Tomorrow I shall attempt my first valve cover gasket installation. I've got all my manuals, gasket sealer, tools, and gasket and I'm ready to go. Any last minute tips? I know the gasket is bad because 1) I found a corner of the gasket in the engine compartment and 2) oil is seeping from the front of the valve cover.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Neil

 

Since you're taking the valve cover off anyway... Now would be a good time to paint it and clean all the crud out. Also, buy the rubber version, it will last longer.

 

I won't refer a specific type of gasket but, when you get it off, flip, the cover over and look at the sealing surface. A lot of times, you'll find that it "raises" up at the bolt holes. Lay it across a vice ( or anything similar) and tap the surface back down flat. Don't use any sealer and DON'T over-torque! The biggest mistake people make is over torquing it. If the surface is flat, the gasket will seal if properly torqued.

 

Mega Dittoes!! Rubber Gasket, with metal washers embedded, no RTV, gasket tabs down, I think torque spec is 80INCH/Pounds.
Get all of the Crud out of that cover, no sense in letting it stay. If the stuff seems hard to scrape out, that is because it is. You could wack the carbon with a pressure washer, just make sure you dry the cover before re-install. New PCV thing-a-ma-jig would be nice. You might find the rear bolt(next to firewall) hard to reach, and there may be a wire holder attached there, with an extra nut over the bracket and it won't be a bolt, it will be a stud, so it may need a deeper socket. I think you may have a wire harness to remove on the side of the cover(the 1992 has it) Easy with the two nuts on the side of the cover, they are just stamped metal nuts, not cast.
The real question is, What year is this thing????
Are you sure you aren't seeing bits of the intake manifold to head gasket floating around??

 

Make sure you use a torque wrench and don't guess it.

I use engine degreaser on the valve cover and soak it for a while and remove any gunks using a blue towel and then spray it using throttle body cleanner.

 

924x2150,

Its an 81. I'm sure its the valvecover gasket. It has the tab on it and matches up perfectly with one corner of the new gasket.

Also, why should I not use gasket sealer?

Thanks for the tips!

Neil

 

Cause you'll kick yourself in the butt when you have to scrape it off the next time you replace the gasket.

 

Not alot of pressure or oil there. Gasket does not need to be welded to head. RTV is great for thermostat housings, waterpump gaskets, and sometimes when a gasket rides over two pieces of an engine, where metal meets metal that is.

For instance, my ford Probe just got all new gaskets. The oil pan gasket rides on top of three metal assemblies. The block, rear main bearing cap, and timing cover.
The requirement for that installation was that I use a bead of RTV at each point the gasket went over an engine part mating point.
Two beads in the front filled the gaps between the block and timing cover, and two beads in the back filled the gaps between the block and bearing cap.The Probe's oil pan rubber gasket doesn't have any other RTV, it has been leak-free for 3000 miles. There is alot more oil down in the pan compared to the v-cover, dig it?

Rule of thumb: If you are continually having to replace gaskets or can't seem to button up a leak, then the engine may have other problems. Overheating, worn bearings, clogged PCV valve, bad head gasket, cracked head stuck rings, etc. A properly tuned and maintained engine, especially in regards to oil/coolant service will actually increase the life of your gaskets.

 

What you can do is rather than sealing the whole gasket, just do a couple little dots to hold the gasket to the valve cover. That way it won't drop off when you go to place it.

Justin

 

All went well with the gasket I guess. At least its not worse than it was when I started. There is still some seepage. My guess is the screw holes on the cover are not flat and it is causing a bad seal. But since I dont have a vice, and knowing that I would mess it up even more if I tried to flatten it, I guess I will replace the vale cover. If anything, it got a good cleaning

 

1989 I6 EFI valve cover gasket install

I was just curious if there are any more gaskets which will need replaced as a result of getting to and changing the VCG itself.