boyguan

i painted mine wrinkle red, stripped the paint and covered the tubes when stripping it down. hosed it down well and, so far so good.

i wouldnt do it over a few chips but mine was black and peeling from the PO

engifineer

I have seen valve cover gaskets that were hard to put back in the channel in other cars if they had a lot of miles on them. It is not because they "harden" it is because they absorb oil and swell. making them harder to fit back in properly. But if you can take it out and put it back in ok (easy enough to check) no worry. I do not know if the previous owner replaced the one on my car, but for the 50,000 miles I have owned it I have never replaced it. I have done a few valve adjustments on mine and never needed to replace it. Granted I did not pull the gasket out of the cover either. But again, if you pull it out and try to put it back in shortly after and you cannot get it to fit, buy a new one. If it fits fine, and was not leaking before, it likely is good for a long while more.

B serious

I've seen oil pan gaskets on older (non S2000) cars that are hardened up...BUT, that was likely more from heat and contamination than oil.

Being sprayed with brake cleaner after oil changes doesn't help oil pan gaskets. And neither does being right by/above the header.

Luckily, most cars today don't use oil pan gaskets.

I don't recall ever seeing a completely hardened up valve cover gasket. The grommets tend to harden up. The bolt is applying tension directly to it...and its subjected to concentrated heat.

Its an age thing.

Obviously, any new gasket will be softer and more pliable than an aged one. Rubber/plastic doesn't last forever.

If its not pliable, don't reuse it because it won't seal.

But...again, I haven't seen a hardened up S2000 valve cover gasket yet. I think my MY00 is still rolling on its original, 21yr old VC gaskets that have been on/off a few times.

cosmomiller

I have heard things that the age thing brings about a new softness, not hardness. Now it is the other way around. Did you put a blue pill in the gas tank?

engifineer

I have seen valve cover gaskets harden. The ones I just replaced on our 4runner were nice and brittle. Of course, they have been in use for 270,000 miles Have seen plenty of others as well but again, TONS of miles before that tends to happen.

Slowcrash_101

In general there's a big improvement in the general quality of automotive lubricants. They have to pass more stringent tests that coincidentally benefits the hardware on our engines. Timing chain, LSPI, fuel dilution, HTHS, improved VI, so on and so forth. Seal conditioning is also another benefit of new oils(the main point of my rant).

MAVTS2k

Good luck. The advice you are giving sounds more general in nature and not specific to the S2000. Anyone who has been around these cars long enough knows that the s2000 is unique in many ways. What applies to other cars frequently does not apply to the s2000. One common example being the oil filter torque spec, and despite being well documented many "car experts" refuse to abide by it, potentially with catastrophic consequences.

My experience with the s2000 valve cover gasket is that it can be re-used many times without issue. Many others here have had the same experience. Perhaps just a higher quality gasket from the factory?

​​​​​​

​​​

Chuck S

The valve cover gasket in this "Is it a good idea to replace the gasket anytime you remove the the valve cover?" question -- the topic of this thread -- is nine (9) months old. It's fine.

The Service Manual has conservative "replace" notations for many things but not this. (Conservative so dealers don't get the car back after a repair or service.)

-- Chuck

windhund116

I usually replace all gaskets and seals. For the same reason. One back breaking valve cover removal per 5-years is enough.

Tomrosewood

I also need to powder coat my cover. I don't see an easy way to remove the baffle. If they screw up and get grit behind the baffle ten that cover is toast. I'm leaning toward chemical paint removal. My engine will most likely be exposed so I want it to match the car. (yellow) I found and have the yellow that matches the car but not the hammered powder coat paint. I can't find it anywhere. It looks like @cosmomiller may have also worked on F-111s. Do you go to cars and coffee in Eldorado?