Valve cover gasket job - I guessed the torque by hand, is that OK?

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Hi guys,

This is the first time I've done a valve cover gasket change.

All pretty straight forward, cleaned all the contact surfaces with brake cleaner and rag.

Permatex sealant near the bolts and a little on the gasket itself in a few spots. Easy as. I noticed no sign of previous sealant, do the pros not need it or have they just done cheap services?

Then I realised my torque wrench can't measure anything so delicate, so I grabbed the deep socket and installed by feel - in 2 or 3 stages, leaving it finger tight but certainly not forcefully tight. No idea if I've done it right but a quick drive revealed no leakage.

I have a big 500 mile drive on Monday so if I've done something wrong I'd like to know before then. I'm going to drive it around a bit on the weekend, if nothing shows up I can do the big drive with some peace of mind.

My question, how long would you expect oil leaks to show if I've done anything wrong?

Once home I can check the torque correctly with my digital wrench.

UNRELATED: I noticed minor oil under the intake of my carb so maybe there is a gasket job there in the future (??) but since I'm planning to install a weber in the near future I ignored that completely.

[Flyin4stroke]

Valve cover gasket job - I guessed the torque by hand, is that OK?

No sealant. Tighten to where you can see the gasket flatten out without bulging out the side. Use a 1/4 drive ratchet and you won't have enough leverage to break the bolts. Leaks could come soon but usually after a good drive when oil is up to temp, thin.

[Movin]

As tight as you can go with a nut driver is good unless you grew up on a dairy.

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Thanks guys

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A little update

1000 miles later, including a long 500 mile single trip in 100f temps (fun without AC...), no leaks whatsoever. The car was heavily loaded down so it was getting being pushed pretty hard for 9 hours straight on highways with 10w30 oil.

Early days but it looks like I did the job right