Valve cover oil leak

[remytherat]

Oil is leaking from my valve covers around the bolts. The gaskets are new and the bolts are snug, but not super tight. Oil is leaking from the center bolt on the bottom side of both of the valve covers and drips onto the manifolds. What to do?

 

[dano]

Do you have either an aftermarket intake and/or valve covers?

 

[remytherat]

No, everything is stock

 

[Murray]

Remove each bolt and coat it with RTV.

 

[Michael Siple]

bent or twisted ?

 

[MOPAROFFICIAL]

Oil is leaking from my valve covers around the bolts. The gaskets are new and the bolts are snug, but not super tight. Oil is leaking from the center bolt on the bottom side of both of the valve covers and drips onto the manifolds. What to do?

You can do this with bolts but it's easier with studs. Arp studs that you would use for say... a Pontiac oil pan application 'hint hint'. You will want to use a cork gasket if stamp Steel and a composite gasket or even steel impregnated viton like a magnum... what you do is you put a little circle of rtv around the studs 'use the screw on applicator' then sit the cover w/gasket on. The idea is a little rtv comes up around filling the gap between the stud and gasket/holes. I use black for this.
Hope that helps.

 

[dibbons]

Those valve covers tend to develop small cracks around each bolt hole, need to examine the area very carefully (hard to see). Besides that, special washers for the bolts are available to help spread the load over a wider area, which helps prevent the cracks and helps seal the gaskets. The factory torque specs for the valve cover bolts are surprisingly low.

 

[Super-Cuda]

Oil is leaking from my valve covers around the bolts. The gaskets are new and the bolts are snug, but not super tight. Oil is leaking from the center bolt on the bottom side of both of the valve covers and drips onto the manifolds. What to do?

I would remove the valve covers and check to see if the mounting surface is warped by previously over-tightening the valve cover bolts.

Put a straight edge on the mounting surface around the holes to see if the surface is warped. If so , lightly tap back into shape so they are level again and remount , don't forget to check if the washers are in place. Use new gaskets and snug up bolts to about 9 ft/lbs in crisscross pattern.