Valve cover gasket leak (1 Viewer)

[scuba steve]

WHats everyone's opinion on this?
My valve cover gasket is leaking pretty bad, and looks like the bolts might be a little loose.
Should I pull it, clean it, possibly replace it, or just tighten bolts and call it a day.
Going on a road trip right away and don't want to lose all my oil.
Any tips?

 

[jzilla]

I would check the bolts first, if they are really loose that could be a problem.
The bolts all have rubber seals under them too, never seen one leak though.
If in doubt, throw a new gasket on (rubber seal), takes a few minutes.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I would be more concerned about why it went from being leak free,to being a gusher.

 

[scuba steve]

Yeah my thoughts are the same, as to why it suddenly started gushing out of no-where.
Will re- torque and see if that makes a difference.

 

[lostmarbles]

What engine are we talking about?

Some alloy valve covers are easily cracked by overtightening the securing nuts/bolts. (Only minimal torque is normally needed.)

And some aftermarket valve cover gaskets are so rubbishy that they can never seal properly.





In the last photo, the useless gasket on the left was sold to me as a replacement for the proper one on the right!

 

[roscoFJ73]

What engine are we talking about?

Some alloy valve covers are easily cracked by overtightening the securing nuts/bolts. (Only minimal torque is normally needed.)
:

Its a 1HD T and these have the high quality plastic covers thankyou

 

[lostmarbles]

Its a 1HD T and these have the high quality plastic covers thankyou

Ahhh. "Deluxe ABS quality" no doubt Rosco ...

Get out the extension bar and strain your muscles to the limit then Scuba. That'll surely stop that sucker from oozing out your engine's lifeblood ... .... Or perhaps it's more likely to end in splintered plastic, digusting expletives (that'll confirm your neighbour's worst fears about you), and you reaching unprecedented depths of dispair that'll force you to abandon your planned road trip..... I'm undecided which...

 

[Adam B]

I've snugged them up a bit with some success in the past. The torque spec is so light that you need to be careful, and they do seem to have a tendency to slowly back off over the years. I'd say clean it up, snug them just enough, and get a new gasket to replace when you have time.

Make sure you use FIPG or RTV or whatever at the joints like they show in the manual. It makes a difference. When I removed mine I found that the front spots had RTV but there was none at the edges of the half moon gasket ... and guess where most of the leakage was.....

 

[roscoFJ73]

I've snugged them up a bit with some success in the past. The torque spec is so light that you need to be careful, and they do seem to have a tendency to slowly back off over the years. I'd say clean it up, snug them just enough, and get a new gasket to replace when you have time.

.....

This is what I would do. If there is any abnormal pressure in there you will be able to notice it by removing the oil filler cap.

 

[SHREDwagon]

If you have oil coming down the back of the block, might be the rear semi-circular plug and not the valve cover gasket. The leak will also come down the valve cover, fooling you into cranking the cover bolts. That's what mine did....

 

[KnifeOfWar]

Any advice for removing the semi-circular plug at theback? I can't seem to get any form of a tool in there to grab it.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Its all been discussed before.

Semi-Circular Plugs

Hey guys, This is my first post here on MUD, but i've been lurking and learning on and off for about the last year. I picked up a '97 80 series anniversary edition last summer and am finally getting around to digging into it for a good baseline. I've been trying to track down a couple of oil...

forum.ih8mud.com

The front one is the same as the rear. I think I tapped one side with a brass drift until it rotated a little

 

[KnifeOfWar]

Its all been discussed before.

Semi-Circular Plugs

Hey guys, This is my first post here on MUD, but i've been lurking and learning on and off for about the last year. I picked up a '97 80 series anniversary edition last summer and am finally getting around to digging into it for a good baseline. I've been trying to track down a couple of oil...

forum.ih8mud.com

The front one is the same as the rear. I think I tapped one side with a brass drift until it rotated a little

Thank you, I've now tried drifting it, but the lack of working space will result in me damaging something sooner than later. Will stay in as is.

 

[roscoFJ73]

The semi circular plug is only about $10 ea

 

[hj 60]

If you have an iron pipe that almost fits you can heat it red hot and "slam" it on with a hammer, remove, cool and should hold to torque it.
But the proper tool is better.