More mechanics. 101 valve cover gaskets

[Kim K Kaiser]

There has been some seeoage of oil from above gasket area,
Again, thinking this may be an easy fix, easy to get to. So.

Any pitfalls to watch for here, and once off should i be looking for anytging under tge covers once off beforr re installing

[2o93f8rdftyzj]

The covers will often need a bit of panel beating to get a good, straight edge to work with. (Caused by over tightening by over zealous mechanics) 

[Kim K Kaiser]

i got the cork looking gaskets as replacements, do i need to use any of the rtv products or apply strait to the covers ??

[2o93f8rdftyzj]

I always glue the gasket to the cover with contact cement (Glue)

That will stop the gasket flopping around like a dick in a shirt sleeve.

The smarter folks on here, may offer a better solution, but the above works for me.

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

Rather straight forward job. If the car has an AC compressor, that will need to be moved out of the way.  

Once the valve covers are off, clean them very good. The sealing surface has to be clean and straight. Take a straight edged metal ruler and check that the sealing flange is straight and not wavy , or that the bolt holes have been dimpled down.

Be sure that you have all 8 of the special spacers that are under the bolt heads before you even start the project. They spread the load of the bolt head out over a wider area on the valve cover.

It is a personal choice as to use a sealer or not to use a sealer. I like permatex in a can. Brush it on and let it cure to a tacky film.  Now don't go and smoke them bolts back on. The torque specs are very light. Just enough to snug up the bolts. Do not go back and retorque them after you drive the car. It will only squish out the gasket causing a leak.   Check your book for the torque values.

A few things to look for once inside the rocker arms. Look for flaking burnt oil. That needs to be cleaned up. Don't let it fall down into the engine. Check the rocker arms for looseness. They should all be tight and not chatter when wiggled.  

[2o93f8rdftyzj]

Soaking corks in water is great if they are a bit short.

[Kim K Kaiser]

following up on the valve gasket replacement,

attached is a picture of my driver side innards,   looked clean to my untrained eyes,, this is untouched, i wiggled the arms, nothing was loose,, all very tight,  using a strait edge, i didnt see any waviness in the pan where the gasket goes, so i dint have to any banging to straiten anything.  

i did NOT see any spacers, only one on the back lower bolt.

does this look like its an engine in ok shape.  there was no crud, or junk,, some oil about but it was clean i  guess because i had just changed it.  

anyway, any thoughts to advance my knowledge would be appreciated, fixing to put it back,, 

SIncerely

[Kim K Kaiser]

the middle par and the springs and all that stuff has a light coat of oil on it.  other than that, i haven't run it much in the last day or so,, but thats what it looked like when i opened it up, will do the other side tomorrow,,,

[Kim K Kaiser]

ok,, will try,, but its a 390, so i dont know if that makes any difference,,

[Kim K Kaiser]

The book says 25 lbs, i know for a fact they weret at 25 when i removed them. So that may hv been why it was leaking, plus the gadket looked almost new.

Glad tge engine looks good!

[Jason Edge]

Just to make sure you are reading the torque specs correctly, per shop manual the valve cover gaskets are torqued down to 25 inch lbs ... NOT foot lbs. 25 inch lbs is just over 2 foot lbs. If you torque them down to 25 ft lbs you will definitely warp the valve cover lip. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Didnt see that distictiin. Big ooos, however, i know im bot even at 15 lb. As i hvnt hit the stoo on the that so will stoo were i am. Thsnks for the warning

[Jason Edge]

If you have went over 10 ft lbs  you have already warped the valve cover and will need to pull and straighten the lip back out. If  not it will almost surely leak. Again, you only need to tighten these to approx. 2 ft lb or 25 inch lb to be exact. Tightening to 10, 15 or more ft lb is why these get warped.