Is there a secret to a leak free valve cover gasket?

I have had the same problem with my 68 Charger. Changed the stock valve covers with polished aluminum Mopar Performance models. The new ones leaked like a West Texas oil well. I was so pissed I did not leave well enough alone. But have had good luck plugging the geyser with NAPA Anerobic Gasket Maker. It is expensive but works well. A tube big enough to do both valve covers is $17.00

Good Luck

my 78 motor home 440 VC has a heat sheild tac welded to it

I used the felpro thick black ones,kinda hard to get it to compress some though

also used a thin coat of copper rtv on both side of gasket,put them on,torqued it down good,let cure over night

no leaks yet,but have not run it very long so far its been 6 mounths and no leaks

I also droped the log manny on the pass side for a center dump

they are both very close to the vc edge,I hope the hold up for a while

did the copper rtv on the sb truck also,never leaked so far in 4-5 yrs they been on there

I use the copper rtv on the manny and head suface with no gasket,no leaks there either

clean it all good with brake clean first

and LET IT CURE OVERNIGHT

In my opinion the problem is the newer valve covers on older cast heads. The cast heads (906 etc) have imperfections, and he newer valve covers are so ridged, they do not form to head at all.

I think most Edelbrock head owners will agree they don't have leaky valve covers.

I found that a good quality cork gasket worked better than rubber on a cast head. If you have a standard no maintenance camshaft / valve train, consider using a little RTV.

-dan

I use cork gaskets gorilla snotted to the valve cover. Do not over tighten.

Tom

Many miles no leaks been on and off at least a half dozen times.

I'm running correct 73HP manifolds. And the passenger side manifold is right next to the edge of the valve cover. I'm just using the rubber coated fiber valve covers that came in the Fel-Pro kit. I would definitely consider the black wrinkle Mopar Performance valve covers because they seem to have been accepted as stock. But I thought people usually put those on a newly rebuilt motor more for better sealing than looks. I know these original valve covers have been tightened and overtightened over the years. I like that Moroso gasket Summit shows on the link provided. Good thing is they're less than an hour away and hopefully they have them in stock as well as the valve covers. I hate oil leaks at all, even a little seapage. Luckikly my oil pan, rear main, and crank seal isn't leaking. You said I could use the Mopar performance black valve covers and they have a punch out for the second hole on the back? Do I have to take them to a machine shop and have them machine it open or is it something I can do? Another thing I noticed that was original that I'm missing is the two studs on each head for the valve cover gasket to be placed on. According to the Mopar parts catalog there should be two studs on the bottom corners to hold the gasket in place. Yes also my 727 pan gasket is leaking. So I bought a new pan this week too.

Ok I bought the black wrinkle Mopar Performance valve covers this weekend. I got the grommets specified by Year One yesterday for the PCV and breather. Now do I need to take these to a machine shop to open up the breather and pcv grommet holes or is it something I can take to any kind of repair shop to do? These are a lot taller than the original ones, I hope they clear on the passenger side with the original fuel line right at the corner. I got the Mr. Gasket Ultra Seal valve cover gaskets that say they are reuseable, but I doubt it once I put it on this motor. I wanted the Mopar Performance red ones but no one had them. The Moroso blue Perma-Align gaksets only fit Moroso valve covers so the guy wouldn't sell them to me. The Mr. Gasket was the best one I could find. I opted for all studs and nuts over the recommended screws from Mopar Performance. I hate putting these on there but if it will seal then it's ok. They sure don't like they'll warp as easily as the original steel ones.

Good luck with it clearing the manifold. We tried to put a set on my Dads Challenger (440 4bbl) and it hit the HP manifold and would not seal. Maybe we were doing something wrong? But if it does end up working, its damn close

I could of sworn i just knocked out the hole from the inside with a punch.

These heat shields help some, if you don't need
the show car correctness. Mopar made these in
the mid 70's to keep manifold heat off of the
vc's & gaskets. P/N 4095786, I think they are
still available.

one more

That's not what I wanted to hear about them not fitting. The only issue I can see is with the original Thermoquad fuel line to the carb, it goes right over the corver of the original valve cover. I would most definitely like to use my original valve covers because it has all the correct looms made on it, but they must be warped because of the leaking on the passenger side. If there was a sure shot way of flattening them I might use them. But until then I'll try this Mopar ones because they definitely are much more rigid and don't look like they'll warp. I didn't realize the pop outs for the breather and pcv grommets were both up front for the passenger side valve cover. So it will look weird with the oil cap in the back and the breather up front. I'm going to need some kind of really flexible hose to connect to the air cleaner. The 5/8" heater hose I use is already kinking.

like said a piece of wood 2x4 and a hammer will do wonders on the over torqued bolt holes and flange of vc

light taps with a small hammer will straightn the puckerd holes back flat when done from the gasket side of the cover

done many this way over the yrs to get them to seal

when you install them wipe head and Vc down with brake clean to remove oil film,then air dry with airgun,then use the copper rtv thin coat on both side of the gasket,put on finger tight and then snug with a 1/4" hand drive after 20 mins

let cure over night..works every time for me this way

the sb has had no leaks since 07 when I worked them last time,they are 68 VC that i have had on 5-6 engines over the yrs

the BB vc in the sig pic i reworked march last yr and no leaks,the center dumps are tight at the edge of VC also been milled for warpage,and are supper close

thick black felpro gasket/copper rtv on them

good luck with the alum VC

You were right the MP aluminum valve covers would not clear the factory 73 HP manifolds on this 400-4bbl in my 73 Charger. You have to either grind down on the valve cover of the manifold, which I'm not going to do either of. I didn't even try the passenger side. I threw them back in the box and called the place and told them I was returning them. I'll have to use the old ones and straighten them out. I know it may be simple but what's the best the way to get them flat. Especially the corners if using a block of wood. Do I want to put the copper rtv on the head side of the gasket or don't I just want it on the valve cover? I'm using the suppossed reuseable hi-temp Mr. Gasket #5877 gaskets. They look a lot better than the rubber ones in the Fel-Pro kit. The addition of studs instead of using the old bolts looks like it will make it easier too. I added studs so I could just lay the gasket on. It's simple but I just wanna make sure I do it right. So all I need to straighten out the old ones is a 2x4, any specific length which makes it easier? What kind of hammer do I need? How crazy do I need to be with the copper silicone? Should I still use the factory 40lbs-inches for the torque on the valve cover nuts?

small hammer and light taps to work the thin metal back into shape

i use a thin coat of the copper rtv,rub it on with finger and make a nice thin coat

install on engine and snug it down with a 1/4" drive ratchet or nut driver by hand

let cure over night,resnug it to check

should seal right up

2 foot 2x4 is good stand on the edge and lay vc on it top side down,then tap around all the holes and work the vc around the 2x4 for the coners

extra set of hands to hold 2x4 while you hold the vc and work the hammer helps

studs are ok,

clean every thing down with brake clean...heads and vc then air dry

Ok do I have any other options close to a stock valve cover? But I want a set with a screw on cap like the original and the correct amount of holes for breather and pcv. Because after looking at these original valve covers I hate to have to keep messing with them. I've pretty much got the one side flat that I'm working on now. But I noticed under the bottom middle screw hole it's starting to separate, so it would leak around that hole. We put a weld on there but did it at night and it's not perfect. I can just see there being more problems. And that wasn't even the one that was leaking. It seems like I've seen a chrome set of valve covers set up like the factory with a breather hole and oil cap hole on one side and a single hole for the pcv on the other side. I've looked all over the internet and only seen the MP ones that I now know doesn't fit and all the other chrome ones just have 1 hole on each side.

I bought a set of valve cover gaskets off a guy on ebay that were rubber with a metal steel core that have sealed perfectly so far. One of my valve covers even has a small crack in the mounting flange. It was for a 360 but I'll bet they have them for big blocks too.

: Is there a secret to a leak free valve cover gasket? Yes... Don't put oil in it....

I believe that metal valve cover spacers are available (i.e. shape of a gasket but in metal), my plan for using stock VC on my W2 heads is to get (buy or make) some of these mainly to raise the height, but that should also stop the sealing surface deforming. Stick the spacers to the cover with something pretty permanent (glue, whatever) then you have a straight, strong surface to seal to the head with a gasket inbetween....