We've Struck Oil!!

Some time ago I remember seeing a post of a MGB with the caption, "If it isn't leaking, it's empty!" While funny, it's true and in my experience the harder you run 'em the leaky they get. My long-term plan is to seal things up that can be sealed but I noticed a "new" leak after driving the car a couple times. The rear differential. I will tackle that in another post but for now let's have a look at the valve cover.

Before I get into the overview replacing the valve cover gasket I want to take a minute to briefly describe the first process I went through. When I set out to replace the gasket I decided to go with a silicone gasket and for added coverage I further decided to use gasket maker. This was a colossal failure and generally bad idea. After cleaning up the valve cover and head surface I squeezed out a small bead of gasket maker on both surfaces. Then I fitted the gasket on valve cover and allowed the material to set up for a bit. After a few hours I reinstalled the valve cover. I let this sit overnight.

The next day I started the engine and not seeing any leakage I decided to go for a spin. Once I returned to my garage I lifted the bonnet to have a look. Oil splatted all over and some moderate leaky from one of the corners. I tried tightening the cover a bit more but it was clear that the silicone gasket and all of that gasket maker was not a happy marriage.

So, back to the "old school" approach.

I ordered a couple cork gaskets from Moss Motors and got to cleaning up the mess I made with silicone stuff.

For those of you who have replaced valve cover gaskets before know that process is pretty simple. On the '76 MGB there are only two bolts and a few hoses to move. After clearing the way I only had to "rock" the cover back-n-forth a few times and it came off.

The first time I removed the cover I found the original gasket was effectively baked on to the surface and it was hard. I used a plastic putty knife to scrape the debris off and cleaned the surface smooth.

With the cork gasket and gasket maker/sealer in hand I went to work for round two.

Using the smallest nozzle hole possible I squeezed a small bead around the edge of the valve cover and smoothed this out as evenly as possible with my finger. While the sealer was still tacky I positioned the gasket on the cover and pressed into to place. I then placed the valve cover on a flat surface and placed some weight on it to allow everything to set up.

I waited overnight to perform part two. Using the same small nozzle I placed a bead of sealer around the surface of the head and installed the valve cover. Once in place and satisfied with it's position I replaced the bolts and hand-tightened them avoiding squeezing out sealer. I again waited, overnight.

The waiting is probably overkill but I had other things to do and wanted to ensure a good cure of the product.

A few days later I returned to valve cover and tightened the bolts down and prepared for a test.

After a good 30 minutes of driving around I returned home to check for leak and found none. Success!