Stamped steel valve cover gaskets

Hey guys, just put a 1996+ stamped steel valve cover on my 1988 MJ. I let it run for a while, it was fine, but after I drove for about 40 minutes, I came back and checked it, the whole engine was covered. It came upwards onto the cover, blew down the head and even down the block. It's drenched! What did I do wrong here? I put one on my 1990 XJ a while back and it's been fine for like 7 months now. Is it likely that the composite gasket is bad? I know the composite metal/rubber ones are "reusable" and you don't use sealant, but I suppose they can still go bad. Has anyone had the valve cover off their 96+ 4.0? If you know anything, anything at all about this, please help me. I'm at a loss here.

The composite ones are reusable if the gasket is in good condition but they wear out and leak with age. Also is it possible the gasket is not lined up right since they have alignment pins on the head studs of a 1996 model but not yours?

bajacalal said:

The composite ones are reusable if the gasket is in good condition but they wear out and leak with age. Also is it possible the gasket is not lined up right since they have alignment pins on the head studs of a 1996 model but not yours?

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I'm thinking I have just a worn gasket on my hands then. I know not having the head studs makes it more difficult to line it up but I set the valve cover down very carefully so I didn't move the gasket after I had it aligned. I'll try one of the $30 perma dry gaskets and let you know how it goes. Thanks.