valve cover sealant-what to use?

[rickcdewitt]

thought i'de see what other people thought before i put the second set of valve cover gaskets on my 2.9l ranger.the covers arent bent and i've cleaned the surfaces very well but it seems the part of the gasket near the exhaust starts to leak from the heat generated.anyone have good luck sealing their ford 60degree v-6 valve covers? what did you use?

 

[BrooklynBay]

What material are your gaskets made out of? Which brand do you use?

 

[rickcdewitt]

i have cork gaskets, but i heard about fel-pro "blue" gaskets and that they are the only way to seal these motors

 

[BrooklynBay]

There is a good type called Perma Seal. It doesn't require any adhesive since it's rubber, and is reusable. It has small metal inserts to prevent the rubber from getting compressed around the bolt holes. Using adhesive will cause it to leak.

 

[dogfriend]

I had a 89 Ranger w/ a 2.9L. I replaced the valve cover gaskets twice and never was able to get it to stop leaking. The cork gaskets suck. Good luck to you.

 

[unclemeat]

Bite the bullet and buy the motorcraft gaskets. They are like $35 each, they hold up.

 

[Maniak]

A pair of 4.0 OHV ford valve cover gaskets from Torrie @ fast parts network is about $45 or so (I paid about $80 for a pair of valve cover gaskets and a lower intake gasket). So far so good, and the metal/rubber gasket seem slike it will hold up reall well.

~Mark

 

[dogfriend]

He has a 2.9L. I think the gaskets are different.

My 4.0L in the Explorer has never leaked and I have 116k miles using mostly Mobil 1.

My 2.9L leaked from about 40k on to 120k when I sold it. I replaced the gaskets twice, at least one time with the Ford OEM gasket. I was careful to torque correctly and the covers were not bent. It still leaked. I also used Mobil 1 in the Ranger from 3k onward.

 

[rickcdewitt]

thanks guys, i have a couple options to choose from now.