Ok, so I have a RB 440 that has been rebuilt using stock heads,cannot get the covers to seal,at first I had some Indy cast aluminum covers I got at a swap meet with Moroso blue rubber gaskets, oil basically ran out of the lower rear corners,I thought that maybe these covers weren't compatible with stock cast iron heads, then I put some old Direct connection alum. covers on with cork gaskets...no difference. When I took these covers off I laid a straight edge on the valve cover rails of the heads, they are not flat front to back at all,if you lay the straight edge flat on one end, it is up a big 3/8" on the other, both heads are like this, is this normal? Just put stock stamped steel covers on with new Felpro gaskets and took it for a drive, oil is literally pouring out of the lower edge of both covers creating quite a smoke show with the headers. Sorry for the long winded post, any thoughts? Thanks. Mark

Mark that ain't long winded at all! confirm that the VC bolts you are using ain't bottoming out. What sealant are you using?

I actually have studs instead of bolts, I forget witch sealant I used the first go around, I didn't use any this time, I don't remember ever using sealant on VC gaskets in the past and never had a problem. Thanks

Bolts in your case won't make a difference if the head is not cast flat. I have a set of maxwedge heads on my engine in the same situation. I took two sets of brand new Fel Pro cork gaskets and RTV'd them together then laid a heavy flat weight on them over night. Installed them (two gaskets per side) and that fixed me right up. I don't use sealant between the gasket and head or gasket and cover.

Trans, did you use RTV on the valve cover and head surface too? Thanks

I also let the assembly set over night and cinched the bolts a few times before lighting engine. Then again after a couple warmup's and cool downs. And that was on the 4 bolt maxwedge heads. 6 bolt should seal better. Good luck. Hope you get it sealed up.

I don't care what gasket you use how do you compensate for 3/8" ?

It's 3/8 total at one end - less when you are measuring with the square parallel to the deck. Mine was almost that bad - mine hasn't had one drop since I did this.

I'm going to try your gasket trick Transman. Thank you. Mark

I go against the usual method of sealing the gasket to the cover.
With stock Iron heads, the oil doesn't have an efficient way to drain like aftermarket Al. heads, allowing oil to pool against the gasketing area, promoting leaks.

I like sealing the gasket to the head using Permatex no.2, I coat the gasket and the head mating surfaces, the attach the cover overnight with enough pressure to ensure a good seal but avoid cover deformation.

The next day, I smear the No. 2 along the inside edge of the gasket, at the bottom, effectively making a higher "wall" along offending area.

When everything is dry I then attach the covers dry, this works well for me as when the gasket was attached to the cover, I usually seemed to catch the gasket on rockers etc. and ruin the seal.

My 2 cents...Joe

P.S. Studs are a plus

^^^Thanks Joe!

Valve cover mating surface may be warped. Had the same problem with a new set of MP covers. Take them to a machine shop to check if they are tru.

Make sure it is not your oil pressure sending unit...

Covers are flat, heads are far from it.

Had that problem too. Had the mating surface of the head tru'd as well

I rtv'd everything together with permatex black. I had stock rockers so I wasn't real worried about needing to remove covers. The next one I had a set of stock valve covers I was mating to a set of 440source heads. The source heads were flat, the covers were not. I rtv'd the gaskets to the covers but not to the heads. That one worked out great. I imagine the reverse would work on the heads if they're not true.

Had the same problem. Wound up using the thick rubber MP gasket with a light coat of synthetic bearing grease on both sides. Attached stamped aluminum covers with allen head bolts and triangular washers on the corners, snug but not overly tight. Finally worked.