Hey fellas!


Quick questions. Went to replace my valve cover gasket due to fresh leakage caused by a 'friend' who thought he knew everything and way over tightened the VC bolts (broke one of them too). Got the valve cover unbolted and pulled it.. Whole underside of the gasket is black with oil (we used red RTV).

So while at it, I went to strip the valve cover of the paint job the same 'friend' screwed up by grabbing the VC before the paint dried, and fixing the spots by just over-spraying them (and other things).

Anyway! VC stripped, cleaned, primed, painted, and sealed in a WAY better look (will post pics later). Main concern is.. This job took since Saturday to do it right. Now, I didn't leave the upper just exposed that whole time and covered as well as I could with plastic.. It hasn't rained and has been low 60 to high of 90 all week. Is everything gonna be ok? Also oil was drained and has been so since I need the valve cover on to fill oil. Is this gonna cause a problem?

Lastly, how should I go about properly doing this gasket? It is a cork/rubber gasket (I know) with black rtv. I was thinking put rtv on the VC and place the gasket in place firmly, wait literally a min or two, put rtv on the gasket and seat on the head. Place bolts to hold in place, wait another min or two, then torque down (10ft.lb?). Sound good? Any insight very grateful!

Thanks fellas, and remember.... If you want it done right, do it yourself!

 

You want to use the Felpro Rubber gasket and don't use any sealer on it. Off the top of my head I don't recall what the in pounds of torque should be.

 

I think doing it right starts with the use of a felpro rubber gasket. I just did mine. the bolts went in real easy and obviously hit a point of resistance. I used a 1/4" ratchet and held it right over the socket basically. I don't see how it could've been over tightened without really cranking on it.

 

That's what the guy did... Viola!

Also, not getting the $40 silicone gasket. Can't constitute spending that much when I've used cork/rubber gaskets before when helping friends and rtv on them worked just fine. Already spending that much on scratch repair off the web for my 2012 Kia that ****** on I81 driving big rigs and dump trucks feel the need to fly by at 80 mph and hit my NEW car with rocks and leave scratches.

 

I just got done taking my valve cover off of my XJ, bead blasting the inside, outside, painted it, and installed it. I used a cork seal because the napa near me wanted $47 for the rubber one and $5 for the cork. I figured I could go through several cork seals and still be ahead. Anyways, after the paint job was done, I took a fast curing sealant and applied it lightly to the valve cover (where the seal would run). I then did a light coat on the cork seal, installed the seal on the valve cover and flipped the whole unit (valve cover and seal) over laying the cork face down on a flat surface. From there I put a small amount of evenly distributed weight over the valve cover. As this was curing, I got a razor blade and lacquer thinner so I could clean off the surface where the cork seal would lay. Once the contact surface was clean, and the sealant was cured, I placed the valve cover on the engine and tightened the bolts down to 85 INCH pounds (10 N-m or approx 7.08 ft lb). That is what was specified in my 1990 XJ Chiltons Manual for a straight six (if you have a 4 cylinder I can look it up for you). I would start from the center of the valve cover and work your way out to one end and then do the same for the other side when torquing them down. So far, I have had no oil leaks and the oil pan is dry!