Cam cover gaskets

[Ricko]

I'm about to set about renewing the gasket seals on one or possibly both Cam covers to my 71 3 series OTS. I have the parts but someone set a seed in my mind to first consider an oil additive which in their view is less intrusive.

The irritating slight weeping from the near side bank may be down to previous intrusion where proper re-tightening proceeders we're not followed and the cover maybe slightly warped and a gasket wouldn't necessary cure the problem.

Someone recently told me that oil additives to stem miner leaks is a bad practice.

Advice is welcome.

Ricko

[MarekH]

Dear Rick(o),

An oil additive will do nothing for you. They work by swelling rubber slightly so it conforms better to the shape it is supposed to seal. In this case, the gasket is made of thin cardboard, so it'll be totally unaffected by the additive.

Remember that such an additive will affect all of the other rubber parts, so it may have a detrimental effect elsewhere in the engine and that is why they are not recommended.

kind regards
Marek

[Ricko]

Marek,

Yes,
Understood, pretty much what the other guy said. I'll stick with to new caskets using the correct sealers as read recently on the Forum.

Rick