GCV valve Cover leaking

Ava.Feret · Jul 17, 2017

I have 3 HRX217 lawn mowers. All the valve covers leak. I am using Honda bond 4. I did it as per the manual. I have did it as the YouTube.
I even used new valve covers.
One way shows putting the sealant on and torquing the bolts. Another shows putting it on and taking it off and waiting a minute.
They still leak.
Anyway, I saw a site where someone used a GSR valve cover (12311-Z2A-000 COVER) and a Honda gasket (12312-Z2A-000 GASKET).
Han anyone tried this or maybe use another process or a different sealant.
Hopefully one of the pros here can answer this.

ILENGINE · Jul 17, 2017

I have used Hondabond and other sealants over the years. The thing is the parts have to be alcohol clean with no oil residue or it won't stick and will leak.

bertsmobile1 · Jul 17, 2017

Using any sort of sealant on rocker covers is a self defeating exercise as they have to come off at regular intervals and cleaning off the sealant can take hours.
Thus you are just making more work for yourself further down the road.
Then there are the covers themselves which are getting thinner so warp when you are trying to remove them.
With engines that do not have rocker cover gaskets, I cut my own, out of neoprene cork the put some bentonite wheel bearing grease on the engine side of the gasket & Hylomar on the other so it tends to stick to the cover & strip clean off the engine.
Rarely ever have one that leaks.
Beware of over tightening as it can warp the cover and make the cover leak particularly on the one bolt covers used on a lot of Hondas.

robert@honda · Jul 18, 2017

Ava.Feret said:
I have 3 HRX217 lawn mowers. All the valve covers leak. I am using Honda bond 4. I did it as per the manual. I have did it as the YouTube.
I even used new valve covers.
One way shows putting the sealant on and torquing the bolts. Another shows putting it on and taking it off and waiting a minute.
They still leak.
Anyway, I saw a site where someone used a GSR valve cover (12311-Z2A-000 COVER) and a Honda gasket (12312-Z2A-000 GASKET).
Han anyone tried this or maybe use another process or a different sealant.
Hopefully one of the pros here can answer this.

Keep in mind, the standard GCV engine comes with a thin sheet metal valve cover. If it gets bent, it will be difficult for the sealant to fill in and prevent any leakage.

The nicer GSV engine on Honda's commercial mower has a cast aluminum valve cover and separate gasket. It should prove a bit more tolerant and simpler to install/remove without any leakage. If you go that route, be sure to use the correct, longer bolts to ensure a good fit; you need four of part number 90121-952-000, which is a metric 6 x 25 size.

RetireeRon · Jul 18, 2017

Ava.Feret said:
I have 3 HRX217 lawn mowers. All the valve covers leak. I am using Honda bond 4. I did it as per the manual. I have did it as the YouTube.
I even used new valve covers.
One way shows putting the sealant on and torquing the bolts. Another shows putting it on and taking it off and waiting a minute.
They still leak.
Anyway, I saw a site where someone used a GSR valve cover (12311-Z2A-000 COVER) and a Honda gasket (12312-Z2A-000 GASKET).
Han anyone tried this or maybe use another process or a different sealant.
Hopefully one of the pros here can answer this.

You have three mowers all having the same problem? I'd be contacting the nearest dealership to find out what's going on. No way should this be acceptable.

jp1961 · Jul 19, 2017

Is the metal dimpled in on the valve cover holes? Check it with your finger or straight edge. If it's dimpled in try using a ball peen hammer to straighten the metal around the hole. I use RTV high temp silicon caulk on my Lawn-Boy engines with good results. After you apply the RTV, assemble the parts and just hand tighten the bolts, wait an hour and tighten a 1/4 turn more.

Regards

Jeff

Ava.Feret · Jul 31, 2017

Thanks for all the help. I have it under control. I would have tried the solid al covers, but I already bought the original.
Once again Thanks to all the replies.

deckeda · Aug 4, 2017

Any hints to remove the original cover? Mine's bent/dented (previous owner ...) and normal prying after removing the bolts didn't dislodge it. I'd tap it with a hammer but if the thing's glued on, that might do more harm than good.

I have the "upgrade" cover and gasket (as God and Honda Soichiro) intended.

GCV valve Cover leaking

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Ava.Feret

Active Member

ILENGINE

Lawn Pro

bertsmobile1

Lawn Royalty

robert@honda

Lawn Addict

RetireeRon

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jp1961

Well-Known Member

Ava.Feret

Active Member

deckeda

Well-Known Member

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