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Valve Cover - WTF did I do wrong?

L

LOUD02Special

NAXJA Forum User
Location
North Providence, RI
So I changed the valve cover gasket on my 96 Country 4.0 a few days ago. I torqued all the bolts down to 115 in./lbs just like the FSM says (granted, my FSM is for a 95, is there a difference?) and it seems like oil is actually coming out in more places than it did before? I used the Fel-Pro Perma-Dry gasket, sealed with a bit of PermaTex. I cleaned the mating surfaces on the cover and on the head. Should I have torqued the bolts more? 115 in/lbs didn't really feel like a lot. Any ideas? I'm lost...
 
hmm i think the spec is in the 20 ft lb range, i wanna say 28 ft lbs off the top of my head, but need a second opinion on that,

so probably double what ya got in inch pounds

is the cover plastic, cast aluminium or steel ?
 
2000 FSM says 85 inch pounds. Was that a rubber gasket? Did you make sure that the area around the bolt holes was flat? Sometines you need to do a little bit of sheet metal flattening around the bolt holes.

Never mind this, looks like the 2000 doesn't use a normal gasket. I haven't changed mine yet. I may be looking for an old style cover soon.
 
Last edited:
Yes, molded rubber gasket. After reading a lot of threads, it seemed to be the most universally accepted part for the job. The cover seemed to be pretty unmolested, probably the original gasket and grommets, 140k miles of love on them. I cleaned all the gunk off of it, seemed as flat as could be.
 
There is no way that the valve cover needs that kind of torque. If nothing else, I'd say that's for the head, and I'd say that valve cover is ruined.
 
Last edited:
robert2008 said:
There is no way that the valve cover needs that kind of torque. If nothing else, I'd say that's for the head, and I'd say that valve cover is ruined.
Click to expand...

what are you talking about. 115in-lbs is very light torque. about 10ft-lbs to be exact. 85in-lbs and 7ft-lbs are about the same.


the head takes about 10 times as much torque.

115in-lbs may be a bit too much, but it is still in the ballpark.
 
Yah. 12 inch lbs = 1 foot lbs. You are not over torqued. But a valve cover is not going to require much torque to seal. Is your crankcase ventilation system working correctly? Tube from valve cover to intake manifold connected and clear?
 
Where you should start is just putting a socket on the damn bolts instead of a torque wrench, if it feels loose then put a half turn in it. Those bolts WILL keep tightening and you CAN over tighten them, but if you can easily put a half turn w/ a socket and ratchet, start there.
 
Not sure if it applies, but ill throw it out there. I had a problem with my valve cover gasket leaking a while back, and this is as much as I remember about it. When the engine was rebuilt, someone mixed up a few of the head bolts. If I remember correctly, they are used to line up the gasket. ( some of them have a post sticking up maybe?). The gasket seemed to line up fine and everything, but the mixed up bolts actually made it bend upward, and leak. I simply cut out the metal part where the gasket was supposed to contact the head bolt, and no more problems. This was over a year ago, so its a little fuzzy, and may not be 100% accurate, but its something to check for.
 
Shorty said:
did you read the box that the gasket came in? It specifically states it is supposed to be installed dry-- hence the name:wave1:
Click to expand...

It also says cannot be over torqued..............so tighten it up good! :clap:
 
wolfpackjeeper said:
what are you talking about. 115in-lbs is very light torque. about 10ft-lbs to be exact. 85in-lbs and 7ft-lbs are about the same.


the head takes about 10 times as much torque.

115in-lbs may be a bit too much, but it is still in the ballpark.
Click to expand...

Obviously, I missed the fact that he was speaking in in-lbs... :wave1:
 
did you line up the head bolts with the metal pieces that run from side to side on the gasket?

images

you can barely see them! sorry its the best picture i could find!
 
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