I'm the victim of the infamous leaking valve cover gasket and have been since I got the car. I've had the VCG replaced about five times which only lasts about 3 months before the damm thing leaks again and IN THE SAME SPOT ARGH!!! The rest of the time I just live with the toxic fumes and bring the window down when I can.

I've never tried a Stop leak solution in my engine because you car gods like to freak everyone out with ONLY CERTIFIED BY THE GERMAN DEMIGODS THEMSELVES fluids trip... And I agree with that but I'm due for an oil change soon and I want to know if putting in some Wynn's Stop leak can prevent this infinitesimally small leak from rearing it's ugly head once again.

All I want to do is add the stop leak, run the car for about 100 or so miles and then drain the sucker, replace the oil filter and put the good stuff in with NO stop leak.... Just to see if it works. How bad can that be right?

 

i know somewhere on audizine oldguy has posted something about a certain brand of stop leak that he used that did the trick. Thing was to use in small incremints. Ill try to dig it up tommrow!

 

AHHHHHH! No dont do it! It will affect your ability to get into Valhalla!

Actually, you seem to have tried the "conventional wisdom" solution of replacing the VCGs without success. Perhaps it is time to try something else. Most of us preach the ability of certain snake oil solutions (Seafoam anyone?) to solve problems. I really don't see a problem with giving it a shot. It is your car and if you are comfortable with giving it a shot, go for it. Let us know how it works out

good luck

have fun

 

Thanks for the responses guys, I'm gonna try it as soon as Pa4ul gets me the brand name of the stop leak he heard about.

Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!!!!!

 

The stop leak OG was on his radiator, for the leake valve cover gasket have you tried putting light compound on the covergasket? I had the same issue with a 3.0 and the compound fixed, it, it was just some random RTV that I used to be honest...

 

yea dan is right. I was thinking backwards. ITs been crazy with xmas and all. dan do u just put it anywhere you see oil build up?

 

No on my 3.0 it was leaking towards the passenger side, and the drivers side, it was just decoloration, I changed the gasket and did a "beaner-rig" to hold the gasket in place with red RTV sealant, no more oil build up from those areas. The RTV you have to use the straight nice bead all over because if you do drops or put too much it will go into the oil area and you don't want that. Also keep in mind tat you have a 1.8T, sometimes the problem with those starts at the actual head and goes to the valve cover eventually.

 

Hey Dan and Paul,

Thanks for the tips. I'm not keen on taking the VCG off but if I can seal the leak by applying the compound you speak of onto the leak itself that would be great. BTW, the leak is at the back just to the left of the coolant temp sensor and causes the oil to drip onto a very hot part of the exhaust whereby the fumes make their way into the cabin when the car is stops. It seems to only happen in cycles as in, it leaks when the heat and pressure are great enough like for example, I get off the highway and stop at a light. Right then and there ill start to smell burnt oil for a minute or two and then it goes away.

Another thing. Can either of you PLEASE post a pic of the exact seaman you speak of? You're using terms like RTV nad such and that's just confusing enough for me to get the wrong stuff. A clear and good pic of the sealant you recommend would REALLY make things easier.

Cheers and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Just do this for the gasket, not that difficult. And the RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) sealant is just a compound, this is the one I used, I used it for my oil sump so I had some left over and I just used it on the gasket for the valve cover. You WILL have to remove the old gasket either way, I did and put the new one and added some of that sealant to make sure I didn't have a leak anymore.

 

Dan,

As much as I'd like to do "this", it's -15 CELCIUS here in Ottawa and i don't have an indoor facility to perform the work so that's a nogo lol. Sure wish I could though.

Question for you; what are the diameters of the pinch clamps you use for the hoses you'd need to disconnect?

Thanks