How Long do The valve cover gasket last before leak on a GT?
Heard some say only 3 years, any experiance of cars lasting much longer?
Heard some say only 3 years, any experiance of cars lasting much longer?
Valve cover gasket
Grancabriofan
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Has anyone else had Maserati deny replacing leaking valve cover gaskets under warranty? That doesn't seam like typical wear item to me. With that logic everything that fails would be a wear item.
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I just downloaded a copy of the new car warranty for my car here: Maserati Owner Documentation to have a look at what it says about gaskets and such. I'm not seeing any specific language or even vague language that would indicate to me that leaking gaskets would not be covered under the 4 year / 50,000 mile new car warranty. Are you talking about a CPO warranty or new car warranty? CPO warranty could very well exclude gaskets.
Anyone know the torque values for the valve cover bolts? looked at my docs, it doesn't say, my guess is 10Nm because everything else seems to be that.
Wasn't a terrible job doing it (just want to make sure it is torqued right before i finish), i got a little creative to help keep the gasket on while i put it in position. the back side where the half moons were kept popping out. I tried a little liquid gasket to help keep it on no dice. i ended up putting a small strip of hot glue gun where the half moods mate with the valve cover. got it in place then reached around and was able to peel the glue gun back off without damaging anything. i probably could had just left that there, it would had melted off and burned off of the exhaust, figured it would be better to take it off after.
interesting part is the old valve cover gasket was still pretty pliable, it wasn't very brittle, it was still leaking a bit though. the spark plug gaskets were hard and brittle, definitely good changing them. spark plugs were real easy to change while everything was off.
Wasn't a terrible job doing it (just want to make sure it is torqued right before i finish), i got a little creative to help keep the gasket on while i put it in position. the back side where the half moons were kept popping out. I tried a little liquid gasket to help keep it on no dice. i ended up putting a small strip of hot glue gun where the half moods mate with the valve cover. got it in place then reached around and was able to peel the glue gun back off without damaging anything. i probably could had just left that there, it would had melted off and burned off of the exhaust, figured it would be better to take it off after.
interesting part is the old valve cover gasket was still pretty pliable, it wasn't very brittle, it was still leaking a bit though. the spark plug gaskets were hard and brittle, definitely good changing them. spark plugs were real easy to change while everything was off.
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What year and mileage did you have on them? Any quality rubber gaskets and covers designed well shouldn't be failing in less than 7 years or 100,000+ miles in my opinion. It's quite a poor engineering job on Maserati's part that their valve cover gaskets and/or valve cover design hold up so poorly. Many seem to fail in less than 3 years or under 30,000 miles. Just one of those Maserati quirks you gotta love.
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I had my timing gasket replaced under warranty by Scottsdale Maserati. 15k miles.
Very minor leak, no oil on the floor, but the AC Compressor was covered a little.
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Miles? Slow leak as well?
Has anyone actually had to replace these gaskets twice? Wondering if the replacement is just a better part and that the original parts were poorly designed. Or if I should expect another 15k miles before replacing the gasket again?
Has anyone actually had to replace these gaskets twice? Wondering if the replacement is just a better part and that the original parts were poorly designed. Or if I should expect another 15k miles before replacing the gasket again?
Just curious, before pulling the valve covers and changing the gaskets, has anyone evaluated the torque on the existing gaskets? If what you say is true that the gaskets are in good condition, why not just properly retorque everything to say 12-15 nm and see if the seeping is cured? Those are VERY low numbers IMNO. We're not talking crank it...just a little more. Used to work wonders years ago on old motors.
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It is gonna be a the same part....They generally last longer than 15K....There is a stop on the valve cover bolts so you can'T tighten even further or it will just risk breaking the bolt off...All newer cars have stops on the bolts that limit gasket compression...Jason
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I assume you can tighten it down without taking everything out?
Probably a good 1st step if you're out of warranty. Honestly, my indy shop said he probably wouldn't mess with it until it gets a bit worse (referencing one of his personal vehicles that had the same thing happen). A super "slow" leak didn't seem to be a huge deal as long as oil and such are all correct throughout the year.
Probably a good 1st step if you're out of warranty. Honestly, my indy shop said he probably wouldn't mess with it until it gets a bit worse (referencing one of his personal vehicles that had the same thing happen). A super "slow" leak didn't seem to be a huge deal as long as oil and such are all correct throughout the year.
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Sounds like a bunch of work for nothing honestly..Removing everything to get to all the bolts is a waste of time, but it is your time. The gaskets get hard from the heat and start seeping at the rear...Jason
Thanks Jason. Was just wondering. Funny how 25 yrs ago, everything seeped a bit and we didn't care except to detail under the hood annually if things got a bit messy. Now 2020, OMG massive leak...how much...a few drops/yr...gotta replace everything.... hehe
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Honestly, it is the difference in the machining and manufacturing of today's engines...It is very precise compared to years back so they just leak a lot less and can use a lot thinner oil...Example.. on Jaguar V8s you had a standard size main bearing and it was so precise they would pick from 5 different specs of size to determine which one fitted best...You used to measure stuff at .001" and now it is .0001" ...Jason
Torquing them more won't do anything unless they are actually loose. There is a spacer sleeve with every bolt which won't let you crush the gasket. End of the day the gap between the valve cover and head is the exact same on everyone's car. They get less plyable due to heat cycles, like Jason said they primarily start leaking in the back bottom corner
Torquing them more won't do anything unless they are actually loose. There is a spacer sleeve with every bolt which won't let you crush the gasket. End of the day the gap between the valve cover and head is the exact same on everyone's car. They get less plyable due to heat cycles, like Jason said they primarily start leaking in the back bottom corner
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