I just have a quick question about the gasket on the valve cover. If the cover is removed for the first time does the gasket need to be replaced?

 

no. I just changed mine and I'd taken the cover off more than a dozen times. They're only like $13 though, so you could if you wanted to.

 

thank you.

 

Every time you have a rubber gasket on and it has been compressed (even for a marginal period of time), you SHOULD replace it, especially in areas that produce heat. You don't have to, but there is a VERY increased chance of it leaking down the road. I would replace it. Its cheap, and its the right way to do it.

 

That's true, that would be the "accoring to Manufacurer's Service Manual" way to do it.

To replace the head (three times) and get everything under the valve cover working properly, I'd say I took that thing off no less than 25 times. Prior to that there were the myriad times for VC painting and whatnot. I obviously love my car, but I'm not spending $325 (25x$13) on valve cover gaskets. I replaced it once it started to show wear (it was really getting thin and wasn't making a proper seal). I should have changed it sooner, but again, I knew I'd be taking it off many times over the course of the head swaps.

 

took my valve cover off today (was previously leaking a bit of oil through the gasket) and it was still in great shape so i just put some oil on the gasket and sealed it back up...no more leaks, runs just fine.

 

As long as the gasket is still nice and squishy, its fine. I work at a power plant and I take apart stuff with gaskets all the time. You'll know if its bad. They get harder and stuff because of heat. Especially ones hooked up to pumps/turbines. The hot water/oil kills them fast. If you are only doing it once and you have over 30k miles on your car.. I'd just go get another one to be on the safe side. But if you are sure it is still good, then you can save yourself the money and re-use it. Just keep an eye on it for any leaks.

 

Head gasket website(s) for our cars???

 

http://www.visionimports.com/ i think they have a head gasket for the us lancer...otherwise, for gaskets i'd just call up the dealership or your local shop.

 

your local autoparts store will have them OEM replacements. The gaskets at vision are lower-compression gaskets and are designed for FI applications.

Boe and I butted heads on this, but I've reused my headgasket after each headswap: 3 so far. I haven't noticed any compression loss and I've used a tester.

 

daners says hes driving an 03 FI lancer. that's why i posted the link for vision imports...however, i knew it was for turbo applications but is it possible and/or beneficial to use that gasket on NA?

 

didn't see that in his question/profile. I wouldn't use them on NA. NA relies on compression. This may net slightly better MPG but certainly not more power.

 

no power = no good thanks for the info