Anyone still make a thick cork gasket for stock valvecovers? After replacing the gaskets on my Commando valve cover it took about six months for them to start leaking. I used the Felpro gaskets but they were real thin.
Valve Cover Gaskets
- Thread starter dart4forte
- Start date
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I have not tried them yet but I have had amazing luck with Real Gasket silicon gaskets on my thermostat housing.
No sealer, low bolt torque, and reusable.
Since 2017 not a single drop and I run a full time 16lb cap.
No sealer, low bolt torque, and reusable.
Since 2017 not a single drop and I run a full time 16lb cap.
Not sure how thick you’re looking for but I use these on a set of Moroso aluminum (stamped type, not thick cast) and I have no leaks. Have to be careful with the covers being thin aluminum and how much torque is used to tighten as they will bend more so than factory steel covers. And I have no leaks. Also use them on two other vehicles (318 and 360 stock covers) no leaks.
Mr. Gasket 5876 Mr. Gasket Ultra-Seal Valve Cover Gaskets
Mr. Gasket 5876 Mr. Gasket Ultra-Seal Valve Cover Gaskets
Is the bottom surface of the valve covers flat? Make sure it is before you try any type of gasket. The area around the bolts is usually lower due to over tightening the bolts. It’s a double edge sword as tightening the bolts too much will make it worse!
Daves69
Well-Known Member
Certainly, you've ruled out flatness possibilities with the heads and covers by now. How about the PCV system / blow-by pressure?
Way back if we didn't want corks leaking, we cleaned the surfaces with trichlor and glued 'em up with that black paste gasket sealer then let it setup overnight.
OOTB,
Assuming "thin", as in height. Are the Felpros thin enough to consider doubling up?
I always use the Moroso Blue valve cover gaskets. They are the best in my opinion. I also use studs for my valve cover hardware instead of bolts.
DrCharles
Well-Known Member
No one has mentioned yet that the bolt holes on stock heads aren't drilled perpendicular to the rails. That's what makes it so hard to get any gasket to seal well regardless of what kind of cover.
I have had good luck with rubber/silicone gaskets that are RTV-Ed into the valve cover. Been on and off numerous times and have not leaked once.
I swear by the Real Gasket thermostat gaskets, but I tried their valve cover gaskets on my latest build and they leaked like a sieve. There is just too much run between bolts to use silicon only for a gasket that narrow. I guess that's why Mopar and Milodon used a steel core covered with silicon for valve cover gaskets.
I think they have a version that has the metal inside too IIRC
I think the biggest issue is clean dry and little torque.
But like I said I have not tried them yet.
The blue Moroso steel core gaskets are the last ones you will ever buy.
MopaR&D
Nerd Member
Do those work well on stock iron LA heads with cast aluminum valve covers? I have vintage M/T valve covers on both my truck's and Duster's 360s with Fel-Pro cork gaskets but driver side VC in the truck leaks, go figure. Truck has late-70s LA iron heads while the Duster has Edelbrocks.
EDIT: nvm looks like they won't unless I fill the holes in the gaskets with RTV or something, read a review on Summit of someone using them with M/T valve covers and the sealing rib on them lines up directly with the holes in the Moroso gaskets...
j par
Well-hung Member
Has anybody tried those hard black valve cover gaskets that come in the felpro rebuild kit?..
Yes, they suck. LOL
j par
Well-hung Member
I've got several sets of them but I've been hesitant to try them they just don't look like they would seal at all... I don't even understand why or what they were thinking putting these in the kit??.…
Me neither. Tried them I believe on my 90 W150 318, might have been my 78 w/360, both have oem steel covers I checked the bolt holes, nice and flat, torqued properly and it was leak city. Snugged some more and still leaked. Maybe for cast covers they’d be fine. I only use the Mr Gasket Ultra Seals now. Work great and so far have been reusable
j par
Well-hung Member
I guess I can honestly say I haven't been brave enough to give them a try... At the point that I built an entire engine painted it and resealed everything with a whole gasket kit I'm not willing to risk getting oil dumped all over it....
If you insist on running cork gaskets, try an old trick that I used in the 70's. I took a pair of the OEM cork gaskets and use Indian head shellac to bond them together. I ran them for about 3 years before replacing them with the blue silicon gaskets with the steel inserts.
lemondana
BlackDart
Felpro and SCE both have .313 thick valve cover gaskets. All the rest are quite a bit thinner. I have the numbers written down somewhere.
Wow, that would help to know the Felpro part number
lemondana
BlackDart
The Felpro number is 1646 and they are 41-45 dollars, .313 thick, The SCE number is 169076, and they are .313 thick and run about 27.00 . The Felpro says they have a metal core, I don't remember about the SCE's.
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