Iy has been my exsperiance that the new air cooled AMC heads have a problem
with the flange for the valve cover gasket it's to big to let the cover sit
over it.
I have been filing the head to match the cover.
the valve covers can be a pain in the butt and the inner head bolt holes can
leak and it looks like a push rod tube

Bob
Boston Engine

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Johnson" <davidj@ELPASOTEL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:26 PM
Subject: Valve Cover Gasket Leak

> The saga so far . . . .
>
> Bought an '80 Westy - love at first sight.  About 2 weeks after I
> bought it, had major stall problem - took to an air-cooled qualified
> mechanic.  Turned out to be a bad head (cracked).  Expensive, but had
> some fiscal help and got her running.  Loved it even more, running
> well.  Then began to notice an oil leak under the car - turned out a
> seal on the one push rod tube was bad.  Got it fixed by same
> mechanic.  Cool, everything was still running great.  Then noticed
> another oil leak, on a different push rod tube - took the car back to
> the same mechanic.  They called last night and said the car was
> ready.  Great.  Rode in to town this morning with my wife, picked up
> the car, drove it up to where my daughter was having swim lessons.
> Got out, smelled burning oil, so checked under the car, and oil was
> almost gushing from the valve cover gasket where they had put the new
> head on.  Car was towed back to mechanic at their expense, working on
> it now.   Probably a lucky thing I went up to the swim lesson - I
> live 50 or so miles from the mechanic in the middle of the prairie.
> Had I driven it home, that would have turned into a need for a new
> engine, with the amount of oil I was losing (all over the heater box,
> of course).  Of course, the mechanic said they drove it a few miles,
> and it leaked checked fine before they called me.
>
> Now that you've listened to all that - here is what I am asking for
> feedback from the group on : Why would a valve cover gasket be such a
> pain in the butt?  During the initial head repair they had to replace
> it twice because the first one didn't seal correctly, and then for
> both repairs of the faulty gaskets, they have had to do a new one, so
> this will be something like valve cover gasket number 5 for this car
> in the past month.  Is this normal, asks the newbie?  Is there
> something I should be checking for, or have them check for, to make
> the seal better?
>
> Thanks again for help and input.   Hoping to be driving again someday
> without an oil leak,
> David.
>