You'll want to use some RTV on the gasket-to-valve cover surface to get it to stick to the valve cover while you place it on the engine. You should be able to get away without using any on the cylinder head-to-gasket surface. The important thing is that the cylinder head surface and the valve cover flange are nice and clean, and that the valve cover flange is flat. It's also important to torque the valve cover bolts down evenly and in the proper sequence, to avoid warping the flange. The RTV is more as a place-holder than a sealer in this case. Don't use too much, either. A light bead all around will get the job done.
What happened was I posted a response to your question, and my browser got stuck after I hit "reply." So I hit reply a second time to move forward. When I got back to the page, my post was there twice. To eliminate confusion I just cleared out one of the posts since they were the same. Just an internet error. Usually when a moderator sees "double post" like that, they know that it's safe to remove and they'll take it off just to keep things nice and tidy.
Ya I was just thinking that since I was going to be pulling the valve cover off several times over the next few weeks working on the rocker arms / studs, that I could use reuse the rubber gasket. I finally got it sealed good, and I think at least one of the rockers is too tight. Sounds like a vacuum leak. popping out of the carb.
Thanks
A neat little mod that a friend of mine did was to use studs and NyLoc(R) nuts to mount the valve cover.He switched to the FelPro(R) "rubber" gasket.Works great,AND,the studs help hold the gasket in its proper place when installing.
Leo
Well y'all talked me into the cork. The rubber is leaking like....I dunno, something that leaks really bad. One more question, though. I use rtv on both sides of the gasket. Is that normal practice?
Thanks,
Greg
The rubber gasket goes in dry, aside from maybe using some adhesive to hold it to the valve cover IF the retaining tabs are damaged, otherwise bone dry. Same for the cork, although I usually use hi-tack to hold it to the valve cover since most cork gaskets don't have retaining tabs.
The key on these engines is to not over-tighten the valve cover. Between the long span between bolts, and the light gauge of the valve cover steel, it's hard not to have problems. Rubber gaskets have the worst problem, since they need fairly even force and don't crush as much as cork.
You'd be best using a tapered punch to pop the bolt holes up on the valve cover, then very carefully tighten to just past snug, and go around the valve cover a couple times. If you over tighten, it's cooked. Tighter will make more leaks.
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Jared
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Rubber valve cover gasket-sealer or no?
A neat little mod that a friend of mine did was to use studs and NyLoc(R) nuts to mount the valve cover.He switched to the FelPro(R) "rubber" gasket.Works great,AND,the studs help hold the gasket in its proper place when installing.
