Valve cover seal RTV question.

[scott.475]

Hey all, I'm planning on replacing the valve cover seals on my 4.0 non-SOHC in the next week or two. My Chilton's doesn't do a great job of explaining exactly where to put the RTV.

Do I put a solid bead around, which is my first thought, or in just a couple specific places? Do I only put it on the head, or both the head and the valve cover, with seal in between layers of RTV?

The diagram is terrible, but says to put it in "4 places front and rear", but I really can't tell what those places are.

I've not been able to find anything about this specific to this engine on the 'net. In general, I've found: put an unbroken bead on head side only, bead on cover and head, put just a spot of it in a couple spots, so I really don't know the right way to do it.

I think the way to seal the intake manifold is fairly universal, from what I've seen in the past, but if not, please let me know.

I'm imaging this will be about a 3 hour project?

Thanks.

 

[arco777]

Put it where the heads meet the intake manifold. You'll see the line where the two meet. If you're looking at the head from beside the fender, it would be near the upper right and left corners of the mating surfaces.

Chiltons book - there's your problem

What kind of gaskets are you using? I tried the upgraded Fel-Pro ones which are plastic and rubber composite, but they didn't seal real well. Switched to cork and was happier.

Check the flange on the valve covers for distortion. Commonly with cork gaskets, people overtighten the cover bolts and it dimples the valve cover. Then it doesn't seal well at all. You'd need to re-flatten the dimples and ensure a flat mating surface. Morana Racing makes an aluminum piece that ensures this won't happen again, but you can also use some washers to help spread out the bolt's tension.

 

[malohnes]

Arco has it right! Especially over tightening the valve cover bolts...silly mistake but very common.
While I've had equally poor luck sealing with both types of gaskets, I still prefer the metal/silicone ones and dab some rtv in the corners as specified. But when installing them, make sure you very lightly torque them, finger tight, and let the rtv set up a bit, like an hour or two and then final torque them. That helped my covers seal better.

 

[scott.475]

Chiltons book - there's your problem

What kind of gaskets are you using? I tried the upgraded Fel-Pro ones which are plastic and rubber composite, but they didn't seal real well. Switched to cork and was happier.

I know, I almost didn't type it out of embarassment, but it's all I have.

I'd been thinking about using the Perma-dry by Fel-Pro, because that is by far the most recommended type I've seen here.

I don't think it has been worked in before, so hopefully they haven't been over torqued previously, damaging the covers. I think on this I'd step my way up to the final torque.

 

[arco777]

I know, I almost didn't type it out of embarassment, but it's all I have.

I'd been thinking about using the Perma-dry by Fel-Pro, because that is by far the most recommended type I've seen here.

I don't think it has been worked in before, so hopefully they haven't been over torqued previously, damaging the covers. I think on this I'd step my way up to the final torque.

You could try the Perma-Dry set. The set I had, they were well made, but they didn't have the "squish" necessary to compensate for warped valve covers or heads that didn't perfectly meet the lower intake.

I had to learn the same lesson on my Bronco's E4OD transmission pan. More expensive gasket does not mean better seal. I tried all manner of fancy seals because I thought cork was too old-school; turned out cork actually sealed the best.

 

[natenkiki2004]

To throw my 2 cents in, I love the Magnum set on Rock Auto. Silicone in a plastic carrier so it's reusable. Probably don't even need RTV but I used some in that spot anyway. No leaks from the valve cover.

 

[scott.475]

To throw my 2 cents in, I love the Magnum set on Rock Auto. Silicone in a plastic carrier so it's reusable. Probably don't even need RTV but I used some in that spot anyway. No leaks from the valve cover.

$14 isn't a bad price either.