leaky valve covers.. decent size leak(s)

[rabius75]

i see that leaking valve covers are a common problem. how do i resolve this annoying and filthy problem? i want to clean up my engine, but i cant if it has a perpetual leak.. i have to put a quart of oil in it about once a week. how bad is that? im not sure how much oil the motor is burning, it has about 128,000 miles on it, but i know the valve covers were covered in dried oil when i first get the car, and it still leaks around the covers.

 

[HawaiiDuster]

Pull the valve covers off and check to see if they're bent around the gasket surfaces. If they're okay put new gaskets on and degrease the engine. You should be able to tell after that where any other leaks are.

 

[demonwiese]

AND don't overtighten them! Thats probably the most common leak problem for valve covers. :wink:

 

[rabius75]

ok, what is the torque spec for the bolts? i have a torque wrench that is rated in all inch pounds so assuming that inch pounds convert to foot pounds in the sense of 12 inches to a foot, i can figure it out

 

[demonwiese]

I believe the standard for dodge is 40 in lbs. My haynes book says 80.
I have never actually used a torque wrench on mine.
First things first. Make sure your covers aren't bent up. Clean is very important! Scrape any old gasket material. Wipe with rag, then use some cleaner or acetone. Both surfaces must be to bare metal and CLEAN. Apply a small bead of rtv to valve cover and mate gasket to cover. Then mount cover. finger tighten bolts first , then I use a 1/4 inch ratchet to tighten bolts in 2 or 3 steps. Just beyond snug, don't crank on them. Good luck. :thumrigh:

 

[HawaiiDuster]

Definately make sure all the old gasket has been scraped off of both the heads and the valve cover. If the metal around the bolt holes start bending in when tightening, you're going too far. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to bend the stock valve covers.

 

[rabius75]

im gonna replace them with some cheap chrome covers... i dont remember where i saw them, mebbe it was autozone or jegs, but they were like, $20. so ill get those since mine are all nasty anyway.

 

[MidTexCuda]

I don't know on the SB but on some BB covers there is a double rail that the gasket sits in. Mine leaked so I grinded the inside rail off. This let the cover sit flat. You might want to check it.

 

[GotDart]

rabius75 said:

im gonna replace them with some cheap chrome covers...

They will probably look like crap within 6 months. I tried some cheap chrome covers on a BBC once, and they started rusting within a couple weeks. I ended up throwing them away and getting some cast aluminum ones. My advice if you are on a budget is to clean up your original covers and paint them.

 

[vol4]

Just thought I would mention...on a /6-225 you can get oil leaks from around the spark plug port tubes. They have rubber o-rings that go bad and leak oil, it took me a while to discover where the leaks came from after replacing the value cover.
Anyway...hope the new covers fix the problem.

 

[dgc333]

If you shop around you can pick up valve cover gaskets that have a thin steel core with ribbed rubber bonded to both sides. These are the best gaskets I have ever used and they are re-usable.

Also, if you wants some good valve covers cheap I have a set of Moroso chromed steel LA valve covers I will sell you for $20 plus shipping.

I don't know how old they are (they were on the 360 when I picke it up) but there is no rust and they aren't bent along the rails. There are some very fine scratches on them like the swirl marks you see in your paint.

 

[abodybill]

If you do as dgc333 says you will not have any problem's or headaches.

the gaskets he telling you about are the best and I use the MP ones about 16-18$ but you can use them over and over with not leaks if the covers are straight and not dimpled where the bolts go in.

stay away from the cheap ones covers at $20 and chrome you get what you pay for as stated in early post.

 

[446DART]

I have bad experiences with those cheap crome covers(came with the engine). If you look those closely and compare them with orginal or aluminium, you see the difference why those can NOT work! The contact area of cover to gasket is only 3-4 mm wide compared to 6-8 mm in Mopar perf or others and the gasket can slide in the head. And bolt reliefs in the cover is not flat+too small so at every bolthole it causes that the gasket(bolt extensions) is not under pressure and oil comes out under bolts.