I'm planning on painting my valve cover since my car is all taken apart.. (porting blower, and polishing the outside). can i take it off w/o replacing the gasket?

 

every time you take something like that apart you SHOULD REPLACE IT

 

thats not what i asked.. I've taken other things off and the gasket was fine.. like the blower... but did they use any liquid gasket when they put the valve cover on?

 

Yeah, it's exactly what you asked. The answer is; everytime you take something off you SHOULD replace it. As in, you don't have to, but you should because it might cause more problems than it saves you money in the long run.

 

I reused mine with no problems.

 

no, the gasket is a rubber gasket...as long as you don't damage it it will be fine. I removed mine and polished it a few weeks ago.

 

The valve cover gasket is neoprene rubber. Completely reusable over and over as long as you don't tear it. It will be glued to your valve cover and will stay attached to it

 

thanks halfcent

 

As others have said yes it is reusable. I've taken mine off twice now and I haven't changed the gasket and I have no leaks.

 

I have reused valve cover gaskets as well because it's a low pressure area and therefore will not usually have any problems.

That's cool that our gaskets are made of neoprene; that is much better than the cork gaskets which are the ones that I would replace if I removed it.