valve cover sealant-what type?

[rickcdewitt]

i thought i'de see what sealant you all think works on valve covers assuming they arent bent,etc.

 

[Natedog]

i thought i'de see what sealant you all think works on valve covers assuming they arent bent,etc.

The blue never leak Fel-Pro Perma Dry Plus valve cover gaskets part number VS50312T and clean and straighten your valve cover sealing surface prior to installation is all ya need. Nothin else works for chit.

 

[rickcdewitt]

so you put those on with no sealant?thanks

 

[Natedog]

Yes, the instructions say to put a small dab of red high temp RTV only at the spot where head and lower intake manifold seam is. You MUST clean all sealing surfaces and straighten your valve covers sealing surface.

 

[Mutant Pony]

Use of sealants on valve covers and oilpans can cause leaks. It often causes the gasket to slip out of place.

 

[Natedog]

Use of sealants on valve covers and oilpans can cause leaks. It often causes the gasket to slip out of place.

Yes it can.

 

[rickcdewitt]

i don't have the money for fancy gaskets right now and i don't want to use the cork gaskets so i sealed it up with ultra copper and no gasket like a lot of diff covers and oil pans are.time will tell but it looks like the cork was turning black and shrinking letting it leak.no cork hopefully no leak?

 

[92MiniMonster]

my corks started to leak and turned into an oily, smokey mess on the highway, i was going to replace them with the fel pro rubber ones, but couldnt seem to get them to stay in place long enough to put the cover on. So i switched back to the cork ones once again. I did use sealant on both sides. But i used aircraft sealant. Its a lot stickier and has not proven me wrong on any application. This was almost a year ago, and i put around 100 miles a day on my 92 ranger. Some may call me an idot, but, it works, and until it doesnt, i wont talk bad about it. Hope this helps.

 

[MAKG]

That aircraft stuff is NASTY. Kinda like dipping your gaskets in molasses. It does work. But wear gloves.

It is, however, overkill.

The problem of moving gaskets is solved by some spray stuff called "Hi-Tack." In effect, you glue it to the valve cover, let it dry, then install.

There is a significant problem with sealants on valve covers -- any "squeeze-out" ends up in your oil pump pickup. Plug it and you can kiss your engine bye-bye. So, use it SPARINGLY, only when really necessary.

 

[ranger90]

Last time I used a Fel Pro gasket and 3M scotch-grip rubber & gasket adhesive #847. Dries fast and is really tacky. That was 5 months ago and is still working fine.

 

[AllanD]

On ALL of my 2.9's I used the later "upturned lip"
Valve covers and I stopped using any gasket at all.

Just CAREFUL CLEANING and a bead of ultra grey silicone
and I never had a problem.

AD

 

[rickcdewitt]

On ALL of my 2.9's I used the later "upturned lip"
Valve covers and I stopped using any gasket at all.

Just CAREFUL CLEANING and a bead of ultra grey silicone
and I never had a problem.

AD

no problems so far with just ultra copper,the cork was blackening and flattening out.

 

[0ldman]

I haven't done it on a 2.9, but I can vouch for the grey goo.

Timing set for an 89 Nissan Sentra includes a tube of that goo and no gasket. Works very well. Been using grey for just about anything that comes up since. Very good stuff. Let it get kind of hard (15-30 minutes, depending on temp) before you put the parts together and it seals quite nicely.

 

[cocoasranger]

Cork gaskets and Ultra-Black hi temp were already on hand, so I used them. Put a thin coating of Ultra-Black on each cover (upturned style lip), then applied gaskets and put covers on a flat surface overnight to dry with weights on them. Also put bolts through each hole to ensure alignment as they dried. They were a snap to put on the next day and no leaks since.

 

[85crownHPP]

On ALL of my 2.9's I used the later "upturned lip"
Valve covers ...
AD

what can you nab these off of???????

Does anything major have to come out of the way to replace the gaskets?? I need to know if this is an after work or a weekend afternoon job!

thanks