Valve cover gaskets

[SirRobyn0]

I can appreciate the fact that many of you want to keep your trucks stock. But I have taken a different route as far as how my truck is done and that is I have used more race products than anything else but with a balance of factory parts and methods to.

I have used them all kinds of gaskets and did not find one that held up very long, and have used Permatex and RTV Blue and Red on one side, both sides, valve cover side, engine side, let it get tacky, etc., etc., until that is, I made a trip to one of my favorite race parts machine shops/parts stores and this is what they had.

Moroso has valve cover gaskets made from a blue silicone with metal in the middle. The silicone conforms to every tiny bump and dot on the head metal. They are completely reusable, and you can flip them over and reuse them which is amazing. Just for g. p. I have kept them on one side and have had them off a dozen times and they don't leak a drop and they've been on my heads for years with no leaks.
Now, let me warn you right now....they are expensive like some race parts can be, like about $50 bucks for the two but they are worth it when they will be the last gaskets you'll need! Make sure your heads are clean, there isn't pieces of cast iron missing out of the rib around the edge where the gasket seals, and the valve cover is straight. If all that is okay then these gaskets I'm recommending will be the ones you need.

The part number is Moroso #93020. Let me quote some: Specially designed gaskets are manufactured from 40 durometer silicone rubber, molded over and vulcanized to a rigid steel frame.
The extra strength design will not leak, blow out, or get sucked in like stock or inferior quality aftermarket gaskets.
Superior quality silicone/steel gaskets outlast cork and rubber composite designs to provide years of dependable service, especially when constantly removing and reinstalling valve covers.
Full 3/16" thick.

And let me say again, I've had mine on my engine for years and have had them off and on I don't know how many times and they have never leaked.

Sounds like another good option. Also price is not really out of line. I paid $36 for these leaky rubber / metal gaskets which so far has been fine with the RTV, but I should not have had to do that.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Right, no sealant or adhesive of any kind used on the Ultra Seal cork gaskets.

I didn't mention it before because the discussion was mostly about cork gaskets, but several times in recent years I have used the rubber gaskets with steel core. I thought they were the absolute bee's knees, except for the last pair I installed. The ones (Summit brand) I put on my '78 454 leak just as much as the old rotten gaskets I took off. All the other ones (don't remember the brand, but not Summit) that I installed sealed perfectly. It may just be my valve covers.

I was gonna say a flimsy or untrue straight ness of a cover can’t be easily compensated for by a rubber gasket. Rubber too thick is hard to make strong, rubber too small doesn’t have a lot of sealing area,squishy won’t maintain seal or stay, too hard won’t conform to surfaces butted up. A metal core allows shape amd a general consistent shape, position, but then you become liable for the areas an4 bolt cover doesn’t really excel on. Notably it’s Oe design is just pinching a weak stamp cover with a dome over it in 4 places with those hilarious little pressure spreaders from factory and any pcv malfunction is gonna push them out wards more than the natural pressures act on it. Add any things bracketed to them like spark plug wire channels. Then forces from hands twisting oil caps, leaning on them bumping them, etc. heat cycling.

then torque of course. Too much pinch will now up the end where it already has a curve to hold down from a distance nit will also pinch up the gasket too which already was filling the void it was designed now it has some lift away to try and seal. If it seals at first but later leaks, it could be the seal was barely enough then age and wear found the spot where it was jussssssttt enough to begin a leak

andtoo bad the room wasn’t there for a transmission pan elastomeric o ring gasket design with a hard core a large surface area amd two perimeter o rings on a machined surface with a rigid stamp that’s also very true and has a lot of perimeter fasteners with low torque providing a constant clamp around on the o rings which doesn’t need much but needs it evenly the surface area and core helps reduce blow out over time because it holds them evenly spaced around and places a lot of positive holding forces over a wide ridge that’s very narrow

 

[AuroraGirl]

I'm aware of those, but have never used them. I've pretty much just stuck with traditional cork with spreader bars, both on my rigs and customers rigs, mainly because it's what I'm use to using on older rigs and seal fine for me most of the time. For some reason I decided I wanted to try something new on my rig. I think part of it is that the old hardened cork gaskets are a pain to get off, and lets face it the process to install them and have them work correctly is not the quickest either, so looking for a better way. I was pretty much game to try either the cork coated metal or rubber. If you remember back in the day when all we had was floppy cork or floppy rubber the rule of thumb was cork for best seal, rubber if you plan to take the covers off a lot and want to be able to reuse the gaskets. So for that reason I would have preferred to try the cork coated metal, but none were in stock locally, the rubber was. I reasoned that I'd installed tons of rubber coated metal gaskets in modern engines with very good success, but of course the mating surfaces are completely different. I could clearly see when I lifted the valve covers and then the gaskets off the engine the second time that both sides were seeping from the engine side of the gasket not the cover side. So I think it's just that the round non-machined surface of the head is not a fine enough surface for the rubber to work effectively on.

I like to do repairs one time and have them last. While I'm ok with RTV where it needs to be I do feel that my current scenario is a bandaid, if it fails I may take the leap and try those or I might go back to old fashion cork as I'm not giving up my stock tin covers.

I assume from what you said about reusing them that you don't apply any kind of adhesive or RTV?

You use the spreaders which spring down the distance away kind or the solid strong metal ones which are constant pressure across

also thread quality in the head. My bolts literally loosen with threadocker slowly but the threads were very worn like a slight cross thread that was from a close sized fastener or one where threads pushed over. A bolt not squarely on will not clamp down squarely and like the stamped covers with dinky spreaders, bends rhe cover and places more force on one side than other or front to back etc

 

[AuroraGirl]

Idk if pre 86 covers are made with the retention channel design on the cover like a 3800 or maybe a late sbc cover but in the aftermarket? Basically a little valley a gasket can be pushed into that is on the cover and then you put on? If so, those love debris in the valley on the cover. Old oil baked on etc. that keeps the seal you may be replacing from sealing etc. a lot of those are plastic so Any nicks are channels for oil to go under a seal, they need to be worked in without improper loading of forces one way or another since it’s usually a large o ring basically. If you twist it in side the valley on half but the other. Half don’t, that’s different clearance on the surface and sealing geometry

 

[SirRobyn0]

You use the spreaders which spring down the distance away kind or the solid strong metal ones which are constant pressure across

also thread quality in the head. My bolts literally loosen with threadocker slowly but the threads were very worn like a slight cross thread that was from a close sized fastener or one where threads pushed over. A bolt not squarely on will not clamp down squarely and like the stamped covers with dinky spreaders, bends rhe cover and places more force on one side than other or front to back etc

Idk if pre 86 covers are made with the retention channel design on the cover like a 3800 or maybe a late sbc cover but in the aftermarket? Basically a little valley a gasket can be pushed into that is on the cover and then you put on? If so, those love debris in the valley on the cover. Old oil baked on etc. that keeps the seal you may be replacing from sealing etc. a lot of those are plastic so Any nicks are channels for oil to go under a seal, they need to be worked in without improper loading of forces one way or another since it’s usually a large o ring basically. If you twist it in side the valley on half but the other. Half don’t, that’s different clearance on the surface and sealing geometry

Thanks for all that, a lot of good tips someone that reads this thread might need. I'm not sure I mentioned this previously but in my case someone before me had added long spreaders, I don't know they must be 4 inches long or so. Much longer than the little spreaders that were included with the gaskets, so of course I ran the longer ones that were already there. I've wondered to myself if they are corvette spreaders I've heard talked about in other threads. Also my heads have studs, not sure that would have been factory but makes gasket installation a little easier.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Thanks for all that, a lot of good tips someone that reads this thread might need. I'm not sure I mentioned this previously but in my case someone before me had added long spreaders, I don't know they must be 4 inches long or so. Much longer than the little spreaders that were included with the gaskets, so of course I ran the longer ones that were already there. I've wondered to myself if they are corvette spreaders I've heard talked about in other threads. Also my heads have studs, not sure that would have been factory but makes gasket installation a little easier.

Nice, that’s not a bad idea to use studs especially since the clamping would be a little better spread. And the spreader, when you take it off, is it have a tabs indented dowmward on the ends and naturally curve one way vs another

 

[SirRobyn0]

Nice, that’s not a bad idea to use studs especially since the clamping would be a little better spread. And the spreader, when you take it off, is it have a tabs indented dowmward on the ends and naturally curve one way vs another

The spreaders curve, but they do not have tabs. They are pretty thick spreaders to much thicker than the short ones that came with the gaskets. The other little bit of trouble I've seen guys get in trouble with on these is putting bolts in to long and they bottom in the head before tightening the cover. The studs eliminate the possibility of that happening.

 

[AuroraGirl]

The spreaders curve, but they do not have tabs. They are pretty thick spreaders to much thicker than the short ones that came with the gaskets. The other little bit of trouble I've seen guys get in trouble with on these is putting bolts in to long and they bottom in the head before tightening the cover. The studs eliminate the possibility of that happening.

Does the stud have a inverted torx to set it/hold

 

[SirRobyn0]

Does the stud have a inverted torx to set it/hold

I did not install them and I don't think so based on what I saw but I did not look to close. They did not come out when I removed the nuts and they just did what they were suppose to.

 

[AuroraGirl]

I did not install them and I don't think so based on what I saw but I did not look to close. They did not come out when I removed the nuts and they just did what they were suppose to.

Nice

 

[SirRobyn0]

Nice

To shorten the story, an older friend of mine bought this truck in the mid-90's, I met him in the mid-2000's. Him and his wife lived about 150 miles from us so we didn't see them all that often, but talked on the phone ect. He passed in 2018 and I was wanting to move from a smaller truck to a full size. He was not a mechanic but was good with older rigs, I always remember it being well cared for, but there were some issues when I first got it as it had sat for a few years when he was not well. Not surprisingly when I pulled the valve covers to replace the gaskets I found absolutely no buildup or sludge of any kind. I'm sure he is the one that put the studs in the head and got those big long spreaders for it.

 

[AuroraGirl]

To shorten the story, an older friend of mine bought this truck in the mid-90's, I met him in the mid-2000's. Him and his wife lived about 150 miles from us so we didn't see them all that often, but talked on the phone ect. He passed in 2018 and I was wanting to move from a smaller truck to a full size. He was not a mechanic but was good with older rigs, I always remember it being well cared for, but there were some issues when I first got it as it had sat for a few years when he was not well. Not surprisingly when I pulled the valve covers to replace the gaskets I found absolutely no buildup or sludge of any kind. I'm sure he is the one that put the studs in the head and got those big long spreaders for it.

Prob used some thread lock and double nuts to install, let it cure, installed and away he went. Without some helpful corrosion I don’t see you being able to remove the nuts without the stud turning otherwise lol

 

[roundeyed sqbdy]

I've always run cork, really for no other reason other than they rolled out of the factory that way. My method with tin factory covers has always been to peen the covers if needed and run the longest spreader bars I could get. Glue the gasket to the cover and install, unless there is a history of leaking or an obvious flaw in which case I might silicone the engine side (I like right stuff). However my truck started leaking enough oil from the cover gaskets to make an oil burning smell at idle with the A/C on about a month ago. I don't really like the process or meticulousness that one must go though to make cork seal up so I thought I'd try something else. Did a little looking around and settled on the Fel-pro permadry units the ones with the metal core and rubber on each side of the metal. Looked like a good quality product. Well they never really did seal fully. I've smelled it albeit much less every time I've driven the truck since then. At first I thought it was just from residual but over the past week I was able to start to see just a trace amount on the left side.

Today I found the time to take them off. Sure enough there was an area where you could tell oil had seeped past the gasket on the block side. Both sides were doing that. Wished I'd pick up a cheap set of corkers, but I hadn't. I need to drive the truck on Monday so out came the right stuff and thin bead applied to the engine side. To me that sucks. Oh well. Hopefully this will do the trick if not I'll be going back to cork. Curious what other folks have had for experiences with rubber gaskets on tin covers.

Here's a few pics of the covers after reinstalling them, if you can see them in there lol.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I use fel pro dry .. no sealer and no leaks… aluminum covers.