Was cork gaskets OEM? Will I need gasket sealer to?

 

I don't know about OEM but it's likely they were cork, and honestly I've had the best luck with cork gaskets on my old 89 2.9 leak prone engine. Putting just a little bit of RTV on the gasket won't hurt anything and I have had good luck with using it on the gasket but don't go overly crazy with the application.... A little bit goes a loooong ways!

 

I've used cork with no problems. Best way is to put some gasket sealant on the valve cover and then apply the gasket to it. Let it set. Then if you ever have to remove the valve cover, its only on it and not stuck to both the block and valve cover.

 

I don't have the expeirence of some of the members, but I have better luck with rubber gaskets. I use Indian Head shellac to bond the gasket to the cover. Also its' easy to over tighten the bolts. Get a torque wrench that measures in/lbs, I set mine for 10 in/lbs.

 

Personally I will NEVER use a cork gasket again. The rubber is more playable and does Not dry out. Cork gaskets were made when they technology was minimal. Welcome to 2015

 

I'd use reusable rubber. They'll last as long as you have the truck. Cork squishes over time and developes that squished memory, then you have loose bolts and leaks.

 

If you want you motor to be a oily mess 6mo after doing the gaskets then go ahead and use the cork. If however you would like to keep your oil inside the motor you might be pleasantly surprised to find out how inexpensive the OEM Ford steel core rubber coated gaskets are.

 

The rubber gaskets could very well be the way to go but oddly the only thing that will seal on my 89 2.9 without gasket maker is cork? Tried the rubber with disappointing results and switched to cork and no more leaks? Obviously a different engine and not scientific findings so take my opinion for only what it is.

 

Sometime leaking rubber gaskets is due to over torquing.

 

Give it a year, your cork will be leaking

 

Generally I prefer rubber too. But like twigs, I had an engine that didn't do well with it. I couldn't get the valve cover on the 258 six in my '75 J**p to not leak a LOT with rubber. Cork wasn't great either, because I kept having to retorque the bolts as the cork squished down, and if I didn't do it soon enough it would leak and I'd have to start over. But I finally did get it tightened down, little by little, over about a year, and was leak-free for the next 6 years (when I sold it).

And like twigs, that was a different engine than what's being discussed here. Just pointing out that cork might still have a place. But again, try rubber first. It's usually quite a bit better.

 

This reminded me of something I found and fixed on my 2.9 that I had forgotten about, the previous owner had indeed over torqued the valve cover bolts to the point it had slightly bent the valve covers where the bolts are located and was likely causing most of the problems with the new gaskets (Cork did work better for a short time then rubber with it like that but didn't fix it permanently). Using a flat edge and a small hammer I pinged the covers back to flat and installed Fel-Pro cork gasket's and haven't had a leak yet 11 months later.... To be honest now that I think about it any gasket I used probably would've worked after fixing the covers.

Advice to the original post, check the valve covers when you have them off to see if the sealing surface is flush/flat. Bent up old valve covers are virtually impossible to seal.

 

This ^^^


And no cork wasn't stock, not in 93.


Better then both is silicone with a frame.

 

Don't jinx me!!!! One or two months have been the best I have ever been able to get out of a rubber gasket and a year out of a cork gasket before straightening the valve covers on the 2.9 out! Obviously the results would've been different if I had figured out the bent valve covers out before......I'm very close to a year and after all of that and no leaks as of yet......