Valve Cover Sealant

I have an 85 Shadow 1100 that has no gasket on the valve cover. The manual
recommends a liquid sealant. I used Permetex blue RTV but it leaks.
What's the best type to use?

 

If it really does say no gasket I would use an old, large cornflakes box or
similar with a skim of sealant on either side. There isn't too much
pressure up in the valve area so it should hold up fine. There is also the
possibility that your valve is slightly warped causing the leak.

 

When I removed the valve cover there was no gasket and the manual states
sealant only. It looks like a clear sealant was used before.

 

Without meaning to be picky, he didn't say that there should be no
gasket, only that there isn't one there. I couldn't find fiche for the
'85 Shadow, but the fiche for the '87 shows gaskets in that location.
Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with that machine to know how
similar the '85 is to the '87. I'd be a bit surprised that Honda didn't
put a gasket there, though.

For the OP:
1. are you _sure_ that there's not supposed to be a gasket there?
2. Whose manual are you using? IME Honda manuals specify the sealant to
be used.

 

Good work. I don't know how I missed the '85 at Ron Ayers (which is
where I found the '87 fiche). This is one more reason to get the Honda
manual instead of something else.

As for the use of 'goop' on my VFR Honda specifies the use of Hondabond
on the cam cover gaskets, and not just on the 'half-moons'. I don't mean
to imply that the OP should use anything on his gaskets, but to say that
whether any sealant should be used, and what sealant to use, will vary
from bike to bike. As Mr. Olson says above, you need to know what Honda
recommends for _your_ bike before making any decisions about what (not)
to use.

 

I'm using the Honda Factory manual and a Haynes manual. There is a gasket
on the tappet cover and the cam cover but NO gasket on the cylinder head
cover.

Thats where the leak is coming from between the cylinder & the cylinder head
cover. The manual states" Apply a liquid sealant to the mating surfaces of
the cylinder head cover" I checked the Service Honda fiche and it shows no
gasket. As I mentioned when I pulled the cover off there was no gasket but
sings of a clear sealant.

 

That would explain it, then.

All true enough. I've just been burned and/or confused rather often with
Haynes and Clymers products in the past (though their quality may very
well have come up since). The only problem with the Honda manual is the
dreaded "special tool", instead of which, as you point out, aftermarket
manuals often have suggestions for alternative procedures.

lol I'd go the other way: if you had to only get one, get the Honda. It
certainly is better to have a couple of manuals to check against,
though. I've heard good things about the common service manual, but
never managed to get around to owning one. <shrug> Always check your
public library. You never know what manuals they've got stashed there.

 

I actually prefer Three Bond and have used it for years with success.
Iowa883