hunterp27

After replacing the valve cover gaskets i still had a leak at the back bottom most corner on the drivers side. Took it off to inspect it as I was getting frustrated and after laying a straight edge on it, this is what I found..........

Jack88

That's off by more than a little. No wonder you couldn't get it to seal.

hunterp27

ya and unless you lay a straight edge on it, you cant really see it. If you are just holding it looking at it with all the angles and whatnot, it looks fine. Gonna try some permetex first and then order a new valve cover if that doesn't work.

mishar

What about other three sides?

That cover can be easily machined like a cylinder head. Should be cheaper and faster than getting a new one.

MP4.2+6.0

Young man, just one word: "plastics."

mishar

You think it is plastic? It looked like aluminum to me. If it is plastic it may be that shaped on purpose in order to provide enough pressure on that side. Bolts should strait it.

MP4.2+6.0

From some back office dialog, that's what I understand. Given these motors get fairly heavy (like W12), I might have likewise guessed a magnesium alloy or something--like the W12 big intake piece. See this excerpt from V10 SSP. A lot more complicated than I realized when you notice that internal ducting and passage stuff. Assuming no trick lost art casting stuff, strikes me as a two piece fused plastic sandwich type thing, then with a good paint job.

hunterp27

Its definitely plastic and there is no machining of plastic that I am aware of. I am resigned that this one is borderline ruined due to the amount of heat that is generated under the hood and on the block. All the other ends/sides are straight and yes you would think the bolt/screw would flatten it out and seal the corner and it does, but not all the way. Once its tightened down it all appears to be good but clearly its not because enough seeps out to drip onto the exhaust and continue to smoke.
So, here is the open question to the team: I have some Permatex black that I can use to attempt to seal it just a little bit more. Clearly i want the new gasket to sit flush on the block but what would be the best way to make use of the permatex? The only way that I can see that it would be effective would be to run a thin bead inside the small gasket valley that the gasket sits inside and while its still wet, to go ahead and place it back onto the block and cinch it down. I'd let it dry for 24 hours before starting the engine and raise it to operating temp. Am I on the right path here?

ooeddym

I tried permatex in exactly the fashion you are describing on a warped cbr1000rr valve cover gasket and could never get it to stop weeping. Replacing it was the final solution.

hunterp27

I am fairly certain that replacing the valve cover will be the end game, but now that I have gotten very adept at removing the valve covers and all the stuff that's gotta be removed prior to valve cover, I feel like giving this one last shot before spending the 400 bucks on a new one. I think one of the things that will keep this from working is the fact that getting to this bottom back bolt is so dang hard which means you cannot get a good bite on the star bolt to cinch it down completely. So, in an effort to get a better bite, I removed the shallow star bolt and replaced it with a hardened allen head (same length) with a deeper recess for the allen head socket to fit in. I was even thinking about removing the head off another one and using some JB Weld or metal weld to stack that head right on top of the other head effectively doubling the depth of the head. This would all make sense if you could see or really envision the area you are working with in order to get a wrench in there to tighten it down.