I'm having a problem keeping my valve covers sealed. I use to run cork gaskets but everyone I talked to said rubber was better. Well.. I swapped to rubber after getting a set of chrome valve covers never again! They were rusting within weeks. Anyhow, they are leaking from the back corner. Bolts have been torqued and retorqued but to no avail. Any suggestions? Thanks!



79 250 Ranger Lariat 4wd 400 C6 3.55's 33x12.50 16.5's
78 Bronco Custom 4wd 400 C-6 3.50's 31 10.5 15's
66 Mustang Coupe Sports sprint 200 c-4 cruise o matic 3.00's
99 Grand Prix GT 230 ft/lbs torque out of a non turbo'd 6 cyl hehe

 

Carefully take the offending valve cover back off and see if you can notice what's causing it to leak. If it looks like the gasket was mis-aligned a little, buy some new gaskets and a small can of contact cement, or the contact cement in a spray can. Coat the valve cover and one side of the gasket. Let it dry a little and then position the gasket on the valve cover. Don't mess up, because it will stick the first time it touches. Then re-install. If gasket slippage was the problem, this should fix it.

 

I've pulled it off a couple of times now, got tired of seeing rust so I put the origonal ford cover back on the one side until I get my aluniumn ones I thought maybe it was slipping a bit so I tried putting a small amount of silicon on the cover side of the gasket to hold it in place but it hasn't made any difference.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 11-Dec-02 AT 05:50 PM (EST)]OK here's a little trick that works for me on my Motorsport valve covers.
Get yourself some 1/4" Ready rod and make some 2" studs and then buy some 1/4" nyloc nuts.Then I take some Blue Loc tight and install the studs into the heads. once the loc tight sets up then put on your gaskets and valve covers and only tighten them down enough to where you can see the gaskets just start to gush some, Not to much thou.
I only use FelPro Cork and Rubber gaskets, There tough and reuseable.


Also here something to look for with steel stamped valve covers.
If you tighten them dowm to much they will warp at the bolt hold downs points. Take it on a flat surface and with a Small hammer tap it back straight and flat and don't tighten down to much.
You won't have this happen with Cast Aluminum covers.

 

We do like what shazam does on our race engines.

But for the 1/4" stud we use 1/4" set screws in the length you want.
They have an allen end to it so you can really snug them in, we also use the nyloc nuts, we use 3M 8001 weather adhesive (yellow death)
The gasket will not move or come off alive.

Fastenal is the company around here that has the set screws and nyloc nuts.

I don't like to use silicon with rubber products, very slipery and won't stay in place.

tim

www.tmeyerinc.com

 

Thanks for the info! I'll have to clean em up well and try again. How many times can rubber gaskets be reused?


79 250 Ranger Lariat 4wd 400 C6 3.55's 33x12.50 16.5's
78 Bronco Custom 4wd 400 C-6 3.50's 31 10.5 15's
66 Mustang Coupe Sports sprint 200 c-4 cruise o matic 3.00's
99 Grand Prix GT 230 ft/lbs torque out of a non turbo'd 6 cyl hehe

 

The number of times they can be reused depends entirely on age (they get hard) and the care that is taken when they are torqued down.

Those cheap chrome valve covers from Edelbrock (and others) are not stamped correctly. The notches set up to retain the gaskets are not properly spaced and the flat sealing surfaces around the bolt holes are too small. The OEM or cast aluminum covers will work much better.

Install rubber gaskets exactly like TMI said :-) See some additional tips below.

Prep your covers with a little hammer work to make them flat. A tiny amount of concave at the bolt holes does not hurt. Metal plate pressure spreaders don't hurt also if they are installed properly.

To glue the gaskets in place on the valve covers, clean the cover and the gasket with brake cleaner. The gaskets have a lubricant like talcum powder on them. Use a piece of plywood and drill the cover pattern in it. Check the alignment of the gasket with the cover. Use some bolts to align and lightly clamp the gasket in place when you glue them in. Let the adhesive cure. Use a light film of grease on the surface of the gasket when you install the covers to aid in removal later. Go light on the torque with the nylocks/bolts :-) Use a SAE washer and a split lockwasher under the bolts/nuts to help retain pressure.

Thanks for using FTE!




[font color=red]As a Moderator I do not "Subscribe" to most topics,
please send email/pm if you need a reply -Thanks![/font]
-