Onan 4000 KY valve cover gasket reusable?

Took it apart this afternoon. Valve cover was stuck on..took some tapping to break it free. Gasket broke in half-half to valve cover, half to cylinder head. Was hard and crunchy but not too difficult to clean up.

I'll add to the opinion it is not likely to be reusable and not to count on it.


One thing kind of cool is bolt torque sequence appears to be cast into the valve cover. Numbers near all the bolt holes in sequence.

Only in a pinch would I reuse a valve cover gasket unless it is silicone or other soft rubbery material. I would not reuse paper, cork or any other fibrous material. If I had to and had no other choice, I'd use the old gasket as a form to be coated with some acceptable gasket sealing material mentioned above. As MEX said, cleanliness is key.

Thanks for all the good tips!

With gaskets I had a strictly followed Mantra...

"Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness"

Surfaces so clean a person could eat off of them. Put silicone on a slightly oily surface and you soon will be cursing...

Remember the old Permatex # 1 gasket sealer?

Nothing would touch it fr cleaning up. God, wotta mess!

Ford cylinder heads that needed a jackhammer to pry loose from the block.

And a conversation about repairs in Mexico, the VW 36 and 40 hp engines. "Man, never EVER go to Mexico without taking at least a quart of GasketCinch!"

X2 on not over torqueing it. I did that one when I was a teen on a car rocker arm cover gasket. They leaked. I had to do it again after using a hammer to straighten out the cover where I had bent it.

Don't take my word for this, but for a while I was THE Aftermarket engineer and department for McCord Gaskets. (Remember them?)

Any gasket that is not damaged at disassembly can be reused. (That is all there is to that.)

If you have the time to take it apart and wait for parts, take the risk of opening it up without a spare on hand. If it gets damaged, order 2. Try to get them from a non-Onan source, they will be less expensive as Mr. Onan is very proud of his work.

If you don't have the capability to leave it alone a while, order a spare now and plan to keep it. Just having the spare will scare the original into staying usable. (Kind of like having an umbrella.)

If it is not already glued to one side or the other, don't do it now. If you want to glue it to one side for ease of assembly, glue it to the side that is easiest to clean.

Read the manual and do not over tighten the fasteners. A re-torque is always good for torque only assemblies.

Matt

The gasket may break, but if you clean everything real good, and do it right you won't need a gasket. Just a good bead of RTV silicone will replace most any gasket.
Even most dealerships don't use a gasket on transmission pans.
Me,..... I still like a gasket if there is one there originally, but I have installed several valve covers using RTV sil only, w/o a problem.
No. I have never had a VC off an Onan

Moved from General RV'ing forum.

Get an extra, if you mess it up or it breaks you will wish you had another.
There cheap and paper material.
But if it comes off clean you can reuse it.

Have not taken it apart.