hello everyone!

Today was assembly day for my old 390 thats on the stand, the bottom end was already together, so it was hanging tin work, intake, things like that. i got the factory valve covers out of the parts washer and started to clean them, and quickly realized they just wouldnt cut it for this build. there was visible warping and a decent dent on the drivers side cover.

So i got on ebay and bought some brand new aluminum valve covers, after an hour of shopping, i found a set that i liked, had high ratings, had a thick bottom sealing surface, were reasonably priced, and were made in the US.

Now, i have the valve covers en route, and i did get some ARP bolts to go with them, but now im wondering, should i use the standard cork valve cover gaskets that came with the engine gasket kit, or should i spend some extra money and get some of those gaskets that are steel wrapped in rubber?

heres an example of the steel rubber gaskets im referring to, not the exact set im thinking about, just a similar set.

Ford FE 352 360 390 406 427 428 Steel Core Rubber Valve Cover Gaskets 3/16" New! | eBay

does anyone have any thoughts or experience to point me in either direction?

Thanks in advance.

 

I haven't tried them on an FE yet but they have worked super on my 302. Purchased from the same supplier in your link.

 

Tried them on my 428cj, went back to the cork. Don't waste your money. JMHO.

 

What ever you do, use Hi-Tack glue to glue the gaskets to the valve covers and let it cure overnight before you assemble.

The new valve covers, do they have a recess where the gasket sits, or is it basically flat?

 

got the Rubber/steel gaskets on my 390 no leaks since !

 

Well your going to find every kind of opinion on this that you can imagine, I recently tried my install with rubber gaskets and no sealant, and it leaked like a strainer...... I did a bunch of reading and went back to cork with the following method


Clean all surfaces with alcohol based solvent or paint thinner, acetone etc.... use your favorite RTV or gasket maker, blue, black whatever with small bead on valve cover mating surface, place cork gasket on setting sealant, place weight on top of the gasket and let sit over night. Next day Rub some WD40 on top of head surface (keep from burning RTV to head), put light bead of your favorite RTV sealant on the expose side of the cork gasket and gently place on heads.... Now you install the set of spreader bars you purchased(forgot to tell you that.......)


All I have now is a small seep on the passenger side...... and im going to live it.... these FE covers are a bear to seal Good luck

 

Fel Pro used to make rubber impregnated cork gaskets, the cork sealed good and the rubber keep them from crushing and splitting.
Don't know if they still make them or not.
If you go with the ones listed use some good RTV.

 

to answer a few questions, the covers i went with are billet aluminum, i bought them specifically for the reason that the bottom flange is 1/4" thick, hoping to get a better sealing surface with less flex. the bottoms of them are completely, flat, no wrap around edge like the factory stamped steel covers.

Right now the engine is on the stand, the intake is brand new out of the box, and the heads are fresh from the machine shop, everything is as clean as it will ever be right now.

 

My favorite FE valve cover gaskets are the Edelbrock 1/4inch thick ones.

They seem really tough, and I've probably taken the valve covers off a dozen times with no ill effects.

I do the whole thing different than described above.

I glue them to the intake/head surface. I then rub a little grease on the top side of the gasket so the valve cover doesn't stick and is easy to remove.
For rocker clearance, I've also used two sets of gaskets before with no issue. I just glue one to the heads, and one to the valve covers, grease in between.

Not right or wrong, there are a dozen ways to skin this cat. Just providing another method that I've had great results with.

Drew