I know this may be a weird question but someone told me that if you take off the valve cover you have to replace it with a new one. I dont know if what is true or not so I need some clarification. I wanted to clean up my valve cover and put some nice paint on it.....

 

yes, it's always a good idea to replace the valve cover gasket anytime you remove the valve cover.

 

is it necessary I guess is what im asking...i just want to take my valve cover off paint it and put it back on again.....

 

Once again, Yes. I had to take mine off and on a lot when building the car and I replaced it every time even if I didn't drive on it, it got replaced. I have a couple just sitting in my tool box just in case. Better to be safe then sorry.

Its cheap insurance to prevent an oil leak.

 

How much do you think it would cost at my local dealership?

 

lol...go get it at autozone, its chump change.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondaracin24 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is it necessary I guess is what im asking...i just want to take my valve cover off paint it and put it back on again.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm gonna buck the trend here: it is not necessary to replace the valve cover gasket if it is in good shape. Take a good look at it, and the spark plug hole gaskets, if they're still soft & supple (woo woo - LOL!) not cracked or brittle just re-use it. Be sure you put a little RTV around the corners per the helms or it will leak.

 

What's the big deal anyways? If you don't replace the valve cover and it starts spitting out oil, it's like what? Two bolts to take it off again???

My valve cover gasket lasted over 200k before it started spitting a bit of oil...I paid 5 bucks I believe at the dealership and replaced it and voila, I'm ready for another 200k.

 

now, i could be wrong, but i believe im not, that you do not have to replace the gasket if you take off the valve cover, the reason why i say this is that i saw a guy at the dragstrip take it off, check timing, and stuff, and put it right back on.... but correct me if im wrong

just check it to see its condition, and if it looks good, put it back on, if not, replace it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondaracin24 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know this may be a weird question but someone told me that if you take off the valve cover you have to replace it with a new one. I dont know if what is true or not so I need some clarification. I wanted to clean up my valve cover and put some nice paint on it.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

If your gasket is old so it is yes. But if it was recently replaced and now you open the valve cover then no, you don't need to.

 

i've taken mine off about 5 times now and never replaced it, never any leaks...if it ain't broke don't fix it...

 

As long as the seal is not dried out and you manage to get the cover off with the seal in one piece you're good to go. All the seal does is protect against spray from the valve train really, it's not under high pressure at that point. If you were a real tightwad you could probably get away with simply using RTV (not recommended).

 

i usually only replace the 4 spark plug seals, but the outer cover doesnt need to be replaced unless its cracked and even then a little RTV or hondabond works well.

 

man i cannot believe all the fuss about an $ 8-10 dollars gasket ,,,just put a new 1 in when you take it off that way you dont have to worry about leaking on you in the near future and have to worry about oil on your engine and redoing the job . eck $ 10 for at least one year it is less than 1 dollar per month

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deserthonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">man i cannot believe all the fuss about an $ 8-10 dollars gasket ,,,just put a new 1 in when you take it off that way you dont have to worry about leaking on you in the near future and have to worry about oil on your engine and redoing the job . eck $ 10 for at least one year it is less than 1 dollar per month </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol, best sales pitch I've heard so far! That cuts into my Taco Bell fund though!

 

unless its old you dont need to replace it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cb7-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">unless its old you dont need to replace it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats wut it says in my haynes book

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondaracin24 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is it necessary I guess is what im asking...i just want to take my valve cover off paint it and put it back on again.....</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yes you should replace your gaskets. A point which people aren't hitting on is that your paining the valve cover. This requires alot of handiling and if you prep right, chemicals that you use detiorates rubber. If you take the gasket off first might as well get a new one anyway. It comes in a set do it more for the spak plug gaskets than the valve cover. If you love your car why save 15 bucks.