Valve cover gaskets

[msilver]

my valve cover gaskets on my 4.0 seep a little bit, plan on changing them here pretty soon. i'm gonna clean them up and re-paint them while there off. I have on question while i was looking at gaskets they have 2 types rubber and cork
will the rubber ones seal better and not leak again? they are about 10 bucks more. I was told once that cork works good with aluminum covers and rubber works better with metal ones. true? false? are the rubbers a waste of money? just looking for a little feed back.

thanks

 

[Maniak]

Personally, I like the rubber valve cover gaskets. When we did the rebuild on our 4.0 ohv we got a rubber set from Ford and love it.

~Mark

 

[ranger7ltr]

Have you seen the neoprene gaskets for the valve covers?

I built a new engine for my X earlier this summer and used the neoprene gasket set for the valve covers... They are not cheap[ ~$35] but they hold torque and do not leak period...

BTW are you still using the reinforcement metal washers around each valve cover bolt? I have seen that valve covers without those will leak even with the bolts torqued down no matter with gaskets are being used...

And whichever set I use I coat them on both sides with Permatex non hardening sealer just to be safe...When I had to remove the covers, the gaskets and the sealer came right off and didn't stick to the cover or the head...

 

[Anime]

The only valve cover gasket sets I'd suggest would be either the rubber set from Ford, or the FelPro Perma-Dry Plus. Cork gaskets have no place in this application.

The Fel-Pro is the latest gasket tech, seals good, and is available at almost any parts store for a good price. The Ford gaskets seem to get rave reviews, and can be had at some dealers for close to what the Fel-Pros cost depending on how nice you are to the person at the counter and how much of a deal they're willing to give.

 

[msilver]

alright i'll go with the rubber ones, and i'll look for those washers, i have never took the valve covers off so i didn't get rid of the washers but some else may have

 

[Wakeboy1337]

:bsnicker:

are the rubbers a waste of money?

I Lost it when I saw that.

The rubber gaskets ares better imo though.

 

[kurtdaniel]

my valve cover gasket set on my 4.0 seep a little bit, plan on changing them here pretty soon. i'm gonna clean them up and re-paint them while there off. I have on question while i was looking at gaskets they have 2 types rubber and cork
will the rubber ones seal better and not leak again? they are about 10 bucks more. I was told once that cork works good with aluminum covers and rubber works better with metal ones. true? false? are the rubbers a waste of money? just looking for a little feed back.

thanks

I use rubber if I'm using cast valve covers and cork if I'm doing stamped steel covers.

 

[NUFX]

Thanks also for all your infos. You helped me decide to get rubber ones for them Valve Covers. Thanks!

I will buy them from a local dealer here. I found these oem Valve Cover Gasket Set for contribution.

 

[Toggleswitch]

Ive actually got Fel-Pro's cork version. They dont leak, hold together and to be honest, not that bad of a price.

 

[backfrmcolorado]

My cork gaskets only lasted about 5 years. Im also looking to do new gaskets, lower and upper intake as well tho. I seen in some of the above posts about washers for the bolts on the v/covers. Mine dont have them.....what type would work. Just a simple washer from the hardware store?