Favorite gaskets?
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
Favorite gaskets?
I"m coming up on 10k miles on my new build, and I'm ashamed to say that it leaks like crazy from the valve covers, oil pan, rear main, and exhaust manifolds. I bought a fel-pro kit. Maybe old domestics just leak oil, and that's the way it is.... but i think we can do better. Hopefully some of the more experienced people on the thread can chime in with what their favorite gasket combinations are to get these motors sealed up.
More Turbo
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 703
Likes: 3
From: Western Washington
I've used Fel-Pro and Victor-Reinz for several builds and have had good results. Like Bear said, over torquing valve covers will bend the rails and cause leaks. You can flatten then out to stop the leaking. I used Right Stuff gasket maker on both sides of the oil pan gasket on three 390's and they've never leaked at all. Not sure what's going on with your rear main. Maybe your exhaust manifolds need a little machining to help seal them up. The most important thing to remember is once you over torque a gasket, it's crushed and can no longer do it's job.
OJ
OJ
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 150
Likes: 0
Did the rear main exactly as instructed. oil pan and valve covers are not overtorqued. but I'm thinking of goint to rtv with the oil pan anyway. As for the manifolds, I know the head surface has less than .003" warpage, I've used two different sets of manifolds, but haven't measured either. This is frustrating... I have very very few comebacks on engine work at my job, so why can't I get a 40 year old Ford right? (I would say never have combacks, but any mechanic who says he never has comebacks is a LIAR!)
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,584
Likes: 3
From: Chesapeake, Va.
The exhaust manifolds will usually seal if you use double gaskerts held together with trim cement and then retorque after the engine has cycled through 1 complete warm up. You can gently tap any deformity out of the pan rails and valve cover rails with a hammer, GENTLY. I use 3M trim cement on the tin side of the gaskets and coat the iron side with oil before assembly and rarely have a leak. I usually use aluminum valve covers on my engines. With the 3M trim cement and oil method i've been able to use my valve cover gaskets for years with repeated valve adjustments. I prefer cork gaskets for the valve covers and oil pan as they don't squish out like the rubber ones when torqued and are reusable the way I do it.
