PITA valve cover gasket instal.

[Ericthejet]

New oem gasket arrived yesterday.
Tried to slip it into place but I was fighting with the cold air.

The rubber gasket sits within a small channel on the valve cover and on the head it sits flush.
Due to the hassle of getting the gasket to follow the channel along the front portion of the cover I was thinking of using a bit of silicone to help glue the gasket into the channel to hold it in place. Maybe crazy glue would be better?
If I could see the front portion of the cover and gasket once it was in place I could at least work it into place but I would rather not remove the cooling system if I don't need to.

Thoughts?
Thanks.

[Pigman]

I use Vacume greese on things like that....doesn't need a ton just a little dap and a bolt will stick to your finger...and silicone is BAD with or without a gasket. Will not allow the gasket to sit flush and eventually will leak..

[stoinkythepig]

Use silicone sealer to glue it to the valve cover. Do not glue it to the head. You can leave it like that for years and it will last through dozens of valve adjusts. If it rocks when you install it, it is not seated and must be fixed before you torque it down.

[Ericthejet]

My idea was to get it glued to the valve cover only.
Thanks for the advice.

[Pigman]

SILICONE is not the right application.....thats why there are those things called Gaskets

Yea, If you do use silcone LAY IT ON REAL THICK AND UNEVEN works awsome

[Cerberus]

New oem gasket arrived yesterday.
Tried to slip it into place but I was fighting with the cold air.

The rubber gasket sits within a small channel on the valve cover and on the head it sits flush.
Due to the hassle of getting the gasket to follow the channel along the front portion of the cover I was thinking of using a bit of silicone to help glue the gasket into the channel to hold it in place. Maybe crazy glue would be better?
If I could see the front portion of the cover and gasket once it was in place I could at least work it into place but I would rather not remove the cooling system if I don't need to.

Thoughts?
Thanks.

SOP in many shops is to use an oil resistant RTV to stick the gasket into the groove.
it is far from a perfect solution, but its a lot better than fighting with it

[Cerberus]

I use Vacume greese on things like that....doesn't need a ton just a little dap and a bolt will stick to your finger...and silicone is BAD with or without a gasket. Will not allow the gasket to sit flush and eventually will leak..

My idea was to get it glued to the valve cover only.
Thanks for the advice.

SILICONE is not the right application.....thats why there are those things called Gaskets

Yea, If you do use silcone LAY IT ON REAL THICK AND UNEVEN works awsome

to be clear, i am not talking about a large application of rtv, just dots at the required locations to hold the gasket into the groove while the valve cover is gasket down during negotiation of install.

i became a very big fan of permatex's 'right stuff' (in the cheese wiz style can)because it is the only product i know of which is truly oil resisant

[Ericthejet]

Well, so far the only silicone used is as instructed by the repair manual applied within the "half-moon" cutouts on the head. Nice and thin like butter on bread.
The rest of the gasket is free of sealant.
I'll try the mentioned technique tonight inside the house this time.

Thanks for the tips cerberus, much appreciated.
I'll keep you posted on my progress.

[stoinkythepig]

I have worked on dozens of those gen. 1 Ninja engines and silicone RTV used to glue the gasket on is a perfect solution. That said, I think I may have given bad advice in my first post. Now I'm convinced it needs to be glued to the head, not the valve cover. The RTV is not used as a sealer, only to keep the gasket from moving around. You need to get the valve cover on immediately after applying the RTV in order to place the gesket properly and squish out excess RTV. The shoulder bolts that hold the valve cover down prevent you from applying too much pressure to the gasket. Snug them down and the RTV will be just the right thickness.

Don't forget about the 4 spark plug hole gaskets. It's easy to leave one out. Keep an eye on the the little tubes that go through them as well, they are pressed in lightly and some may come off with the valve cover and some may stay in the head.

[Cerberus]

my pleasure

[Ericthejet]

I have worked on dozens of those gen. 1 Ninja engines and silicone RTV used to glue the gasket on is a perfect solution. That said, I think I may have given bad advice in my first post. Now I'm convinced it needs to be glued to the head, not the valve cover. The RTV is not used as a sealer, only to keep the gasket from moving around. You need to get the valve cover on immediately after applying the RTV in order to place the gesket properly and squish out excess RTV. The shoulder bolts that hold the valve cover down prevent you from applying too much pressure to the gasket. Snug them down and the RTV will be just the right thickness.

Don't forget about the 4 spark plug hole gaskets. It's easy to leave one out. Keep an eye on the the little tubes that go through them as well, they are pressed in lightly and some may come off with the valve cover and some may stay in the head.

OK, once more from the top.
I'll use a thin film of silicone here and there to hold the channeled VC gasket to the head and then slip the valve cover into place over the gasket.
The mentioned tube gaskets are in place, replaced fresh about 3 years ago.

Once again, thanks.
I'll try and snap some pictures for you all as well.

[Cerberus]

OK, once more from the top.
I'll use a thin film of silicone here and there to hold the channeled VC gasket to the head and then slip the valve cover into place over the gasket.
The mentioned tube gaskets are in place, replaced fresh about 3 years ago.

Once again, thanks.
I'll try and snap some pictures for you all as well.

i've never done it that way.. but then again, i've never done a VC gasket job on a ninja of any type either.

as i said before, SOP is to use dots of rtv (right stuff) to attach it into the channel groove on the VC.. but if that won't work in this instance for whatever reason, do what works

[Ericthejet]

Stoinky mentioned the technique as his 2nd bike and mine share the same valve cover.
I value all input and will try his method first, due to his past involvement with the same gasket and application.
If I fail to get it the second time around then I just may have use for the stick of dynamite in the toolbox.

[Ericthejet]

Done!
Dynamite will await another day.
Once aligned it sat down real easy and was clear as a bell.
I used minimal "blue" silicone but just to hold it in place while making on the fly adjustments.
Never again is that cover coming off without the rad and fan out of the way first.
Thanks again for the guidance.