anyone have trouble with your gaskets leaking. Mine are leaking real bad. using a sheet metal valve cover from hughes engines and the flanges look fine and should seal. gaskets are on dry. They are a hard gasket and i'm thinking maybe I need a rubber gasket, something more forgiving?

Never heard of "superperformance" but I'll give it a whirl....

"Flanges look fine", what does that mean?
Are they flat, have you checked them on a true flat surface?

What part number gasket are you using?

Are you using the 600.00 covers or the 200.00 covers?

$200 vc. I haven't checked the flange on the heads yet. I guess I shouldn't assume there ok. I did swat gaskets from side to side and the leak followed the gasket.

Well I can guarantee you that when the gaskets left here both of them were the same and 100% inspected prior to packaging.

Directly from Hughes website for those valve covers....
"Fabricated parts can vary slightly from piece to piece and may require some modification to obtain optimal fit and performance."

I'd be willing to wager this also means the gasket surface.

If the leak followed the gasket it was coincidence or there was previous compression or damage to the gasket.

My best suggestion is to check that they are truly flat and if you don't have that capability take them to someone who does, they may need a skim cut to get them right.

Otherwise you can wipe the gaskets down with a bit of lacquer thinner on a rag, apply a thin bead of Permatex Ultra Black to the valve cover to take up any void area's. Then assemble and just snug them down enough to disperse the sealant, allow to cure for 12-24 hours then go back and apply your full torque.

Oil on the gasket actually helps aid with removal and does not affect the gasket at all. You definitely don't want oil on the areas if/where you are using sealants.

There are different gaskets for different applications, it isn't a one size fits all type of deal.

If you have an aluminum head with a smooth gasket rail and a good valve cover with a smooth rail then the gasket's job is easy. A lot of Mopar big block valve covers are built wrong with the rails in the wrong place. Those valve covers twist the gasket and it is hard to find a gasket that will survive.

It took me a few years of trial and error but I finally figured out how to eliminate valve cover leaks on a big block Mopar. The light bulb came on when I carefully measured the valve covers and the cylinder heads. Once I figured out that the parts didn't match I understood why I always had leaks.

Try these Moroso gaskets. Been using my set for 10 years, removing them once or twice a year, still no leaks. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-9...ASABEgIECvD_BwE

Dave are you using the pink gaskets or the black thicker gaskets?

X2...

pink

ok, I will measure everything up better in a bit. thanks Andy

Road hazard I'm a customer of yours I purchased my gaskets through Glendora Dodge... there's a desperate need for someone to make a soft valve cover gasket for a Mopar W8 as well as intake manifold gaskets... the W8 and W9 intake manifold gaskets are interchangeable I believe

Pink would be MP-15 material (part number 3186) and those should work fine IF you have a really nice flat and rigid surface on both sides. That material doesn't work if the surfaces aren't flat. If the surfaces aren't flat then you need something with some compliance in it like the old black FelPro gaskets or the Moroso rubber ones.

I've had pretty good luck with the Fel-Pro 1612's when the pieces aren't perfect.

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately my bad luck, exactly the one's I have recently used on my BB Edy aluminum head, MOPAR performance aluminum valve covers.

Both sides at rear bottom bolt seep no manner how tightly I cinch them and how often. It does seem that I can always get another half turn of the bolts as it appears this gasket has infinite crush capabilities.

Had switched from cork for re-usuability which had only leaked a very modest amount on right rear cover,,,which was corrected with a dab of silicone black at that point.

Moroso's, I have never removed but about to give them the silicone treatment,,,,but am uncertain if will do any good as they are now oil soaked.

If this fails, back to cork I go. Yes I suspect that valve cover machining may be questionable too and in that is where my Moroso problems lie. Particularly as others are having success.

The Fel-Pro 1612's work excellent for rpm heads and mp cast valve covers.

The big down side with them for me has been.......after they have been installed a while, when you remove the v/c, it usually tears the gasket, and you need to replace them.

I've had good results with the moroso gaskets on Indy heads using Indy v/c's, with studs and nylock nuts.
I squish them down a little and call it good.

I'm jealous of how clean that engine bay is!!!

I believe I still have a single one of these Fel-Pros left in my shop. Fel-Pros were what I had used in cork and are inexpensive. My concern as noted was if reusable or not as no leaks are problematic even using new gaskets.

yep, mine leak real bad if i put any RPM on engine, 4000 up. mine look like they leak at the top. driving with the hood off pushes the oil to the front of the valley tray making it look like the chain cover is leaking.

Mopar Performance cast covers are too wide to seal with the Moroso rubber gaskets. The Mopar valve covers are built wrong so you have to use something like the FelPro 1612 gasket to make up the difference.

I posted pictures on here a while back showing what the problem was with the MP valve covers. You can double check by measuring the width of the flange on the covers and comparing it to the width of the head. You'll see that the valve covers are too wide which is why they don't seal. They just twist the gasket and create a leak.