Well the fancy TDI-esque AAZ valve cover leaks.. ~shock~

[wolf_walker]

So after finally getting the right one, and painstakingly scraping the GLUED ON gasket off the POS stamped tin valve cover, and wishing every moment for a 1.6L with it's proper perimeter studs, and an ABA rubber gasket, I finally got it clean and put a so, so light skim of silicone on the valve cover only and let it cure up.  Reassembled, with new grommets and crap on the center bolts, and it still leaks in the drivers rear.  I haven't had a VW diesel leak since I started using rubber ABA gaskets, I've probly put on thirty of them over the years.

I don't believe the thing is warped, since it only has three damn bolts, and I barely snugged them with a 1/4 inch ratchet initially, and after seeing the leak I checked and they went about 1/8th turn before they bottomed out.  So I guess I pull it and RTV the stupid thing on, eh?

Leaks, especially recurrent leaks, really, really, really tick me off. 

[burn_your_money]

Drill the head and install a G60 cover. Fixed my leaks.

[wolf_walker]

That was one of my thoughts as well, that G60 piece is really nice.
I suspect one could even use an ABA valve cover gasket on this head as it is, will certainly try next time I have to.
For now I pulled it and cleaned it all, again, and did a very very light skim of black RTV on the head surface and am leaving it
drying overnight.  I'm also putting a few washers under the hold-down nuts to get some more adjustment, they bottomed out
I believe too early to clamp the thing tight enough to seal as they are for whatever reason.  They really coulda done better on these
as much as they damn motors cost.

[wolf_walker]

Looking at this thing, it was just plain bottoming out the top nut on the stack of spacer nuts before it could snug it up much.  This might be due to the replacement gasket being thinner, but at any rate I put washers with an ID large enough to allow the spacer nut to pass if need be on and snugged it up.  Will see what it does.

[wolf_walker]

So far so good on the large washers.  I suspect the replacement gasket, while wider, is not as tall.