There has to be a solution to this. Someone please post a pic of the valve cover and attaching bolts.

What is an Altrom?

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83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I am simply amazed at the number of leak issues being reported here.

Installed a Victor Reins valve cover gasket on my 240D several weeks ago.

No leaks from the old one, or the new gasket.

.

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1985 300SD
1983 300D
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This is the thread that will not die!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I've conststently asked for specific information but none is forth coming.

Apparently it is far easier to blame others than to solve the problem.. Or to even make an attempt to understand the problem. ( RE I gave details on how to check gasket compression and one reply was " I have not done a compression check. The car starts immediately . . . ..")

From my research:

There are wave washers ( springs ) under the bolt heads. Based on their existence, apparently they are used to provide constant compression of the gasket. Aluminum expands at a faster than iron. The wave washers maintain proper compression when cold and flatten out when hot so the gasket does not crush. If the washers are flat or missing, that could be part of the problem.

I still need to see the bolts. If they have a shoulder, this will limit gasket compression even with a tight bolt. ( check gasket compression as outlined in post 15 )

It looks like there are only 4 bolts holding the cover on, this is a very bad design for such a large area.

I'd hope the bolt holes on the straight side of the cover have some sort of gasket to prevent oil from wicking up the holes.

This far along with an old motor, the cover could be warped, doing the gasket compression test in post 15 would expose this.

Could there be a bad run of gaskets? Maybe, but the other issues need taken care of first.

Sorry for initially misunderstanding your question re: compression. I wondered why it was in this thread. I've since checked the valve cover with a machinists straight edge. It is straight.

The valve cover fits over 4 studs that do indeed have shoulders to set the VC at a specific height. I made sure that the shoulders were clean and installed the gasket without any sealer. It leaked apparently both from the groove on top that contacts the VC and the flat side of the gasket that contacts the head.

There are no washers wavy or otherwise on any of the 3 engines that I have. (84SD, 85SD & late 84SD parts car)

Next I reinstalled the same seal using a little black RTV in the groove. By"little" I mean that the RTV did not squish out all over the place. I lightly clamped the VC to a painted relatively straight pine board, let it set then reinstalled leaving it over night to dry. The leak was now only between the head and gasket, not above the gasket.

My most recent attempt was to remove the VC and apply a little black RTV to the bottom of the seal, let get tacky and reinstall. It is not leaking as of today after ~ 100 mi.

I have to take care of the 85SD in the near future and will do something similar perhaps with a different sealer - most likely with RTV in the groove and the other sealer on the bottom of the gasket.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Got it on the engine compression thing.

We are now getting somewhere with this latest information. Studs with shoulders will limit gasket compression. The bolts will be tight because they are bottoming out on the shoulder but they are not pushing the gasket down.

Find some wave washers that fit _over_ the shoulder and put them top of valve cover / under the nuts. This will compress the gasket farther. You might have to go so far as to use a thin flat washer in addition to the wave washer.

Also, are the studs screwed completely into the head?

If someone has access to a EPC or similar, the washer numbers should be there.

I don't see how washers above the valve cover would compress the gasket more because the shoulders on the studs is what holds the VC off the head. The studs are seated all the way down and the shoulders contact the head.

It may in fact be warped VC that I didn't find. They didn't leak when new, not everyone has this issue but my 3 engines do. The wealthy original owners wouldn't put up with this.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

My last two Victor-Reinz valve cover gaskets were leaking quite a bit. I purchased a genuine Mercedes one made by Bruss, and it is not leaking.

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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

Altrom is a Napa brand, supposed to be OEM. I've just been keeping an eye on the oil level and marking my territory wherever I park. Need to get this fixed, I don't like dumping dirty oil everywhere.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

I don't know what the PO used on my car, but I am a little concerned by this thread - fall maintenance says I am gettin gthe valves reset by a local indie this week, and bought a new VR gasket to go with the job.

Whatever is currently on the engine leaks up front on the passenger side. I'm not sure where else, but my slow leaks are driving me nuts. Not enough to drip, but enough to make things ugly. I was hoping to get rid of that leak with the new gasket, then start chasing the others.

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1981 240 D in the Toronto Area
Ivory with one black fender

This has been a lengthy discussion with much said about RTV and other sealers which are either inappropriate for the job or simply obsolete.

I would suggest that you research Hylomar sealant. From personal experience, this is an outstanding sealant and gasket dressing that will resolve many of your sealing issues, not just this valve cover thing. It does not harden, is tacky enough to keep a gasket or seal in place as you maneuver parts around, will not flake off into your oil or cooling passages and will allow you to re-use a gasket multiple times. Your preferred vendor can be located via an internet search. Unfortunately, it seems that PP does not stock this product.

Hylomar Universal Blue Sealant - PL32

A little goes a very long way, so don't be cheap, purchase this and witness your "leak stress level" decline rapidly.

Any shoulder I'm speaking of might be on the valve cover side of the stud where the threads end and the body starts. I don't have any pictures of bolts so I can't say for sure that it has a shoulder.

A test I have been pushing all along is to install the cover without a gasket, run the bolts down, pick the cover up against the bolts and measure the cover to head gap all around. This will tell you right away if the cover is warped / bolts not drawing it down far enough. If the gap is larger than the thickness of the gasket, fix what ever is keeping it up.

If the cover is warped, continuing to tighten but ,not over torque, the bolts ( over weeks / months ) against the gasket might compress the high spots enough to get the low ones to seal.

The only issue with measuring is there is not a convenient accurate method to measure. The space is way too big for a feeler gauge. A rule and eyeballing can't get into some of the places. I suppose it is possible to come up with a bar to use as a feeler gauge.

The shoulders appear clean and seated on the head. The valve cover doesn't appear warped based on a machinist's rule used as a straight edge. I'm planning to try various sealers as time goes on until I find what won't leak and is easiest to remove when required.

Am also thinking of selling 1 SD because I have too many projects to concentrate on only 1 and get it to where I want. SDs, Old Dodge Ram, 78 Z, sail boat, old house, extra house, no garage all take work and splinter my effort.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Just stack feeler gauges up. If you are using the standard fold up type, just leave a bunch sticking out.