CYYJ
Michael
Here's a picture illustrating what Dave wrote in his post above.
ST 1300 "Half Moon" Valve Cover Gasket Detail
Valve Adjust
- Thread starter Bikerbill
- Start date
ST 1300 "Half Moon" Valve Cover Gasket Detail
John OoSTerhuis
Life Is Good!
Personal anecdote: at 190,000 statute miles on my 1991 SSMST it STill has the original valve cover gaskets. The grommets under the valve cover bolts were replaced sometime after 100K, juST because. I don’t recall when I experienced my one and only gasket oil leak which was also the first time I actually used HT in the half moons to stop it (>120K?).
YMMV and probably will.
John
YMMV and probably will.
John
Kevcules
Site Supporter
I also run a very light film of sealant along the rest of the gasket.....
unnecessary extra work.
If the gasket isn't sealing on its own, its quite likely it because the grommets under the valve cover bolts have compressed too far and the bolts can't provide enough clamping force to secure the gasket to its mating surface.
Kevcules
Site Supporter
Yeah maybe....I'll still take the extra 30 seconds and smear a light film of sealant on the rest of the gasket. Had it apart twice now and so far so good.....
View attachment 237952
I thought only a small amount in the corners of the moons not the whole moon. I might be wrong but I only used a small dab in the 4 corners. That much would make it hard to remove the cover next time. I never had a leak.
W0QNX
Blacksheep Tribal Member
- Joined
- May 30, 2006
- Messages
- 3,330
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- Pensacola, FL. USA
- Bike
- 06/ST1300 19/R1250RT
- 2024 Miles
- 007437
Yes Tdinova, just a dab in the corners is all that's needed.
I mentioned earlier that I put a very thin bead of sealant around the whole gasket too, or at least most of it, but not for the purpose of sealing. I am confident the half moon applications are all that is necessary. I just do it to keep the danged gasket stuck to the valve cover, as it can tend to fall out, like around the spark plug holes, when you turn it over to attach it to the head. Just takes out some guesswork if all the bits are in proper position before bolting it down.
I do that too, but the reply I responded to was in regard to putting sealant on the surface of the gasket that contacts the head, not the top part that contacts the valve cover.
CYYJ
Michael
I looked to see where Honda put the sealant when they originally assembled the engine, and then put sealant only where I had found it upon disassembly.
Michael
Right! Thanks for clarifying that for me. I had thought Kevcules was doing the same as you and I.
At 130K when I traded in my bike the valves had never been checked. A friend told me not to concern myself being the bike would let me know being it would lose it's steady idle. If that were to occur then an adjustment was necessary. He also noted that if you were not running it hard (near redline) it would likely never require an adjustment. The bike performed flawlessly for my entire ownership.
Tech events are very helpful and a learning experience.Here's a middle of the road alternative: Make a careful record of what valves need a shim change, then, bring the bike to a "tech event" in your region sometime this summer. You can get hands-on help changing the shims there, and that will give you the confidence to change shims by yourself in the future if changes are needed.
Plus, you'll have fun and probably eat well at the tech event.
Michael
