/6 valve cover leak......still Options

[Dr Evil]

So I got the new silicon covered valve cover gaskets and put them on last time I ran the car hoping that this would solve the oil incontenance my engine is suffereing.....nope. Then I recalled that I may have been expecting a bit too much from these new fangled gaskets. My old valve cover has some corrosion on the mating surface that is potentially the cause, or at least an exacerbating factor of this leak. That plus the tooling marks on the head probably did it in. Thus, I just scored a good deal on some turbo valve covers (they realy have come down in price for new, though) and hope to have them in by Fri.

Some thoughts about hte other part of this problem, the mating surface of the cam towers.
Q: Could I fill in any tooling marks with a filler of some sort and sand smooth? ex; quick steel, jb weld, etc.

So long as this compound is not heat sensitive and can withstand oil I think it would work.

Comments?

[lapuwali]

I wouldn't say the machining required to get the Turbo valve covers to work in a 914 is "extensive", but it's not zero.

When you actually get the engine in the car, the first thing you should do it try to remove the exhaust valve covers. You'll likely find that you can't get them off, as they won't clear the trailing arm mount. You can machine off the ribs in the bad area, or you can use bolts instead of studs and nuts to hold on the cover. The bolt idea almost requires you to fit helicoils/timeserts where the studs went, as the cast Al cambox won't like you to remove/refit bolts regularly to do the valves (why studs are used). In any case, you'll be dropping the engine again to fix the problem...