Is there a suitable aftermarket gasket set for the valve cover or is the OEM part only recommended? Anyone here use a Mahle or Fel-Pro set with good results?
Aftermarket Gaskets or OEM for valve cover
CharlieHustle
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Is there a suitable aftermarket gasket set for the valve cover or is the OEM part only recommended? Anyone here use a Mahle or Fel-Pro set with good results?
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I've used VICTOR REINZ on my accord v6
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OEM all day. Trust me. Do it right the first time.
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Just don't get NAPA.
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I'm also interested in finding out about this from more users. I need to change my valve cover gasket this summer.
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I go with FelPro gaskets.
I had an OEM one leak, even with clean mating surface and properly torqued bolts.
What you should do is to smear a light layer of hondabond on any brand of gasket then it will not leak. Don't load a ton of it, just a LIGHT layer. I have Victor Reinz valve gaskets on my 7th gen V6 for over 40k miles with no leaks. I installed FelPro gasket on my father's 08 Accord, no leaks either.
What you should do is to smear a light layer of hondabond on any brand of gasket then it will not leak. Don't load a ton of it, just a LIGHT layer. I have Victor Reinz valve gaskets on my 7th gen V6 for over 40k miles with no leaks. I installed FelPro gasket on my father's 08 Accord, no leaks either.
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This is what I've been told from various people....
This is my experience with valve cover gaskets in general, just not on a J-series engine. On a B and K series engine I've had no issues using any of those 3 brands.
I've seen this done before but haven't felt the need to try it myself. Would you be applying hondabond to the valve cover gasket and the spark plug seals or only on the valve cover gasket itself?
I've been reading about people having a tough time getting these gaskets to seal correctly but dont understand the reason for this issue. I dont know if it's a design flaw, improper installation, or gasket quality to blame. The job seems straight forward to me but I haven't tackled one on this particular engine. I'm leaning on these responses to help me decide which route to take on purchasing this gasket set.
Cleaning out the leftover sealant, and any possible burnt gasket material, out of the groove on the valve cover is very important. Take a stiff brush to it with cleaner before putting the new gasket on. When I first got my '99 Accord, I had to scrape the old valve cover gasket out of the valve cover with a screwdriver and a razor. It was completely baked onto the valve cover.
What we're always done, is put a few tiny blobs of the sealant in the valve cover groove to hold the gasket in place as we set it back down on the block. But you can also lay down a thin layer, as t-rd said, on the entirety of the gasket and then place it in there. In fact, I may do this next time I replace the gasket on my '99 Accord.
On my Prelude, I had a shop replaced the valve cover gasket and you can see they used too much sealant when replacing it. But hey, it doesn't leak lol.
What we're always done, is put a few tiny blobs of the sealant in the valve cover groove to hold the gasket in place as we set it back down on the block. But you can also lay down a thin layer, as t-rd said, on the entirety of the gasket and then place it in there. In fact, I may do this next time I replace the gasket on my '99 Accord.
On my Prelude, I had a shop replaced the valve cover gasket and you can see they used too much sealant when replacing it. But hey, it doesn't leak lol.
The spark plug tube seals fit SUPER TIGHT, they don't leak at all. You don't need to apply anything here, other than silicone paste so that the rubber seals fit around the tubes easily during installation.
I used a small brush and applied very small amount of hondabond on the rubber gasket itself all across, after I seated it into the valve cover. Then I spread it out evenly with my finger, ending up with a very thin layer of hondabond. The tiniest dirt or imperfection ends up with a leak, and one small blob of oil literally spreads out to a large area looking scary. As careful as I was cleaning the head's mating surface to make sure it's free of anything, and seating the OEM gasket down, I still got a leak a year after. So use that hondabond.
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Where can I find a video of the 8th gen 4 cylinder valve cover gasket replacement?
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This video is on a CRV but it's the same process on the accord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAGE4pnaTME
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