I plan to do a valve adjustment soon - likely next weekend. '97 D16Y5, 169K miles.

Will I need a new gasket? Or do the old ones usually come off clean and go right back on?

I've already read and saved the thread at https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/tech-article-valve-lash-adjustment-1305086/

 

they can, if your careful you can normaly re-use it but i would replace it.
due to the fact its prolly the oe gasket and nver been replaced.

 

"...but if it has around then 3k on the gasket I'd buy a new one." Huh?
You mean 300K or ??

Honda Bond? Is that a gasket sealer I get at the Honda dealership? Haynes sez use Sillicone RTV but maybe I need Honda Bond.

 

It would be much better just to buy a new one, but if your going to cheap route, you can get some high temp silicone.

 

No no I meant 3,000

your suppose to change it when ever you pull the VC off but I wouldn't change it if it was under 3,000 miles since that's pretty much throwing money lol I change mine a lot. Honda bond is used for a lot of things 1 of its uses is for the VC and yes you can get it at Honda, but sure you can use the Autozone stuff. I like to use OEM parts most of the time so that's why I recommended Honda Bond.

 

Since when do you change a valve cover gasket every 3000 miles?

 

Lol you dont... Change it when ever you pull the VC off.

 

naw u should definitely replace the vc gasket cuz most likely itll leak if the same one is reused

 

ive reused the VC gasket many of times wo any problems.

not til its about dry rotted will it leak and you gotta replace it.

but not everytime you remove it you gotta replace it.

 

When I adjusted the valves on my civic I reused the old one without any sealant and it doesn't leak.

 

here is my take on it
when i did my valve adjustment, i re-used my valve cover gasket. after my first drive, i noticed oil seepage on the corner. what i did wrong was NOT tightening the valve cover bolts in 2 step tightening process and in a certain pattern. a good idea would be to first inspect the gasket for cracks and use a razor blade to scrape off old bond from the head.

 

if its the honda gasket u dont have to change it every time, that is unless its done for.

 

The following is the order and torque spec for the valve cover on a 96-00 civic. If you follow that, you shouldn't leak any oil when you reassemble.

 

^^ whats with the 30 min wait time to fill with oil?

 

To let the Hondabond dry

 

Yeah. I didn't include that part in the snapshot.

 

Thanks guys.
Now I gotta get a decent torque wrench. For the valve adjustment AND the valve cover afterwards.