Motor-Mouths - General gasket question

stevieray

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General gasket question
Oct 21^st, 2009 at 8:58pm

Wife's 1991 Mazda Protege has a leaky valve cover gasket. Oil pours out & coats everything from there down. Drips all over the place.

I put in the first new one about 4 years ago - had to scrape a lot of sealant out of the groove in the cover where the formed rubber gasket goes. The new gasket has explicit instructions NOT to use any sealer, so I cleaned it up spotless & put the new one in.

Worked great for about 2 years, then started leaking like a sieve again. Pulled it out & it was hard as a rock - you could just break it apart with your fingers. So I put in another new one & gooped it up with Permatex that time. Worked great for about 2 years & now it's leaking again leaving spots all over the damn driveway.

Ready to put in another new one - what should I try this time?

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Tom

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Re: General gasket question
Reply #1 - Oct 21^st, 2009 at 9:43pm

first when you get the old gasket (o-ring) out of the valve cover, clean it good... make sure NOTHING is in the groove...

once you have that groove so you would eat out of it, spray it out with 'brake clean' let that dry, only takes a min.

do the same to the gasket rail on the head.. most important is that both sides are free of oil and dry.

if the new gasket wont stay put, I use 3M black weather strip adhesive very sparingly, (refuse to use silicone on anything) that will dry fast also and keep that 'o-ring' in place...

if it gets any oil on it, from the engine your fingers etc. it will get hard faster than normal...

don't buy the gasket from the cheapest place unless it's a Fel-pro but ask when the last time they sold one.. yeah expect a dumb look... it's rubber... that rubber will age sitting on the shelf and I bet not to many gaskets are sold for a 91 anywhere anymore... so if it's been in the box for 2 years it's already 2 years old.

the other thing is people like to tighten the heck out of them... all they need is snugging and then if you see a weep you can add a turn. If you completely crush it when you install it, it wont last like it should.

I have owned 2 mazda trucks, one had the 2.2, the other 2.6 both 4cyl and after the original gasket mine were the same way, a couple years they needed a new one.

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stevieray

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Re: General gasket question
Reply #2 - Oct 21^st, 2009 at 10:29pm

Gasket wasn't in stock - took a couple of weeks to get in, so I think it was pretty fresh. It was a Fel-pro brand. I'll see if there's any date code on the next one I get.

The formed rubber gasket fits pretty tight in the groove in the cover - you actually have to push it in there, so it stays put during installation so that's probably not an issue, but I'll definitely try the brake kleen thing.

I was careful with the torque - I could see it wasn't squeezing the rubber out the sides - some Permatex did ooze out, though - I had to wipe some blobs off.

I was gonna use blue silicone goo in place of the Permatex this time - you think that would do more harm than good?

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Tom

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Re: General gasket question
Reply #3 - Oct 21^st, 2009 at 10:41pm

that's exactly why I refuse to use silicone... whatever squeezes out squeezes IN...

I have replaced as many engines because that crap stopped-up the oil pump pick-ups as engines for normal wear in tear... I haven't opened a tube of silicone in 10 years unless that's the only alternative and then I put it on as thin as possible

don't use it on your gasket, you don't need it

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rwise

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Re: General gasket question
Reply #4 - Nov 17^th, 2009 at 7:04am

I would be curious as to what oil is being ran in it,,,,,
And what temp it is running,,,
kinda sounds as though the gasket is allergic to the oil,,,
Most folks dont understand how to use RTV, they put on a nice thick bead and slap it together, of course this is wrong! IF you use RTV put a thin (thats thin) coat on both of the metal (or plastic) surfaces and let it set for at least 15 minutes! (I prefer fully dry)

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stevieray

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Re: General gasket question
Reply #5 - Dec 3^rd, 2009 at 11:13pm

Oil is plain old Castrol 10W40. Thermostat I put in a few years ago is 195 degrees - temp gauge sits steady just below center so I don't think it runs unusually hot or anything.

I put the new gasket in after cleaning everything up like Tom advised - bare nekkid with no sealant - we'll see how long this one lasts (car has about 340K on it, so I'm thinking this gasket may just be the last one).

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rwise Supreme Yakin' Moderator Offline Eat my shorts man Posts: 3739 Oakhurst OK Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #6 - Dec 4^th, 2009 at 7:26am I have been using those nice looking felpro molded gaskets, those I have picked up were blue, now I am starting to read how they only last about 2 years and are hard and dried out to the point of being brittle, and at this point are leaking, I hope this is not true!
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Tom Motor-Mouths Administrator Offline REMEMBERING AN ICON Posts: 15500 Pocomoke, Md. Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #7 - Dec 4^th, 2009 at 7:53am it's not true, fel-pro gaskets are #1 ... none are better. if a fel-pro leaks in 2 years, any other would leak in a year
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rwise Supreme Yakin' Moderator Offline Eat my shorts man Posts: 3739 Oakhurst OK Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #8 - Dec 8^th, 2009 at 6:59am Now I am talking about the blue silicon looking gaskets, on some of the jeep forums they are saying after 2 years they are brittle, I will find out because I am using them in my jeep....
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Tom Motor-Mouths Administrator Offline REMEMBERING AN ICON Posts: 15500 Pocomoke, Md. Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #9 - Dec 8^th, 2009 at 7:12am I figured you were. and if it's the straight 6, you wont stop it from leaking
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rwise Supreme Yakin' Moderator Offline Eat my shorts man Posts: 3739 Oakhurst OK Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #10 - Dec 9^th, 2009 at 6:50am I will be happy if I can get the rear main to stop leaking, still have not found that blasted round toit
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Tom Motor-Mouths Administrator Offline REMEMBERING AN ICON Posts: 15500 Pocomoke, Md. Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #11 - Dec 9^th, 2009 at 7:15am Quote: round toit ????
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rwise Supreme Yakin' Moderator Offline Eat my shorts man Posts: 3739 Oakhurst OK Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #12 - Dec 10^th, 2009 at 6:35am I'll do it when I get a round to it The last one I laid eyes on was paper,,,,
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rwise Supreme Yakin' Moderator Offline Eat my shorts man Posts: 3739 Oakhurst OK Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #13 - Dec 10^th, 2009 at 6:36am Or I must have it running,,, whichever comes first!
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Tom Motor-Mouths Administrator Offline REMEMBERING AN ICON Posts: 15500 Pocomoke, Md. Gender:	Re: General gasket question Reply #14 - Dec 10^th, 2009 at 7:11am Quote: when I get a round to it duh!!
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