Thread: RV8 Valley Cover - Tips for Installation

I have found that the later aftermarket rubber seals were too long and I had to trim the ends to fit properly.
In addition I gave them an extra bit of gasket sealant at each end, or as sure as eggs the buggers will leak.
Regards Philip A

I have a nasty habit of putting things away so I will not loose them and of course when I need them I cannot find them. This was the case with the rubber seals - for some reason I had removed them from the gasket set and hid them somewhere and could not find them so I had to resuse the old rubber seals - hence I was extra careful to make sure they would seal with sealant - I guess time will tell but not had an issue in the past with this aspect.

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

Not with the amount of sealant I also used

Hmm, hope it works for you, we have seen many and that's what a lot of people do thinking more is better and they leak. New seals and RTV in the corners and properly torqued seems to last longer.

They may not even be procurable any more but the earlier type end seals are different to the later ones as are the retainers .

The early type is narrower and is straighter and is a square U shape that contacts its length the retainer is also narrower .

These type were for 3.5lts and early 3.9ltr or the type that came with the shim steel gaskets .

The later type are wider has a pronounced hook one end have the square U shape on the ends and are L shaped through the mid section . The retainer is also wider .

I am of the opinion the reason the factory end seals are 3 times the price is because of what is used in their makeup .

In my personal experience i have tightened aftermarket to spec and have them cut and leak , if using aftermarket i use sealer over the entire area but not so much it oozes out all over .

If using factory i only put a little on the mating between the head and block and when using shim gaskets i only put a very light coat around the coolant ports as well and only the mating with composite .

This has come about through early learning when finding end seal leaking pretty much straight away and on removal finding ports quarter blocked by sealant it doesn`t take a lot .

Some Black composite factory inlet gaskets were able to shed the black coating into the engine some would only shed what was under the inlet manifold open to the air .

After market composite inlet gaskets do what they like some are good some are not .

The latest type of composite a greyish colour and crosshatched for want of a better description and are suppose to hold the coating as they are newer i don`t know if the case but all things tell in time .

LR had to match their headlining with something in the engine.LOL
I have also seen the black stuff lying in the valley .

Regards Philip A

PLR, I have Never had any bother with Elring Composite gaskets shedding and coatings even after years of use.

Originally Posted by Roverlord off road spares

PLR, I have Never had any bother with Elring Composite gaskets shedding and coatings even after years of use.

I don`t know who does the LR inlet gasket ?

I didn`t know Elring did a composite inlet gasket , their site says head gaskets for V8 Rover engines but nothing else they do a lot of gaskets and seals etc for the BMW engines in L322 Range Rovers .

Fel-Pro do composite inlet gaskets , i`ve not used a blue , i have used their composite head gaskets a couple of times in 3.5ltr that was over 20 year ago and they are a different thickness to the Elring 3.5 .

Think the reason Fel-pro had them at all is because of the Buick , Oldsmobile , Pontiac using the 215 that the Rover 3.5 is related to .

The black gaskets can break down or crack up but the mating surfaces seem to be ok it is more the V areas and while outside doesn`t look pretty it does no harm , mixing with oil wouldn`t be so good the new ones now are made differently but i don`t know who makes them only that they are available , the last composite i bought about 18 mths ago was a black one and it went on our LSE which insurance payed out around 12 mths ago and the one that came off it was a black that was losing its coating .

I`ve used aftermarket type , can look like they have shed their skin like a snake sort of thing but it depends on the maker and none are marked that i`ve seen .

I have no personal experience with the composite valley cover gaskets as I have always used the tin ones but I have read lots on various forums about the composite material coming off inside the top of the engine and working its way down to the bottom of the engine and causing oil pressure issues.