How good are Athena-branded gaskets?

I bought a set for my entire bike, the two gaskets i've installed so far
(valve cover and magneto cover) leak oil.

 

You want to tell us how you installed them, and on what sort of bike?
That might help us diagnose your problem if it turns out not to be
crappy gaskets.

--
Later,
John



'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

 

1980 KZ750 twin. I used Scotchbrite to get the reminents of the old
gaskets off.

 

A hunk of plate glass or an old mirror will give you a nice
flat surface to check your joint surface against. With
a little bit of valve grinding compound on the glass you can
also take them down to a really flat smooth surface.

I'd be suspicious of the surface before I blamed the gasket.
Also, if there's a torque specification, follow it. Applying
the right torque can make an enormous difference in some seals.

 

What is confusing to me though, is that the valve cover gasket leaks on
all sides. I had it torqued to spec (113 in/lbs). Even the parts of the
surface that the old gasket came cleanly off and I didn't use
Scotchbrite leaked.

Has anyone used Athena gaskets before, though?

 

Ut-oh. Sounds like you torqued it wrong. If you torque one side first,
it lifts the other side off the gasket. The proper order is:

1. bring all screws *hand tight* (that is, as tight as your *fingers*
can get them).
2. In a criss-cross pattern, tighten the bolts a bit with a wrench.
3. Finally, torque the bolts (again, in a criss-cross pattern).

Most cases of leaking gaskets are caused by people not knowing how to
tighten bolts, not by the gaskets themselves.

- Elron

 

There's nothing very special about gaskets other than getting
them cut to the right shape. I suppose if it was thinner or
less resilient than stock that might make a difference but
that really doesn't seem like the problem.

If you're really convinced it's the gasket, swap one for stock
and see if things get better, but it seems much more likely to
be a surface or a torque issue.

 

Nobody has mentioned sealant for the valve-cover gasket. Shouldn't the
OP be using silicone or something?

 

I wouldn't use a sealant unless specifically recommended by the
manufacturer (of the bike, not the sealant).

 

Ok, thanks. As long as im pretty sure its not the gasket then I won't be
weary of using the rest of the gasket set I bought.

 

You mean the black plug-looking things? My bike does have those. I'll
have to remember to put sealant there.

 

I think he's suggesting you might want to RTFM.

 

Yep, just want to get opinions too, the manual has screwed me over more
than once because I'm not as experienced as they assume I am.

 

Sounds reasonable. I generally use Haynes, Clymer, a mfrs. manual,
a parts CD and a couple of owners lists.

Of the whole lot, the owners email lists are probably the most useful.

Haynes and Clymer are OK for most problems but consensus is not to
trust their torque values, especially the ft./lb. ones. I usually
try to compare the two before trusting either.

Parts CDs are great for giving you an advance picture of the assembly
you're going to be dealing with.