Valve cover packing leak

On my 05 ST1300 I had a leak around the semi-circles. After cleaning off the sealant, I thought the packing was ripped, so I bought a new one. To my surprise the old packing was "glued" into the valve cover's edge's groove. So I cleaned the groove out and put in Permatex Ultra Grey Gasket Maker.( The Ultra Gray is the equivalent to the Loctite 5699 my Gold Wing shop manual says to use in the semi circles. My ST shop manual only says to use "sealant".)

When reinstalling the valve cover, the inner side of the packing came off causing a leak when I ran the engine. Upon inspection it looked like the Ultra Gray did not contact the packing, & thus did not hold it in place.

Has anybody replaced the valve cover packing (what Honda calls the rubber gasket), and what did they use to hold the packing in place?

Thanks.

DonST said:

Has anybody replaced the valve cover packing (what Honda calls the rubber gasket), and what did they use to hold the packing in place?

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I'm working on 1100's but likely the same construction on the 1300:
I clean and degrease everything carefully, set the gaskets into the groove in the cover with some contact adhesive (Pattex, a bead around the cover, slap the gasket on while glue still wet), engine sealer/silicone only at the corners of mentioned semi-circles, place cover on head, bolts in (new rubber rings there too, to ensure correct pressure on the cover), torque to spec.
I work swift so the adhesive and sealer don't have a change to set/dry on me; the contact adhesive holds the gasket in place so it won't fall off while handling the valve covers.

PS: I install new gaskets and rings on every occasion the covers come off...

The valve cover gasket on the 1300 has U-shaped channels with fine ribs that seal all of the cylinder head and cover surfaces except the half moons at the camshaft cutouts.

The half moons are the only surfaces where sealant should be applied. if yours were installed with gasket goop anywhere else, they're likely to continue giving you trouble. I'd replace them.

--Mark

DonST said:

I cleaned the groove out and put in Permatex Ultra Grey Gasket Maker.( The Ultra Gray is the equivalent to the Loctite 5699 my Gold Wing shop manual says to use in the semi circles. My ST shop manual only says to use "sealant".)

Click to expand...

As you mention, the service manual says to use sealant, not gasket maker on the half moons (only). I used Honda Bond HT on my ST1300. It worked well and I got a good seal.

Here are the listed specs for the Honda Bond Sealant:

High-Temp formula is good up to 600 degrees fahrenheit For use in areas not requiring a solid gasket, such as cylinder head covers
Dries quickly, remains flexible, resists vibration
Resists oil, water, and most chemicals

On my ST1100s, I used a Permatex RTV sealant of some type on my valve covers. Don't remember the exact name of it but again, it worked perfectly and I always got a good seal with no leaks.

One of the useful things about sealant is that it tends to be pretty tacky so it helps hold the gasket in place while you place and button up the valve covers. Another nice thing about sealant is that it is very easy to remove if needed.

Even the Honda factory techs use too much, at not the appropriate location (see blobs at tips of red arrows):



The above picture was taken the first time the valve covers were removed on my 2004.

Blrfl said:

The valve cover gasket on the 1300 has U-shaped channels with fine ribs that seal all of the cylinder head and cover surfaces except the half moons at the camshaft cutouts.

The half moons are the only surfaces where sealant should be applied. if yours were installed with gasket goop anywhere else, they're likely to continue giving you trouble. I'd replace them.

--Mark

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yea,, what he said.

I clean the grooves in the original gaskets using any thing handy that has a fine point. Then apply fresh adhesive as directed in the shop manual. The adhesive is Permatex Ultra Rubber Gasket Sealant & Dressing Item #85409.

Len

After thoroughly cleaning the grooves in the valve cover, I reinserted the new packing without any sealant as the manual did not show any there even though the old packing appeared to have a red sealant along the packing's ridge that went into the groove. Small "dimples" held the packing in. After looking at the manuals for the ST and the Gold Wing, and what people suggested here, I just put the grey sealant on the corners of the semicircles.
Before re-installing the valve cover,I pulled the PAIR hose and the crankcase breather hose well out of the area, and after undoing the ties on the wire harness, moved it way up over the coil so I had as much room as possible for the valve cover. I was able to re-install it without touching/hitting anything. I used my old "boom" torque wrench to tighten the valve cover bolts to 7 ft lbs. However the back short bolt gave so I took it out and the top 2 threads were starting to strip. So I replaced this bolt with a new one , and also replaced the mounting rubber. I tightened the new bolt with a hand held socket driver.
Test run without the plastic back on showed no leaks. A ride with everything back on the bike showed no leaks either.

Just thought you might be interested in how things turned out.

ST1100Y said:

I'm working on 1100's but likely the same construction on the 1300:
I clean and degrease everything carefully, set the gaskets into the groove in the cover with some contact adhesive (Pattex, a bead around the cover, slap the gasket on while glue still wet), engine sealer/silicone only at the corners of mentioned semi-circles, place cover on head, bolts in (new rubber rings there too, to ensure correct pressure on the cover), torque to spec.
I work swift so the adhesive and sealer don't have a change to set/dry on me; the contact adhesive holds the gasket in place so it won't fall off while handling the valve covers.

PS: I install new gaskets and rings on every occasion the covers come off...

Click to expand...

After almost 136K miles on the original gaskets and rings, I am finally replacing them on my 2001 ST11. The old rings fit snuggly into their cover holes, but the new ones (90543-MV9-670) are loose prior to torqueing. Is this normal?

Ray

STraymond said:

After almost 136K miles on the original gaskets and rings, I am finally replacing them on my 2001 ST11. The old rings fit snuggly into their cover holes, but the new ones (90543-MV9-670) are loose prior to torqueing. Is this normal?

Ray

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I think so, I recall when I replaced mine a few years ago they had a bit more play in the cutout than the old ones did. Maybe they spread out over time/torque/heat or maybe they just changed suppliers and they're a tiny bit different O.D. than the factory ones.

dwalby said:

...they spread out over time/torque/heat...

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That's it... they deform like crush-washers...

And make sure you use the correct torque on the valve cover bolts, and that the rubber heatshield above the valve covers are not caught between the valve cover and head, when re-installing the valve covers or you will have a leak! BTDT