I stumbled across these ALH valve cover gaskets today and I'm curious if anyone has any experience using them. Can anyone comment?
I just searched this last week and read every thread I could find on ALH valve cover gaskets, and there's already a few discussions on this particular Ebay gasket. Seems the general consensus is not to buy one.
I know most ALH purists say that the gasket should never need replacing, but mine was most definitely compressed beyond usefulness by a previous mechanic and was leaking like the Exxon Valdez. It had been siliconed previously, so I spent about an hour with a seal pick carefully removing every bit of the previously applied silicone, and the OEM gasket actually looked like brand new underneath it all. Problem was, the gasket no longer protruded past the shoulder on the valve cover. I laid a straight edge across the cover, and you could see that that the gasket was too low to seal properly.
I applied a single 1/8" bead of Permatex 'The Right Stuff" on the gasket, then reinstalled the cover.
My valve cover and new cylinder head are now as dry as a wooden bridge in Africa, and if I have to use a crowbar to pry the valve cover back off next time, I'm OK with that and will deal with it. There was no way I was going to spend the money on a new valve cover for this car.
In any case, if you do decide to try the gasket, please do let us know how it works out.
Rem