I'm getting around to re-re-fixing a valve cover leak on the drivers side. I've seen posts of the covers having no gaskets but I have rubber gaskets on mine. Has anyone else encountered this?

 

 

Thank you for clarifying that.

 

What are the best rubber valve cover gaskets for our cars and where's a good place to get them

 

You can search "2003 Mercedes SLK320" and get rather good prices.

But, I don't do that, I just order from Needswings, Rob is often not the most inexpensive, but he backs his products and seldom have I heard of issues with what he sells (fit, quality, etc.).
As to the RTV, that is obtainable locally from Advance/AutoZone/etc.

 

I'm also going to do the plugs. They're worn to hell and I recently encountered so bad fuel.

 

I have had multiple failure of valve cover gaskets and the breather- (are they covers?) sealant. But not for a while. Was first done under an extended warranty so the event price was $100, then 2nd failure covered under a Mopar warranty and I believe the 3rd repair was the breather covers, another $100. Im handy but not a mechanic. Someone mentioned that after sealant is applied, the engine must not heat up in order for the sealant (or was it valve covers) to set up for at least 24 hours. I have not had a failure for a while so hopefully not again. Have no idea if there is a better gasket or better sealant. There are those on the forum who would have those answers.

 

Then this is a WONDERFUL time to change plugs. When you have the breathers, coil packs and valve covers off, the plugs are way easier to get to.

I"m no mechanic, but I can tell you this: I do not beleive you can get the leak fixed in such a way that it won't come back for a LONG time, unless you do it yourself. And you hinted at the reason in your post: Things take time.

I'd heard of others having a hard time getting the fix to "stick", so I did it Max's way.

• Remove coil packs and plug cables.
• Disconnect fuel line to the fuel rail (so you can, later, lift the driver's side cover off)
• Remove every single bolt that holds the breathers/valve covers on and throw them all away.
• Take the breather/valve covers off as one unit.
• Separate the breathers from the valve covers carefully, clean all four parts completely.
  • Clean the mating surfaces between breathers and valve covers wiht a toothbrush dipped in gasoline (can't find anything better) as it will melt the old RTV away.
  • Re-wash all four pieces, let them all dry over night or over a weekend in front of an air conditioner or dehumidifier.
• Apply new RTV between breathers and valve covers, using new bolts, fasten the two halves finger tight. Wait 15 minutes.
  • Now, tighten to 7 ft-lbs.
  • Leave the assemblies out overnight in front of a fan, etc. to get air to circulate and set the RTV. (Not sure this is nessesary but I did it anyway, if you leave them out near a fan, SOME air is going to move around even in the tunnels in the breathers, make sure the paths thru the breathers are clean and open before you put them together.)
• Put the assemblies on the car using a new bolt set and new vavle cover gaskets.

DONE! It's been two years as of January and my engine is not showing a DROP of oil leaking.
No shop is going to to what I describe above unless they have room to keep your car protected inside while the covers are off. Ya gotta do it yourself.

Sit back and pretend you were qualified to do what you just did. Cause now, you are.

 

 

Today I will re-assemble the larger of the two breather covers, as it had a small oil leak that burnt on the exhaust from time to time ( nasty smell ). I did the smaller one a couple years back and it's holding firm. On
reading all of the threads on this I have come to the conclusion that its not so much the torque of the screws that stop the oil seeping, but certainly the seal of the gasket cement. To that degree all mating surfaces
must be totally oil & old bits of sealant free ... immaculate. The sealant will then stick well to the surfaces. The screws just hold everything in place to where it should be, and the work of the tightening torques on the
screws / bolts, isn't so much to create a good seal ( as you would expect, as say, with a paper type gasket ) but just to make sure that the screws / bolts stay where they are and don't vibrate loose. Tightening torques
seem to be 10 n-m ( 7.4 ft-lb ) for the two long screws, .... & 5 - 6 n-m ( 4ft-lb ) on the little alluminium screws. Do not over tighten.