Leaking Valve Cover, advice, tired of it!

Factual Questions
1

Hi All

Need some gearhead advice…

Over the years I have replaced the valve cover gaskets on a fair number of vehicles…

I get the gasket and the silicone/sealer the auto parts guy recommends, follow the directions and still the things ALWAYS ooze oil around the supposed “seal”.

I am getting ready to get my 1982 AMC Spirit (yes, you heard that right) back on the road.

The car is built like the proverbial brick sh*t house. Except for one thing. It came with a plastic valve cover. Of course THAT oozed oil BIG time. I now have an aftermarket solid aluminum one, something like 1/8 to 1/4 thick material.

The engine is a cast iron (head too) in-line 6 cylinder (252 cc?). The new valve cover is secured on both sides by 3 bolts going into the head and one on each end for a total of 8 bolts. The bolts are approximately 1/4 diameter.

I may have to use that “cork” sheet material to make a gasket. The stuff at the store looked pretty thin. Should I use 2 layers?

This is probably the most important question. What should I use as a sealant? I’ve tried all the silicones and while they may stay physically intact, they always appear to eventually loose their bond with the metal and/or gasket material.

I was thinking maybe I should use that stuff back from my old VW rebuilding days, permatex?, that brownish stuff thats like supper thick, super sticky honey. It may not be able to form a thick layer like silicone but on the other hand it seems to stay permanently sticky unlike silicone.

What sort of tightening pattern and how tight should I make the bolts? Should I use lock washers and/or locktite?

If someone justs wants to direct me to a no hassle how to site on the web that would be fine as well…
Thanks!

Blll

2

First, it’s important that the valve cover itself is straight/flat. Your aluminum one almost certainly is, but it wouldn’t hurt to check it with a straightedge if that’s feasible.

The valve cover gasket for your engine is available. Do not make one yourself - it’s a major pain in the neck and you won’t be able to equal the quality and fit of a manufactured gasket. Be sure to get a good brand, such as Fel-Pro or Victor. Do not use an “economy” gasket - it’s a false economy. And don’t double up - a good quality gasket is properly designed to be used alone; using two won’t help and may make it worse.

The Victor gasket (available at Carquest) is rubberized cork. This material can seal quite well IF IT IS PROPERLY INSTALLED. Unfortunately, even many professional mechanics don’t know how to do that. Overtightening ruins cork gaskets, and they are commonly overtightened. Here’s how I’d do it:

>Use a thin tacky gasket cement to fix the gasket to the valve cover. This is so that it doesn’t fall off or slip out of place while the valve cover is being positioned onto the head. I use Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant. You apply it to both surfaces (valve cover, and gasket) and let it dry for a few minutes. When it’s tacky, you press the pieces together and they should stick.

>Sealant is not necessary on the head side of the gasket. Nevertheless, I like to coat it with anti-seize compound, mainly to make future removal easier (cork can really stick once it’s baked on). ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE SILICONE SEALER HERE. It can facilitate gasket slippage and sabotage the repair.

>Tighten it in stages, with rest time between stages, and don’t overtighten. Cork takes a set, but it needs time to do that properly. The trick is to tighten it a bit, then let it be for 10+ minutes before tightening further. Start with finger tight, then one or two intermediate tightenings (10 minutes rest after each), then fully tight. Note that “fully tight” is not as tight as you can get it. The torque spec for this application is 28 inch pounds (yes, inch pounds - we’re talking less than 3 foot pounds). I would probably go tighter than that myself, but I have a “calibrated elbow” from 35 years of experience.

My source for Fel-Pro tells me they have discontinued the “regular” gasket, and recommend using silicone alone. They also offer a gee-whiz high-tech gasket, which I am not familiar with, as an alternative. If you choose to try silicone alone (which seems to be how AMC says to do it - apparently they don’t offer a gasket now, either), I recommend The Right Stuff by Permatex. The bead needs to be thick enough to squish out a bit when the valve cover is fully seated, but keep in mind you don’t want big globs of it squishing out. With silicone alone, the valve cover will bottom out on the head, and the bolts need to be tight enough to stay put.

Don’t use lock washers. The force to compress them properly will overtighten cork, and with silicone alone they’re not necessary. There’s likewise no need for Loctite.

Tightening is done from the center out, in a circular or criss-cross pattern.

Good luck!

3

Another thought: If the bottom of the valve cover is flat, I would lean towards a gasket (silicone can be problematic if there’s not a channel for it). If the bottom has a channel that the valve cover fits into while still protruding past the cover on the head side, a gasket should work fine, although silicone could also work. If there’s a channel that the gasket does not fit into, use silicone.

4

In addition to all of **Gary’s ** advice on the gasket itself, check the PCV valve and its associated hoses. If that’s restricted or clogged, it can overpressurize the internals to the point that something pops a leak, and valve covers are notorious for being that something.

Aside from that, valve covers are just one of those things that you can expect seepage from after three or four years.

5

After reading the OP, I was going to add a few things. I see that Gary beat me to most of it though. I second his recommendations including buying a premade gasket and using “The Right Stuff” if you decide to go with a sealer alone. Beware though, once that stuff sets up, it will require some prying and a lot of cleaning the next time you take it apart. The stuff works though.

We always use weatherstrip adhesive (aka. yellow snot) to glue the gasket to the valve cover. This is similar to what Gary mentioned and makes assembly much easier.

Many people overtighten valve covers, which squeezes out the gasket or sealer and causes a new leak. If you don’t have a torque wrench for inch pounds as Gary indicated, use a 1/4" rachet and hang on to it at top (where the socket attaches) using moderate pressure. You really don’t need to use much torque at all.

6

Hi Guys

Thanks for the input!

I’ve given both the head and the valve cover a quick check…they both appear to pretty flat…and given they both have a history of not being mistreated, I suspected as much.

Neither has any channels or lips/rims…so we are mating one flat surface to another.

As I mentioned before, this is an aftermarket valve cover to replace the questionable plastic valve cover. I measured the valve cover and the gasket material that originally came with the kit. Both are approximately 3/16 inch thick.

I have one concern using a factory gasket that was intended to be used with the original valve cover. First, IIRC it was some kind of “foam”. Second, the plastic valve cover HAD grooves, channels, and lips/edges, whereas the new cover has none of those.

If thats the only gasket I can find, what should I use as sealant/adhesive? The “Right Stuff” or something else? And whatever I use should I use it on all 4 surfaces?

Can I find a thick “cork” gasket instead? The paperwork I’ve been able to find says this kit was for 81-86 six cylinder 4.2 L (258) Jeep and AMC Engines with Factory Plastic Valve Covers .

The kit notes that this gasket is thicker than a regular gasket. They note that their Part Number # is 8053050C-AL.

The problem is I don’t know who “they” is. Can anyone help with that?

Somebody also mentioned foregoing a gasket altogether. Given that the head is iron and cover aluminum, it seems to me that a gasket is almost a necessity to allow for different thermal expansion rates.

Thanks again for all the input and tips!

Blll

7

Are you looking for the part? Just put the entire part number, 8053050C-AL, into Google. It’ll bring up a bunch of links to places where you can buy the part for around $10. You can probably go into a large auto parts store or a Jeep dealer and find it, too (call ahead!)

8

Hi guys…

After calling everyone and his brother I finally found the right “cork” gasket…for about 12 dollars. Which is good because every other place only had 40 dollars gaskets, which seem a bit much to me.

So , now I have the Permatex and the gasket. Should I use the permatex on BOTH the valve cover surface AND head surface? Or in other words on all 4 surfaces?

And, once I am done, how long should I wait before I run the engine? And what kind of breakin procedure would you recommend? A few short engine runs or one long one that gets it hot and keeps it hot for awhile?

Again, thanks for the advice!
Blll

9

Do NOT use Permatex with cork-it will leak. You have to use an old-fashioned laquer (“Indian head”) on the surfces, and you must let it get tacky, befor you replace the valve cover and torque it doen. Torquing the bolts: start in the center, and tighten each in a clockwise fashion, finger tight and then 1/4 of a turn-NO MORE. If you do this, you will be OK. And, God help you if you brak off a screwhead-it will leak forever!

10

Ugghhh

Thanks Ralph.

This is what the guys at the shop recommended as well…and they seem to be fairly experienced old farts, not newby teens. Of course even old timers can give bad advice.

The gasket is made by Victor Reinz. Upon closer inspection it may not be cork. It is tanish/pinkish in color and has a finer grain than I remember true cork having. Perhaps its a synthetic material that lookssome what like cork?

The cork part number is VS50061.

The sealant is Permatex 2 Form a gasket sealant, non hardening.

So, does this sound more like the right track?

thanks again!

Blll

11

Refer to post #2. It’s rubberized cork.

I would not use this. Refer to post #2. I suggest a thin tacky gasket cement such as Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant. Apply it to the valve cover and to the cover side of the gasket, let it get tacky, then stick the gasket onto the cover. This is used to facilitate installation by keeping the gasket in place on the cover. It is not being used to make it seal better - it’s hard to improve on the sealing ability of rubberized cork, though it is possible to detract from it by using the wrong stuff.

I would not use anything on the head surface or head side of the gasket with the intent of improving the seal.

I have 35 years of professional auto repair experience. I’ve successfully installed lord-knows-how-many cork gaskets.

12

Here you’ll find the definition and properties of rubberized cork. It looks different from plain cork because it’s made from little pieces of cork in a rubber substrate.

Here is some insight into tightening. It’s under “Cork Gaskets,” which may be in the window when you click. If not, you’ll find it on page 622, about 2/3 down from the top. As I mentioned above, you can PROBABLY go a LITTLE tighter than the factory spec, but it would be wise to just tighten to spec at first. If necessary, it can be tightened a bit further later. But there’s no return from overtightening cork, so it can’t be “untightened” once it’s gone too far. Better a bit too loose, which can be rectified, than a bit too tight, which cannot.

13

In my experience, Gasgacinch is the most effective cement for gluing a gasket to a part. However, it is unforgiving - once the pieces have touched, there is no moving the gasket even a tiny bit to align it perfectly. You’d have to pull the gasket off and start over. The Permatex High Tack I use doesn’t glue as firmly, which means sometimes you have to move quickly to position the part so the gasket doesn’t start falling off, but also means you can adjust the gasket position after you’ve laid it to the part.

14

Hi Guys

Again thanks for the input.

I just done did it. Between rain squalls from Hurricane Fay.

That permatex is some STICKY stuff…which gives me some measure of confidence.

Nothing got out of line and nothing felt odd when tightening.

Of course the car maker made sure at least one bolt was a royal pain in the behind to get to…but even that did not deter me.

Again guys, thanks!

Now I get to cut up the last of the giant oak trees in the yard…Fay brought down the last of the herd early this morning :frowning:

Blll