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How tight did you snug the valve cover bolts? They don't need to be (and perhaps shouldn't be) torqued. I just go hand snug with a wrench, if the cover starts distorting inwards it's already plenty tight.. I've never seen a cork gasket deform quite like that.

Hi Ryan,

No specific torque, but apparently too tight ;-) It kind'a goes with the safety wire question. I don't want them to come loose. The valve covers have been on and off a lot of times. The rockers were removed to mark the cut out on the cowl. Scott says he uses the gaskets twice and then replaces them.

Wes

I just recently replaced my first set of valve covers, I'd guess they had been on an off 2 dozen or more times. I think the rubber grommets under the screws do a good enough job of keeping the bolts from backing out, there's no rotational force being applied there. But the gaskets are definitely cheap and no harm in replacing them frequently.

Not sure what the advantage of the cork gasket is over these silicone ones:
https://vwparts.aircooled.net/SILICONE- ... vw-1fr.htm

I somehow managed to fold a cork gasket when reusing it and leaked a decent amount of oil before realizing my mistake. Years later, these silicone gaskets are just as good as the day I installed them.

gammaxy wrote:Not sure what the advantage of the cork gasket is over these silicone ones:
https://vwparts.aircooled.net/SILICONE- ... vw-1fr.htm

Hi Chris, Probably no advantage. I asked Scott specifically if there were some better silicon gaskets to which he replied "I prefer cork". He said that the silicon gaskets sometimes squish out of place. Scott applies a thin bead of grey RTV on the valve cover side of the gasket to hold it in place. I personally had a silicon gasket squish into the rocker area on my AeroVee. Probably my fault, but it happened. I noticed the ones you linked to said they were "Non-Slip". That's probably the ticket.

I just ordered 500 Hrs worth of cork for 25 bucks. If they don't cause me any problems I'll just use them up. If they do cause problems I'll try the ones you linked to.

Thanks,

Wes

What could possibly go wrong :-)



Looks like tomorrow night, from 2:00 AM to 5:00 AM there will be quite the spectacle rolling down some hopefully empty highways.

Forever Forward,

Wes

WesRagle wrote:What could possibly go wrong :-)

Gawd - I hope you don't get any bugs on that shine while towing it down the road. That's very purty looking.

I assume you have checked to make sure the wing tips clear the overhead door. :-)

David A.

Hey Graeme,

GraemeSmith wrote:Gawd - I hope you don't get any bugs on that shine while towing it down the road. That's very purty looking.

Thanks! It is purty ain't it? But, the plane will never look as good as it does the day of the airworthiness inspection. I hope bugs on the leading edges is soon an everyday occurrence.

Hi David,

DCASonex wrote:I assume you have checked to make sure the wing tips clear the overhead door. :-)

I backed it in so I assume it will pull out OK. There is a 1x2 clamped in the roller channel of the overhead door so it won't come down at the wrong time.

I would have posted a pic of the loading process but it would probably have drawn too much ridicule. I backed the trailer half way up the approach. Then I put some ramps behind the rear tires of the pickup, put'er in 4 WD and backed up the ramps. That raised the front of the trailer and lowered the back of the trailer to level with the shop floor. An easy one man pull onto the trailer.

I'm still trying to think of all the "stuff" I'll need to support this effort. I'm sure I'll forget something.

Wes

Detailed Forecast

Tonight Clear, with a low around 74. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 89. Windy, with a west northwest wind 15 to 20 mph increasing to 25 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph.

Tuesday Night Clear, with a low around 58. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 25 mph decreasing to 5 to 15 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.

Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 89. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night Clear, with a low around 63. East southeast wind around 5 mph.

Looks like I have to scrub the trip until Wednesday night. I'm going to turn the alarm off and get some sleep.

Oh Well,

Wes