buying a bike worth more than $600.

 

Bingo. The composite metal/rubber "donuts" on the valve cover bolts are what actually push the cover down against the gasket and head. The bolts themselves have stop collars. If your donuts are baked dead and permanently compressed they will not do the job, and even a new gasket slobbered with all kinds of sealant will leak.

With new donuts, you use gasket sealer to glue the gasket to the cover, and lightly oil it (or use silicone grease) as Rick indicated, to help it "squish" into place. It won't leak, and can be removed/replaced many times over.

 

I've always been told never use silicone sealer or grease on any type of rubber or silicone gaskets...it makes them want to migrate under compression, acts as a lubricant, as it never fully cures.

 

(( Scroll Up ))

I wrote how to keep the Gasket in the Cover while you install it.

 

Which in this case IS the desired result. The gasket has prominent ridges to locate it in the cover and a series of "sealing" ridges.

We want it to act as a lubricant to allow the gasket to shift around a bit and conform to the surfaces, providing an optimum seal.

We do not want it to "cure" as the valve cover has to removed every 5000 miles to check the valves, and we want to reuse the gasket.

As both Rick and I have stressed: a new gasket, properly installed, and with new donuts, will seal, not leak and still be removable without damage and therefore reusable through a few service "cycles." Our methods only differ in the medium chosen to stick the gasket to the cover for installation.

Understand something: Both Rick and I are the owners and operators of multiple XJs, as are quite a few of the other members. I believe he has two road-ready and fully operational bikes, as do I. We ride and maintain them and have been for a while now.

We speak from experience. We're not making stuff up. We're telling you this because it works.