Went to see what socket fit my valve cover bolts,and found the bolts were extremely loose. Might this be a sign of a warped cover?
What products do you all use to clean things up? I have read to cover wires with plastic, degrease and hide off.
Also, what should I look for while I'm in there replacing the gasket? She taps a little bit with 200K+ on her. Any pics of what to watch out for would be appreciated. If you haven't guessed already, I'm in the intro class lol.

 

The bolts being loose is normal, the gasket shrinks as it gets old. When you put your new gasket in, tighten the bolts with a nut driver or hold your hand over the front of the ratchet and torque them that way, which will not bend the cover. After you drive it a week or so, go out and tighten them again. About 6 months later check them again, and you will be ok after that for awhile.

I don't like spraying water in engine compartments to clean them up. Too many bad places for water to get into. If you want to clean it up, I recommend spraying wd40 all over and then using a rag to clean it up. A lot of the show car guys use wd40 to clean their engine compartments.

 

X2 on the valve cover.


When the cover is off just give a look over. It should be clean, no hard black deposits, oil drain holes open and everything should have a film of oil.
As for the tick grab each rocker and try and move them. If the motor was just run none should move as the lifters should not have bled off yet.
If you don't mind a mess you can run the motor and feel each rocker for the 1 making the tick.


WD40 might be good to use on a show car motor but a 200+K motor???
Scrap & wire brush off the heavy spots first. I use Gunk engine degreaser and spray it on a warm/hot motor. Let is soak in and use a stiff brush to work the degreaser into the bad spots spraying to keep it wet.


This is all with the air filter off and trying to keep away from the dist. cap & plugs/wires and carb. When the degreaser has had time to work in rinse off with a power washer. Having it supported on jack stands so you can get the under side helps.


Once the motor is clean pop the dist. cap and dry off inside, outside & wires and plugs. I find using an air compressor to blow dry the cap, wires & plugs helps a lot.
Start the motor and get it up to temp to help dry it out and to make sure it runs goo enough to take for a spin around the block or 2 to help dry it out more.


I have never had any issues doing it this way.
Got to get it clean before the tear down begins.

I did the same with my truck project. On the trailer I went by work and used the power washer to get some of the grease/dirt off. When I got it home and started looking it over it looked like I never degreased it!
Yep it was that bad!
Dave ----

 

Thanks all, great tips. I got the blue gasket with the metal stops built in...i assume the flanges on it stick downwards? planning on gluing it to the cover wit h a very thin layer of rtv then letting that dry before installation, as per another post on here.

 

Should I just wrench any ticking ones down a bit? Is this something that requires a torque spec?

EDIT: Answers I found here for others that find / need my post:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...replacing.html

 

I don't know what you got out of that old thread, but most Ford engines are not adjustable as far as the valve lash. Some people claim some of the 300's are, they may be. If you have a bolt in the middle of the rocker it's not. If you have a stud and a nut, maybe.

You can try a can of rislone in the engine during your next oil change. Run it a couple of weeks and see if the ticking goes away. If it doesn't, live with it.