How often do valve cover gaskets go bad?

Venom351R · Sep 3, 2010

I dont get it Im beyond frustrated I redid both gaskets today, filled the damaged head w/ JB weld and let dry for over 24 hrs, smoothed it out flat w/ the surface of the head and it still leaks. All the bolts are TIGHT and its still leaking just as bad as it ever was before. I'm so done w/ these POS heads, they are coming off as soon as the car is up for the winter and getting replaced!!!!!!!!!

And this is what it looks like after.

same as before

bayellowstang · Sep 3, 2010

That's crazy I have cork gaskets and no problems at all here. Are the valve covers straight? I can't see it being the heads unless they are warped/twisted.

Venom351R · Sep 4, 2010

And I dont see how they would be warped or twisted either. Everything was fine when it had the stock valve covers and Cobra intake.Ever since those were swapped for the Ford Racing covers and the TFSR and now the Victor 5.8 its always always leaked. I wonder if its worth trying the stock valve covers just to see if anything changes. Ive always wanted bigger heads for this combo and this issue is really pushing me to it. On Avg I get back $1,500 from tax's, Trickflow 205cc heads are $1,800 and Id sell these things for dirt cheap with details on issues Ive had w/ them

final5-0 · Sep 4, 2010

Your repair to the ding on the heads looked good to me

That ain't your prob

The vc's are not fitting next to the heads as they should

Warped vc's or something causing interference thus not allowing a good seal

Just look over everything real good :Word:

Good Luck

Grady

Venom351R · Sep 4, 2010

Thanks grady, I just re did them again and put a light coat of RTV on the outside of the VC and head where the oil appears to be coming through just to see if that helps at all. I still have my stock VC's that came on it but the problem is w/ the Victor 5.8 b/c it has no PCV valve and the cobra VC's are sealed. The one that does have the oil cap is a screw in type, I only have push on breathers.

castine917 · Sep 4, 2010

between this and your other thread on the other site i know the leak has been with 2 different manifolds. correct? straight edge and a light needs to be set across manifold, valve covers, and head between both just to rule out any warp, low or high. i fought a fuel leak that was a rewelded ear on a carb once. weld looked smooth enough for gasket to seal to person that did it i assume(was done before i bought car). once the straight edge went on it was apparent that it was to warped.

Venom351R · Sep 4, 2010

Its not coming through the valve covers. I just took it for a drive and that oil is still pooled up by the intake and there is no way it came from the VC there is a bead of RTV all along it. its coming up through the intake but why????? The bolts are tight I dont dare to tighten them anymore w/ out damaging the intake or head.

I know nothing is wrong w/ the intake, I bought it off someone from here and he has no issues with it leaking

castine917 · Sep 4, 2010

some gaskets leak as they are over tightened. maybe try backing them off and starting over on torque sequence.

Venom351R · Sep 4, 2010

Im going to try that I just took the upper off. Im going to go through and retorque them again. Its leaking up from the intake on BOTH sides

revhead347 · Sep 4, 2010

It's proably already split the gasket. I would remove the intake and see why it keeps leaking. That's an unusual place for it to leak. Something ain't right there.

Kurt

Venom351R · Sep 4, 2010

Thats the think kurt its done this with two different intakes, both if which have been fine. Is there something just messed up with these heads?

revhead347 · Sep 4, 2010

Not sure, what kind of gasket are you using? Unlikely there is something wrong with the heads, but you can check the intake deck with a straight edge, and a feeler gauge. I've never seen an intake deck warp, but stranger things have happened.

Kurt

Venom351R · Sep 4, 2010

Kurt I bought this intake off from Pokageek, its not warped he had no issues with it at all.

These are the gaskets I used.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-7220/

I had felpro 1250's when the TFSR was on it

I retorqued all the intake bolts except for 2 that wont bite down on the passengers side. It still leaks as much as it did before. Could those two bolts that wont bite down into the head be the cause of why it is leaking and if so why would it cause it to leak on the drivers side b/c both bolts that wont bite down are on the passengers side.

Also could this have been the reason why my clutch went out on me b/c of the oil dripping down the transmission? Its going right down where it bolts to the bell housing.

I think I'll just deal with this for a few more months and when its up for the winter I'll tear it down and get a set of Trickflow 205cc heads. It just does not make any sense for why I have had this constant leak since the intake was done 2 years ago, its never stopped since then no matter what Intake I put on, no matter how many times the intake is re done no matter if its is re torqued or changing the valve cover gaskets. I think I'll pull these damn heads off explain the issues I have had with them and sell them for $500

revhead347 · Sep 4, 2010

I really can't say anything until you get that intake off of there. If you pull the intake, I bet the cause will be apparent. I can't imagine it's an issue with the heads. When you say the bolts don't bite, do you mean the threads in the head are stripped?

Kurt

Venom351R · Sep 5, 2010

That would be my guess is that they are stripped. The bolt does not tighten up at all, I know this is not a good thing but I dont see why it would cause the other side to leak too and this same issue would have been present when the original cobra intake was on it and that didnt leakl. I had the intake off it not to long ago and everything looked fine but who knows. All I do know for sure is that its not an intake problem. Ive had a brand new TFSR and now the Victor which had no previous issues.

castine917 · Sep 6, 2010

were the bolts loose when the cobra intake was on or did they still thread in sorta?

if bolts don't thread on one side there wont be a uniform seal all the way around which "could" but shouldn't cause other side to leak.

best way to find the cause i still think is pull the intake and valve covers. put a straight edge on everything. clean, chase, tap those threads and retry if you find nothing wrong.

Venom351R · Sep 6, 2010

I cant recall if they were loose w/ the cobra intake on or not. I didnt do the intake swap then b/c I was also having the cam installed so I just had my friend at his shop do it.

I put RTV in all the areas where the oil was coming up through the intake and it did no good. I just took it for a ride and its all puddled up exactly where it was before. Im just so pissed that no matter what I do noting seems to make it better at this point. Re doing the gaskets is pointless b/c its just going to be the exact same issue that I have now. The TFSR was reinstalled 3 times as it is.

I'm going to have to have to get the heads taken off and checked by a machine shop or just put a straight edge on it as suggested. I really do want to upgrade to Trickflow 205cc heads so I'm probably going to use this as an excuse to get rid of these heads b/c even if it is just as simple as getting the bolt holes retapped Im just so pissed off and have so little faith in these heads anymore that I just want them gone

bayellowstang · Sep 6, 2010

I know the feeling, I had so many problems with my fan I just gave up and bought a aftermarket fan and controller.

205's would be a better fit for a 351 anyways.

Venom351R · Sep 6, 2010

bayellowstang said:
I know the feeling, I had so many problems with my fan I just gave up and bought a aftermarket fan and controller.

205's would be a better fit for a 351 anyways.

well thats what I was thinking for quite a long time. I dont have the compression to make big NA power so I need to get it from elsewhere. I figure if I pull these off and have them checked by a machine shop to make sure they are true then I can just advertise them as needing the bolt holes retapped and sell them a little cheaper b/c of that and off set some of the cost of 205 heads. Then I have a brand new set of heads and an intake that I know is fine (even though I know the other one now was to)

The other thing I am wondering is how safe is it to drive it from the stand point of that oil getting into my clutch. I just had the clutch replaced in early aug. I'm not really sure if the oil somehow made its way into the clutch or if It just gave out after 3 years of beating on it at the track and from the previous set up where it was pushing 500 HP. The oil ls leaking down the transmission and right along the seam where the tranny bolts to the bell housing. Having to have the clutch redone again is not a great feeling so I dont know if its to much of a risk to drive it much anymore or if it was just the track the did the previous clutch in.

Venom351R · Sep 8, 2010

I tried longer bolts today and they would not bite down. So with that being the last thing I can think of to try I decided to do what needed to be done. I'm in the process of taking the heads off now. Have it torn down to the heads and the rockers off on one side. Just have to unbolt the header b/c I cant get the lower bolts on the head b/c the header gets in the way. I'm going to put them up for sale saying they need 2 repaired bolt holes and then save up the rest for a set of 205CNC Trickflows

How often do valve cover gaskets go bad?

Venom351R

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revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

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