Hi all,

This evening I replaced the injector harness due to the usual oil in the RED ECU plug. No problems getting it all apart. Please can I have a bit of advice with a problem I came across when refitting it all. Here is what I did;
1. I cleaned the RED ECU plug (removed the white slot guide and rubber seal first) with electrical spray cleaner. All good. Allowed it to dry out.
2. I sprayed the ECU RED plug the same whilst keeping the plug facing downwards, allowing excess spray to run out. I set this aside to dry for a good 2 hours stood up on the plugs, just in case there seemed to be any oil drain from the plug or unit. All seemed good and no further traces of oil found.
3. New harness put in place after wiping the main plug hole to ensure surfaces were clean.
4. Brief spray of each injector with electrical spray to remove oil, then dried out gently with a heater gun blower.
5. Took a note of each injector number to keep safe in case of any other problems at a later time.
6. Problem started...……… when I tried putting the new gasket on the rocker cover head, it wouldn't stay in position when turned upside down to put back on the head, and just kept falling out (its definitely the right one, as fitted like a glove shape wise). Everyone else's I have watched on YT, seem to stay in place when you turn the rocker head cover over, but mine just kept falling out.
In the end, I used a couple of the bolts to roughly line as much of it up whilst trying to hold it in place and stop it falling off the cover again, then I had to keep wriggling the gasket gently until I could see it around all sides of the engine and hoping its fitted ok. BUT, it also has a single strip near one end and I am not sure if this part of the gasket has seated right and stayed in place when I put the cover down.
Because it was getting late (and my mate was wanting to get off to bed, who's garage I was using,) I decided as the edges all appeared lined up, I was hoping the strip has as well, if this makes sense.
I checked and put the ECU back together making sure it was all dry.
7. Started up and looked for any obvious signs of oil coming from the rocker gasket, and didn't see any. Taken the car for a good 30mile run and still no signs of oil leaking, so I am guessing the edges are all ok.
My main question is, if the inside strip isn't lined up or seated well, can this cause any problems internally?
Sorry its a long winded question, but hopefully someone can give me a bit of advice on this.
8. If worse case scenario, I can always get another new gasket and put some sealant on it to hold it in place when I replace the rocker cover?? Would this be ok?
Thanks in advance for any tips / advice about this.
Picture of the gasket below showing the strip at one end...

Hi, I would say if it's not leaking then it should be ok, but keep an eye on it.
Griff

Good question. I'm not too sure why it is sealed internally where it is because any oil passing it would just lube the timing chain so can't see why it is there but for future ref. just use a bit of grease to keep the gasket in place whilst you mount the cover.

Best thing to do is lay the new gasket out on the workbench a good few days before you need to use it, that will get it to the normal shape, and stop the tendency for it to keep curling up into the shape it was shipped in. Then use some silicone gasket to set it into the rocker cover on the bench, this should hold it in place while you re-assemble everything.

By the way, that "strip" at the end is a half moon shaped bit of the gasket that sits into the cylinder head recess of the same shape, and should be sealed with a smear of silicone gasket, if that's not seated or poking out, you'll almost certainly get a oil leak at the back of the head.

@matgriff @interceptorxj @Landmark2,

Cheers for all your replies chaps, greatly appreciated.
Im going to have a look now at the head and take the cowling cover off to see if there are any leaks from last night.
I didn't think about using grease to hold it in place, but if I do need to change it again, this is a defo, or the silicon sealer idea.
I'll post my finding in a minute or five

I might be wrong but isn't the sealant only for pre EU3 engines?

brianconwy said:

I might be wrong but isn't the sealant only for pre EU3 engines?

Click to expand...

Yes I believe it is, there was a problem with sealant blocking an oil drain/feed hole in later models IIRC.

Well chaps...………..
After plugging in the Hawkeye today and getting all manner of errors; manifold pressure etc... I made a decision to do the job again
So, I took the rocker cover off again and cleaned it thoroughly with gasket cleaner.
Did the same to the gasket after carefully checking I hadn't pinched it anywhere the previous night.
Allowed both to dry well, and no oil on either.
In the end, I used a very, very, very small skim of gasket sealer around the ingress on the rocker cover, just enough to tack the gasket into it so it stayed put when I turned it back up the right way.
This time, it went together so easily. No gasket sealer overflow anywhere. I didn't really expect any because I put such a small thin line of it on, you could hardly see it.
Tightened it all down, started it up and checked for oil leaks..... nothing..
Took it for a good steady 40 mile drive and then another 80 miles this evening. It sounded much better and felt smoother when running and also on cruise.
Checked again for leaks, all good. Checked the Hawkeye again and no fault codes .
Feel much happier now I have done it properly and with the gasket fitting as it should.
Thanks for all your help and advice, invaluable

Using grease to hold a rocker cover gasket in place, my my who'd-a-thought-it! Only something us old-schoolers have been doing since time immemorial. Mind you, if you are bothered about it not mixing well with oil you can always use petroleum jelly. See rover v8 oil pumps, Triumph Dolomite Sprint timing-chain tensioners, etc, etc.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@Stanleysteamer yea, old schoolers it is; I haven't done repair work on cars for some years after having newer ones, but thinking back now, your right, that was something I also use to do..... its just you forget it after not doing your own work for a few years plus I was critically ill in hospital earlier this year that affected some of my memory (better now though), plus you loose a bit of confidence in your own abilities about what or how much you use to do to keep your old cars on the road.
I recall my favourite tool that fixed almost everything....