Valve cover crack/chip Fix on 1981 xj 550 maxim?

hi i was having a oil leak but i dont know where yet, but i cleand the engine and found this crack/chip and wonderd if this could be the culprit? and if its possible to perhaps jb weld or some other would fix this chip or do i have to purchase a valve cover any wise words would be greatly honored

 

Looks like the gasket has some cracks in it too. Not knowing the history of the bike, it might be time to replace it, and the rubber donuts that hold the cover down.

I was recently looking on eBay for valve covers and found some for $15-20. But sorry, can't answer the question on repair/welding.

 

Valve covers for 550s: Less than $20 on eBay, anytime. $10 even. Get an "early" one (unground ribs and YICS) and you can go 'bling' on the new one.

See: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=22125.html and go crazy.

I would most definitely replace the cover, gasket and donuts and it won't leak again for as long as you own the bike.

 

hey thanks guys i didnt even notice the hairline rubber cracks but i have purchased a new valve gasket but need to buy the rubber gromins also do i need to remove all the oil prior to removeing the valve cover im going to look for a older valve cover so that i can bling it out thanks fitz also thanks chaz

 

No problem. I didn't mention that I was looking for a valve cover on eBay exactly because I had read that thread the bigfitz linked above. Man does his cover look nice. I painted mine, it's all black... will have to decide if I'll "re-grind" the YICS logo and stripes back on. Probably will. Need to re-paint the rest of the engine now so it matches!

 

ya i seen the great job that was done i will tackle this project aswell and document is too then i will post it up hopefully it works out as good as fitz's but you must walk before you run right well thx again

 

You don't need to drain the oil before removing the valve cover; and yes you need to replace the "donuts" along with the gasket. They are what actually press the cover down, as the bolts have stop collars.

Patience=positive results. (My secret.)

 

Here's a couple shots of my valve cover. Not nearly as nice as BigFitz's. I'm considering this "in progress" as I haven't ground down the YICS lettering yet. I just had to paint it as the original (I think it was original) paint was bubbled/peeling in places. Come to think of it, maybe that means it *wasn't* original. This bike is old, but it doesn't have a lot of miles.

By the way, does anyone know what the original paint arrangement was on the engine? Looks like some silver and some black. This is the 82 550 Maxim. (Man, I have to clean that old oil leak spot off, it looks much worse in the picture).

 

To the best of my knowledge, and based on your pics, your motor was silver with a silver head; the jugs were painted black with the fins ground back to silver on the edges; and the valve cover was black with the highlights rather coarsely ground (machined?) back to silver.

As far as I know, 1981 was the only MY for 550s with a basically "naked" silver engine, the other two years had the black/silver scheme on the mill. Hence the need to find an 'early' valve cover if you want to polish the ribs.