have an oil leak...valve cover

[jasonroman]

85 gmc.
350.
have oil leak by valve cover. i was gonna change it a while back but was not sure if/or how i was suppososed to remove some canester looking thing.

anyway, think im gonna try tomorrow afer work.

question i have is, is there anything i can use to clean up the area before i swap gaskets?

something i can use to get the oil, muck, etc off. that way when i change the gaskets i dont have to have a mess there.

thanks for any advice...

pic of canester thing i was talking about.

[motornut]

egr valve?that won't have to come out
engine shampoo,pressure wash,cover the carb etc
you can use engine shampoo to wash the covers
inside and out(once they are off,then dry)
but i have just used gas but a varsol would be good too
when you have them out make sure the bottom is flat before they go back in
bottom being where the gasket goes(they warp most need to be straightened out prior to reusing or they leak again) it's normal

[jasonroman]

thanks for reply.
guess thats egr. didnt know that.
so ill be able to just unbolt and pull that cover off?
i dont have a pressure washer. was wondering if i could put some simple green or something to remove the oily mess.

what warps. the covers?

i was afraid, that after i change gaskets, if i still have leak that something else is warped.
hope not.
not sure if valve cover sits on heads or not. but hoping its just a bad gasket, not warped heads. or other problem.
hopefully ok. motor is not stock from 85. changed at some point.

[motornut]

yes just the bolts and may need some slight prying(baked gasket)
but they usally come loose from where they are leaking first
more or less straight up and out
yes the covers warp(a lot of ppl don't know to fix this when they are out)
warped heads = anti freeze is found some where it shouldn't be (like the tail pipe lol)
just a bucket and scrape or brush the gunk off
i imagine a brake cleaner spray would do it too
varsol or gas,slight rub of fine sand paper (covers)will help clean the seal
can't think of the name of it but i use a silicone to hold it on the cover

[mooseknuckles]

buy a can of engine degreeser, ride over to the local car wash, getting the engine good and warm, spray the degreeser on, wait 10 mins and pressure wash it off. I usually leave my truck runnin while I'm washing the motor, and I dont spray directly into the carb or distributor, but if your scared you can cover it up with a plastic bag.

[jasonroman]

ok guys. thanks for info.
maybe ill pic up some cleaner with the gaskets tomorrow and from the parts store, head to car wash. eventually ill want to change valve covers, intake, carb etc.
but dont have the big bucks. so little by little.
figure if i can stop the leak now, and clean it up a bit, ill be a bit better off.

[DetroitIron]

For what it's worth, I had to change my valve cover gaskets last summer. Go with Felpro brand gaskets and I ended up removing the EGR valve to make things easier getting the valve cover off/on....In the end, it's so nice to sit at stop lights without people looking at my truck with the oil smoke coming from the exhaust manifolds...okay sometimes I even laughed wondering what they were thinking...good luck!

[bmchevy1979]

Originally Posted by DetroitIron

...okay sometimes I even laughed wondering what they were thinking...good luck!

LOL I felt the same way before I changed the valve covers on my 76

[jasonroman]

well i changed the gaskets yesterday. i thought i told the lady at part store i wanted rubber ones.. she gave me cork ones..
before changing them. id didnt have the smoke like you guys had.
just remember the idiot who did my exhaust tell me i had a bad leak there.
so i was able to get the valve cover off. the one on the left. had to work it a bit to get out but i got it.
mighta bent it a bit going back in. not sure tho.

after install, i started truck and had a good bit of smoking from driver side.
and a bit later the passenger side started smoking some.

took it for a ride to get some much needed gas. and i didnt see any more smoke.

ill got out in a bit and see how it looks.


took a couple pics.

what do the numbers mean?? just basic stock stuff im sure.

[DetroitIron]

Nice work. Regarding the initial smoking after gasket replacement, I would not worry as you probably had some oil get on the manifolds while replacing the gaskets. Mine smoked for a day as the bits of old gasket material/oil burned off the exhaust. The numbers on the heads are the specs for the valve size, chamber size, etc. You can look them up on line or someone here may be able to translate for the specs
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[jasonroman]

thanks for reply. i kinda thought it may have been some run off that needed to burn off. or some of the cleaners i used burning up.
hopefully it wont end up leaking. that would suck.
im kinda hoping the passenger side dont give me any problems.
i had to ruff it to get in. maybe should have take the egr valve off to make it easier. well hopefully all is well. thanks again guys.

[ironroad9c1]

Be glad you got the corks, The rubber ones don't seal well on the perimeter bolt valve covers due to the rough cast on the lip.

[jasonroman]

seem to missing 2 of the washer things that sit on valve cover. think this will be an issue?

[gchemist]

Yes, get the wide aftermarket clamp downs. They are available at parts stores.

[ironroad9c1]

doesn't matter the covers will be leaking in 6 months again anyway, I hate perimeter bolt valve covers

[flamingbig10]

Originally Posted by ironroad9c1

doesn't matter the covers will be leaking in 6 months again anyway, I hate perimeter bolt valve covers

I never had that problem and I had the cheap chrome valve covers with the t bar fasteners

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by ironroad9c1

doesn't matter the covers will be leaking in 6 months again anyway, I hate perimeter bolt valve covers

They don't have to leak. When the covers are straight/flat, the head surfaces are cleaned of old gasket material, the gaskets are installed properly and not over-tightened....all is fine.

I am a believer in gluing the gaskets to the valve cover with an adhesive like Gaskacich, or even contact cement, silicone will just split the gasket. Stick them on and let it dry thoroughly, well before you are ready to re-install them.
Use the "spreaders" under the bolts and go easy with tightening them, more is not better.
I did them like this for years with race cars that needed frequent valve adjustments and on daily drivers that were essentially ignored. The covers come right off with-out sticking to the heads, and the same ones go right back on. They should barely have a dent where they touched the heads, but still be sure to put them back onto the same side.

Over-tightening is the biggest problem with these

[tucsonjwt]

I have used both cork and rubber gaskets. I like rubber better. The rubber gaskets will leak after about 5,000 miles, but you can carefully tighten them and they will seal again. The important thing is to get the best quality gaskets you can buy. I also use sealant on the valve covers. It seems that every kind of gasket I install will leak if I don't use some kind of sealant.
For cleaning, I just spray a little engine degreaser on the covers first, then wipe it off with old cloths. When the valve covers are off the engine I use gasoline on the underside, and more engine degreaser on the top and bolts/washers.

[SCOTI]

I also use a similar method.... Adhere the gasket to the v.cover w/RTV sealant or adhesive (I like the spray-on Copper gasket sealer). Let it tack up & attach the gasket to the cover. Let that set-up before final installation.

I like using the FelPro gaskets w/the crush rings that help prevent over-tightening (which leads to pre-mature failure & leakage).

[motornut]

i'll be doing some this week on the 79
bucket and thinner to clean
final wash/scrub with dish soap before painting
spreaders for sure my other jimmy didn't have them and leaked bad....
the thin stamped covers just warped instead of sealing
even when straightened out(prob the most important part, often over looked)