About to do my first valve cover gasket job on my I6. I bought a nice Felpro gasket. Do I need to add gasket sealant as well or that not necessary? Thanks

 

You can, just so you can stick it in place, but i wouldnt, its a new gasket, just think, if you put too much on it, its going to squeeze inside the valve cover and itll be floating around in your oil.

 

That's what i was thinking. Thanks.

 

No problem, if you dont use it, you may need someone to kind of hold the gasket in place while you put the cover on it

 

I would Put a little grey silicone on the head side of the gasket, literally just a little bit on your finger and smear a thin layer across the gasket. It will help to hold the gasket in place while you mount the valve cover and it will help with the sealing.

A smidgen of silicone will give you that extra insurance on oil leaks and will still allow the gasket to be reused, just don't go overboard.

 

x2 on the gray RTV. Use just enough to give it a very thin coat on the head side of the gasket.

 

Don't overtighten the bolts!! Only about 5 ft/lbs

 

No gasket spray needed for plastic felpro. Just did mine month ago and working like a champ. The hardest part, for me, was tightening the rear bolt.

 

Wouldnt it be easier to set the gasket down on the ***** that lock it in place?

 

Possibly. It's just not an absolute necessity

 

How did you get the rear bolt back in? I couldn't do it. I just said F-it and made sure the others were secure.

 

It will puke its guts out without that rear bolt in and tightened down. Use a 1/4 drive universal with a 3/8 socket and an extension. Be aware that the hole at the back left is a shallow blind hole and if you put a 1" bolt in there it will bottom out before it tightens down. I tossed all the OEM bolts and bought 1/4-20 X 3/4" flange head bolts to use (Except the three middle ones on the right side.

If you clean the cylinder head surface off real good you won't need any sealant when using the OEM or Felpro gasket. Make sure you use new gommets.

Torque is only 85 inch/pounds.

 

Have to get swivel extension

 

I got that last screw in. However, I didn't use the new plastic grommets. The existing ones looked pretty good. I guess time will tell if that was big mistake.

 

They just help to not crush the gasket. So as long as you didn't overtighten the bolts too much you'll be fine.