valve cover gaskets...

[AaronE19]

alright my fellow greasy-handed, stiff-necked friends (those are terms of endearment, not insults ), my '93 sport is dropping oil. I put a new motor in it last winter (a re-build, still under warranty), ran regular oil for the break-in period, and switched to Mobil 1 after about 1200 miles (being safe, I'd heard that putting synthetic in a spankin' new motor caused big problems down the line). soooo, now my valve cover gaskets appear to be leaking. I know, I know, synthetics just seem to find holes that weren't there before... but I'm not ready to live with a motor that's only 10k old and already spits oil all over the driveway. my question is: who among you has had the no-doubt arduous experience of replacing the valve cover gaskets on the old OHV 4.0L, and precisely how big of a pain in my butt is this going to be? looks like I'll need to take off the upper intake man. to get them out... pretty straightforeward looking job, but I've learned that in our tiny engine compartments, nothing is as it seems

any help would, uh, help

Aaron

 

[Dctrdan]

Valve Cover Gasket

Well - I am right in the middle of such a project and it is least to say a MESS!!!. It will take some doing. The hardest part is the wiring harness and that ???///!! air conditioning main hose that runs right over the suckers. However, with a little reading and some carefull disassembling. It can be done. My biggest suggestion is to get on of them little thingies that pulls plastic retainers off their seats. If not you may break them trying to get them loose and out of the way. Good Luck Total dissasemble time is about 3-4 hours. Re-Assemble - Who Knows?

 

[Chav]

Its not that difficult. The only problem I had was getting the suckers to come off the heads. The old gasket seal was ...well... sealed and i had to use a peice of wood to knock em loose. Other then that no problems. Oh yeah and I also dont like that a/c hose. There were many times when I wished i didnt have a/c when I was replacing the head gaskets.

Take it easy,
Chav

 

[Kris Guilbeaux]

it is also easier to do with a second hand. I did both sides in 2 hour the last time I did it. I did not take the upper intake off either.

 

[AaronE19]

thanks guys, appreciate the help

Dctrdan- any other tool suggestions? I hate running to the parts store in the middle of a job... torque wrench (obviously), plastic clippy puller thingie (auto parts store employees love descriptions like that)... any weird Ford hose connectors I need to take apart with one of their famous only-for-that-ONE-hose-on-1993-teal-Explorers-with-factory-luggage-racks-but-not-for-any-other-model type tools? I hate auto manufacturers...
and I'm afraid I'll have it a bit worse with the A/C situation, because mine doesn't even work and so will be in my way for NO reason at all

thanks again-

Aaron

 

[niceguy]

while you're there...

It's not uncommon for valve covers to leak because they were OVER-tightened at rebuild time. After you've got them off and all cleaned up, have a good look at them in the bolt hole areas and see if they look bent or dimpled. If so, use a couple of pieces of 1" x 4" and a hammer to _gently_ straighten them out. Otherwise, they'll just leak again with the new gaskets. If they're REALLY bent, then RTV silicone is a cheap (but icky) solution.

If I recall, you'll also need some RTV-Black for the seam where the intake and the head meet. Your gasket kit should have some instructions regarding this. I don't think you'll need a torque wrench for this job. If so, it's gonna be something really low, like 6 ft/lbs or so.

I agree that you don't HAVE to remove the upper intake, but it may save you time in the long run to remove the alternator, A/C compressor, upper radiator hose and heater hose - just to get them out of your way. And what about the EGR stove pipe that runs down to the exhaust? Can you work around that?

Enjoy...

Michael

 

[Dctrdan]

In regards to tools. Offset wrenches help. Especially on those back little suckers. It also helps to remove the hood if you can. Makes it easier to get to the back bolts. I appreciate the advice on the valve covers. The last thing I need is to have the suckers leak again.
Dctrdan

 

[AaronE19]

thanks again, guys...

there is no subsitute for experience I'm sure after about one wasted hour of bludgeoning my extremeties on various in-the-way parts I'll remove the upper intake, alternator, and hoses (no EGR to worry about, mine was one of the few '93s that survive the beginning of that experiment). I find that it's hard for me to avoid those "while I have it apart anyway" jobs that, while saving me labor in the long run, always turn a 3-hour nearly free of cost job into a full-blown weekend affair that empties my pockets. as in, "might as well port and polish those cylinder heads and intake manifolds while this much of it's already apart" and if I remove the hood... God knows. that'll mean some kind of custom-fabbed ram air system (I've actually thought about doing that for some time)

anyway, you won't ever have to wonder about my progress... I'm sure you'll hear me swearing all the way from Michigan

Aaron

 

[flyguy]

Heh.. I have all my stuff apart right now.. doing a head swap. Check out my thread, Compression Ratio??? for some pics... maybe it will give you an idea what its like and how messy it is. Its been apart for about 4 days now.. still not together again! but the torque on the covers is only 5lb/foot. 6 is too much. I belive the specs call for 60in/foot... so you divide that by 12.. and get 5lb. Anyways... when you do it its really not that much pressure at all. Im pretty sure my engine is going to blow up when i get it back together. o well.

Nick

 

[FMExplorer]

engine blowing up??

Nick,
It's nice to see you have confidence in your handiwork!
Looking forward to seeing the results - be sure to video when you first start your truck... could be interesting

Seriously - good luck. Many of us are watching you to see if we can get the same thing done...

JonM

 

[flyguy]

Hahaha... Im not starting it! Im gunna make my girlfriend do it. Im going to be hiding at the bottom of the pool in case the neighborhood goes up in flames. Im tellin ya! theres no way this thing is gunna start!!!

Nick

 

[FMExplorer]

ROFLMAO!!!

Nick - I love it!
Man - do you want to come help blow up my neighborhood next? I could always use some help - especially from someone who realizes his own limitations

JonM

 

[flyguy]

Haha.. well.. i expect today to be judgement day.. assuming I can get that head bolt.. and didnt lose too many parts... sigh...

Nick

 

[Kevin Zeller]

Make sure you get gaskets from a Ford dealer!!!!!!!! Do not go to the auto store and buy cork gaskets!!!!!!! Ford has newer gaskets made of metal and rubber that do not leak. I am doing the same job right now and taking the heads off because I believe one is cracked. I ordered a gasket kit from Felpro which had the cork gaskets. I will not use these. Unfortunatly I had to open the package to find this out so they are not returnable. Ford also had an updated intake manifold gasket made of the same material.

Any way, hope this little bit of advise did not come too late or you already had the right gaskets

 

[flyguy]

Doh! I already have one of the felpro gaskets on. I got several recomendations on here to use the felpro ones. Well, if they leak I guess Ill have to replace them later with the ford.

Nick

 

[niceguy]

Felpro gaskets

I'm surprised that you had cork gaskets in your kit, Kevin. The top-end (heads, intake, valve covers, etc.) Felpro gasket kit that I bought at AutoZone had the hard composite head gaskets - not cork. Are you sure they sold you the right kit? May be time to raise a stink at the parts store. If you'd like, I can give you the part number, as I still have the box that the gaskets came in. But you're right - you don't want to use the cork ones.

Michael

 

[AaronE19]

felpro

still haven't pulled it all apart yet (something about punching a 60-hour clock during the week doesn't lend itself to climbing around under my hood for extended periods of time), but the gaskets I bought were felpro's. I haven't even opened the box yet, so I don't know what they're made of, but all I have to say is: a $50 set of gaskets had better not ooze a solitary drop of oil or I will make 'raising a stink' into a very inadequate adjective. (...sorry, I'm also having to re-gasket my badly leaking headers, replace my exhaust for about the tenth time, and put on yet another set of brakes. I get a little bitter after dumping better than a week's pay into that little green pig... had to vent)

Aaron

 

[AaronE19]

whoo-hoooo... just noticed that my thread is on fire. thanks for the responses, guys.

 

[SteveVB]

Felpro

FelPro has both the composite and the cork avail- why I dont know, some people shop price alone, but the composites are quite a bit more $, so FelPro may get flack for it. Get what you pay for I guess. My local parts guy said he cant sell the more expensive sets so he only has them at the warehouse and special orders them when asked- interesting that he sells mostly to shops in the area! Car Parts has them both last I checked.

Watch your torque values - even more important than the gaskets, and dont forget the black RTV at the head/manifold joint.


Have Fun,

 

[AaronE19]

got it covered... the torque wrench is my friend