Valve cover leak

[Dave]

Hello, I just did a valve adjustment on my 03 Honda Civic LX (1.7L SOHC) and then I now have a valve cover leak. I replaced the gasket, I cleaned the meeting surface quite well. I removed all old gasket maker. I put a small amount of new gasket maker on the four corners of the round parts before putting back the cover. I tight the valve cover bolt to torque spec in a cross pattern. I think I did a great job but I got a leak. The leak is located in the upper right corner. It is hard to tell exactly where is located. I don’t have a lot of experience but I would say that the leak is quite big. There was not leak at idle but when I took it for a small ride, the oil was dripping on the floor. Is there any one that could help me with this? Suggest me thing to do. Would it be a good idea to tight a bit more the bolts to have a higher gasket compression?
My second question, is there oil that got the timing belt housing? Is so, how sould I approach that problem?

Thanks in advance,
Best regards,
Dave

Topic

[Rob]

I probly would try to retighten it up a little bit more and try you luck… if not they are inow to releak again if ppl dont clean it really good or dont tighen it up right… unfortually I see alot of ppl remess it up and it releaks… many because they dont clean it good… most of thenm you sopostu put on dry.. because gasket makes might push it out of aliment causing it to leak

[Mike]

Did you replace just the valve cover gasket or did you also replace the grommets?
I recommend always replacing both.
Some companies, such as Fel Pro sell gasket kits that include the grommets for the bolts AND the spark plug seals.
Things that could have gone wrong–gasket installed with tabs at wrong end–they should be at the timing belt cover end.
Bolts in wrong position—2 long bolts go on firewall side of the cover.
When cleaning the gasket surface, it’s best to use a brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner on a paper towel to remove any oil.
I garee with Rob781; a good quality gasket should not have or need any gasket maker on it to keep it in the valve cover groove on your Civic..

As for oil by the timing belt, there shouldn’t be but you’d have to remove the valve cover and have a look.

[Andrew Phillips]

Also, the torque on those cover fasteners is 7.2 ft lbs. Yes, that is VERY light. If you over-tighten them the cover can crack and leak.

[David]

If there are any ‘vents’ or any other outlets that connect to the intake system I would check to make sure there are no blockages as oil could be forced out by pressure.

[Mike]

You say the leak is at the top right corner. Is this where your oil filler cap is? I’d check to see if the cap is tight and if the cap seal is OK. Also, did you use a new valve cover gasket?

If the cap isn’t the leak source, I’d remove the valve cover again and check the gasket. Sometimes, at certain locations, they can drop out of the groove in the valve cover when you turn the cover over to place it on the engine, and you end up pinching the gasket and it won’t seal.

[Author]

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