I took the valve cover and pushrod cover off my 300 today to give them a fresh coat of paint and some new rubber gaskets. One thing I noticed was that one edge (either the top or bottom) of the pushrod cover was bent outward. Is it supposed to be that way, or did I fvck it up whilst removing it?
Also, what are the torque specs for the valve cover and pushrod cover bolts? (or should I just tighten the **** out of them?)
It's no wonder the old girl leaked a bit of oil...The old cork gaskets came off in many small pieces, and the bolts were barely past hand-tight.

Thanks!

 

on the lifter cover if you tighten the **** out of them it will leak like no tomorrow...i believe the torque on those bolts is 23 or 24 INCH lbs...so roughly 2 lb-ft. so in other words...barely finger tight...but dont go by that...get a torque wrench...those covers are picky, its either to loose or too tight...

valve cover is 78 - 102 inch lbs...so 7 - 8 foot lbs...again...not very tight at all...

the pushrod cover should look the exact same top and bottom...if it doesnt...its Fd...that little channel along the outside is for the gasket obviously so if one edge is the wrong way it wont hold it in place at 2 foot pounds torque...you should get pics of this

 

I tried to get a pic, but it was almost impossible to show in an image...
Basically looking at it from the back, one edge of the gasket channel area is straight, and on the other side it comes off at about a 20 degree angle. Could I have bent it unsticking it from the old gasket?

 

yes, if the cover is bent out like that, you probably bent it taking it off. did you use a scrwediver, prybar, etc to get it off? those covers are thin and bend easily. you should be able to work it back into shape relatively easily though. take your time. someone really needs to make a nice, finned aluminum cover for the sides...

 

yes they are horribly flimsy....makes em a bitch to get back in...gotta be careful when installing it not to bend it too much...or it leaks...2lbs isnt enough torque to straighten it out lol...

 

That was a bitch to get the gasket lined up right...gotta go torque it now.

 

hi-tack spray a gasket man

best thing in a can i can tell you that LOL

 

FML...
Got the pushrod cover straighter than it probably was new... Scraped all the gasket surfaces clean... Torqued the bolts properly... And now it's leaking oil like no tomorrow. The bent cover with loose bolts and a rotten cork gasket did better than this.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU UUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKK

 

betch the gasket slid out and got piched when you put it back in...i did that too...go to a parts store and get some good spray on hi-tack ... clean the gasket and cover really good spray it on the areas of the cover and gasket you want to contact, let it tack up froa few mins put the pieces together let it tack up a bit more and it really really helps going back in

 

Yep, the gasket was no where near where it was supposed to be for the front 2". Douched the whole thing with RTV to hold it in (against all my anti gasket sealant sentiment). Should work a lot better.

 

I found my cover on eBay.

 

RTV/Form-a-gasket has a place... and definitely on these covers. Best to mount the gasket to the cover and let it fully set in place before trying to bolt the cover on, or the gasket will roll off to the side when installing 99% of the time. Figure you have a gasket in between a flat cover and a curved lip on the side of the block... what could go wrong. Bad engineering; Ford should have made both mating surfaces flat.

 

I like to use permatex's gasket maker. I think its called "ultra black" and says "maximum oil resistance". It seals well, its a bit thick and sticky like peanut butter and isn't too hard to get off later. I installed a thermostat last night and two tiny dabs held it in the housing no problem. I use it on about every cover I need to seal in a hurry without a gasket handy and almost never have an issue.

I'd spread a little on the cover and block, place the gasket on the cover and install.

Here are the torque specs for the 300 out of my 85 ford engine shop manual. Torque them from the centre out, make sure the cover is very straight. Only snug it a little more if it leaks. The bolts also have seals make sure they are in good shape or replace them.

 

The cork gasket is better ... It swells after it is installed. Use a tiny bit of gasket adhesive on gasket's cover side only to hold it in place during the install. The gasket needs to be exposed the the oil so it can swell. If you cover the whole cork gasket with sealer it can't swell.

 

Umm...the gasket is cork so it will absorb oil and swell when exposed to oil. Coating both sides with sealer will not allow the gasket to swell and seal as designed.