[urq] [Bulk] valve cover gasket

[urq]

Ah yes, the change from cork to rubber gasket material.  I suspect the parts
person gave you the wrong parts ... the cork gaskets should still be
available.  

The original valve cover mounting studs on the WX are shouldered to provide
the proper nominal spacing for a cork gasket.  Audi switched to the rubber
(neoprene?) with the integrated spacers on the newer I-5 motors.  Many
people have put the rubber gasket on top of the shouldered studs and had big
time leaks.  One time I pulled the spacers out of a rubber gasket ... and
that worked ... but I'd recommend that you go out and replace all the studs
with the un-shouldered parts and use the rubber gasket with the integral
spacers.  

Steve Buchholz

-----Original Message-----

so, I had a slight leak from the rear of my valve cover and while the car is
down with other issues, I thought I'd replace the valve cover gasket. The
one I tool off was cork. The one I got from the dealer was rubber. The one I
took off was a total of three pieces (the gasket, the cam gear insert and
the half moon). The one I got was in two pieces (the half moon and gasket.
the cam insert was part of the full gasket) One of the studs on the head is
what I believe to be a locator, in that it has a slightly larger spacer. The
gasket I took off had a slightly larger hole to accomodate. The one I put on
had none and I had to remove the metal built in washer? to accomodate the
larger locator. I had a slight oil leak before, now I have a massive oil
leak. Prior to locking it down, I checked and double checked I hadn't
pinched anywhere. I've never used any kind of sealer and have done many 5cyl
gaskets without ever having a leak. Should I ?
My question is, is this rubber gasket the correct gasket ? It's quite a bit
"thinner" and the locating hole bothers me...
 
thanks,
 
tom.