Leaking valve cover gasket

[denguy]

I put on a new valve cover gasket and now it is leaking oil all the way around it even though the bolts are turned down pretty tight. Could the gastket be too thin?

[georgeb]

Must use RTV in the groove.

[Pu241]

Afraid georgeb is correct.
You need to use some sort of sealant; RTV, permatex, etc. to bond the gasket to the valve cover.
Did your gasket come with new grommets?
DO NOT over tighten the valve cover bolts, the torque spec is in IN-lbs not ft-lbs.
If you snap one, easy to do, there will much use of improper language!

[denguy]

Thank you thank you for the confirmation tip on the rtv. I did think of that but wasn't sure if it was an ok thing to do. Will use the red hi-temp stuff.

[Pu241]

You don't need a lot, just a thin even layer coating the groove in the valve cover.
let it start to get tacky and put the gasket in, making sure there are no kinks or puckers in the gasket.
Then mount on the head and torque it down in 2 or 3 stages.

[FestYboy]

^ use coper gasket spray and make sure all surfaces are clean and dry before install. did this to Caetys aspire over 4 years ago and also to the 89 festy from Ill (missing 1 corner bolt). neither leak, period. not even a trace of oil.

[jbuck1975]

^ use coper gasket spray and make sure all surfaces are clean and dry before install. did this to Caetys aspire over 4 years ago and also to the 89 festy from Ill (missing 1 corner bolt). neither leak, period. not even a trace of oil.

I'm missing a corner bolt. I'll have to give this a try.

EVO deck'd out with Bruce Lee

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

Last month, I replaced the valve cover gasket on one of my Festies b/c oil was oozing out onto othe head/block at only 116K miles. I purchased the Felpro model recommended in some threads from several years back. It came with new grommets. I used the tips on those threads so as to NOT have to remove the throttle body.

I did NOT use any sealant and have seen no signs of any new leaks. Sealant WOULD have been helpful to keep the new gasket attached to the valve cover while I lowered the cover onto the block -- it kept falling out.

I torqued using a quality torque wrench.

The whole process took about 45 minutes.

[FestYboy]

it's only been a MONTH, come back to us in 3 or more YEARS and see if you have the same results.

[TominMO]

I just re-sealed Bruce's valve cover gasket. Originally I had used grease instead of silicon, on the theory that grease is much thicker than oil so should hold it in there. Nope. Went to RTV Blue today.

Gonna do Danny's on Sunday, but with RTV Red. Larry has Copper-Kote on the gasket, and it's working fine.

[georgeb]

Bought a new Felpro at Advance and one of the long sides was too long! Reused the old one with some ancient silicone in the groove. Had to put tube in vise to squeeze.

[Movin]

Copper coat or upholstery adhesive works fine, when using silicone make sure
it says "sensor safe" if you have an oxygen sensor. Silicone poisoning pulled through the pcv valve and burned will poison the o2. This causes lean mixtures
due to abnormally high o2 sensor voltages. Silicone used inside and outside the grommets and at sharp turns on the gasket is a good idea. (thin film)
Chemically clean surfaces can be obtained with an old dishwasher and an extra hot hotwater heater and something like brake clean for parts that can't be put in the washer. Any oil left on the bonding surfaces will cause seeps of oil later.