I have a 93 EB, 4.0L extended Aerostar. It was a one owner with 133,000 miles on it when I bought it. The heads had been replaced at about 90,000 Mi. The valve covers are leaking a small amount of oil and of course it smells bad. This is a fairly expensive job, close to 5 hundred dollars here in CA, as I have to have a shop do it. I have reached an age that really has slowed my ability to do my own repairs. I have replaced the PCV as it was partly plugged, and this helped for a while, I retorqed the cover bolts that I could reach at the same time. I love my star and this is my second one. I wonder if anyone has gone through this before. What are the best gaskets? Are there better aftermarket valve covers avail. or maybe a girdle of some type to spread out the presure? Someday I will probably rebuild the engine, but as of now it does not burn any oil and runs great, so am looking foreward to 200,000 or so before major work. I hope to have this gasket replacement last until the rebuild. Any sugestions would be appreciated! I see so many good answers here.
Harry

 

I have a 93 Ranger with the 4.0L and just recently I had to replace the valve covers due to rust eating a couple of pinholes in the drivers side cover and the passenger side cover was about to do the same. The only place that I could find them was at the dealership for a cool $150.($100 for the right side, $50 for the left side) For valve cover gaskets(about $30 which includes upper and lower intake manifold gaskets), I went with the Fel-Pro Permadry Plus from autozone. No RTV silicone required and they were easy to install. Now 10,000 miles later, no leaks! I also used the same gaskets on my 2.9L I just rebuilt. I've put about 1,000 on it and no leaks.

If your using the same valve covers, make sure the surface that contacts the gasket is straight and flat.

 

Go with rangerboy's recommendation, the Fel-Pro Perma Dry Plus valve cover gaskets. They are specially made ("hinged carrier" design) for the Ford 2.9L and 4.0L.

 

Fel pro makes a good gasket. Make sure they are not over tightened because that can cause leaks all over again.