OK, I finally replaced my valve cover gasket as I've had some small leaks as
long as I've owned the car. I took great care to do everything right (cleaned
surfaces real good etc.). Used a very fine layer on the "humps" that go over
the dist. on the right and the cam on the left. The new gasket fit great except
on the hump on the left (it didn't quite sit fully flush on the valve cover)
but I figured it would lay down when I put the cover on. Everything seemed ok
after a test drive. Went to Sears Point on Sunday and it's leaking like crazy.
Before I tear it all apart again I have a couple of questions:
1. Was I wrong to use even a little silicon on the rubber gasket (aside from
the half moon ones)?
2. What is the chance of my cam seal leaking? Could that have been the original
problem? The thing is it got "much" worse after replacing the VC gasket.
3. How critical is the torque values on this part. I did snug them down pretty
tight. Does over torqueing this part cause problems?
Here is a link to where I suspect the problem might be. The bottom of the
"humps".
http://pcinteractive.ca/scirocco/timing/cam_timing.jpg
What say you all? I know this is a simple procedure (and I've done many on
other cars in the past) but this is not a normal vehicle.
Thanks in advance.
Greg
