Valve Cover Gasket Question - Quick Help

[Artesia]

I've got a very important question that I need help with very soon.

Here's the deal...I'm taking off the intake manifold right now so I can clean it out. My car has been leaking oil into the spark plug holes ever since I got it, and this is a common problem with SHOs. Therefore, I have an important question. Since I don't have much money now that I'm drawing unemployment, I don't wanna' go buy a new gasket set right now. Therefore...I was wondering...is it possible to pull the valve covers off, then take the existing valve cover gasket and use silicone on it? Basicaly I would take the existing valve cover gasket (if it was somewhat still intact) and put it back on the heads, or leave it attached (I don't know what they're made out of or how they fit on or what not, so I don't know what to expect yet), then add silicone gasket maker around the whole thing, put the valve covers back on and let them sit for a few hours, then after the silicone dries, try it out and see if I'm still leaking oil.

Does this sound fesible? Honestly, when I first thought up the idea, it seemed kinda' crazy, because depending on the shape the current gaskets are in, it's probably not possible. And from past experience, when you take a gasket off, it's torn to all **** when you remove it. Therefore, I doubt this would be possible. BUT, I HAVE to know before I go pulling those valve covers off, cause I don't wanna' put myself in a rutt and HAVE to go buy some new ones if I can help it.

Just so you know up front...I don't think this is possible, which is why I'm asking right now. Thanks guys.

 

[Rob94]

Yes, you can use RTV silicone to TEMPORARILY seal the plug wells. But, it is only a temporary fix. It will start leaking again in short order.

 

[Artesia]

Thanks. I talked to SPDATT and he says that there's a way that he hasn't tried yet where you clean out the spark plug holes and then take silicone and go around the seals. Let it dry for a few hours and it should stop the leaking. He says he used ultra blue or something like it on the actual seals and it leaked horrible later...so no sense in doing that. I'm going to try his other idea though of silicone on the insides. Then after I'm finished, I'm going to clean the intake manifold and stuff out and then put it all back together and I should be good to go. I'm taking pictures of it all to post on the web later. Thanks Rob.

 

[munkee]

The seals probably aren't trashed there just dried out. I had to use a pair of needlenose pliers to yank the old ones out. Just a word of waring if you want to reuse them.

 

[luigisho]

I remember seeing a post here on on Topica about someone refreshing their seals by soaking them in 2 diff. chem's. See if you can chase it down you m ay be able to return some pliability to the old seals.

 

[Artesia]

Well, actually I tried something new. I took silicone and plastered those seals with 3/4th of a tube! hehehe I let it dry for like 4 or 5 hours, probably, and then cranked it up. I think it will be okay and won't leak for a while now...I think. We'll see though. I'll let ya' know later how it went. All I did was cleaned all the oil out of the holes then caked the seals with silicone then let it dry for at least an hour (in my case, 4 - 5 hours). We'll see if it seals.

 

[RStalveyARFF]

please tell me you used RTV ultra-gray....

 

[sdpatt]

I have only used Permatex Ultra Gray on the valve cover seals and I did not specify a brand when I spoke with Brian. I'm not sure where he got that.

Scott

 

[Artesia]

No, I used Ultra Blue. It's about the same thing. There are only temperature variences between the colors of Silicone, that's all. And Ultra Blue is supposed to be a fairly high temp sealant. I'll check again, though. I think I'm okay. See, on my Rx7s and other vehicles, I was known in the clubs and on the list as the silicone freak. I siliconed EVERYTHING I could get my hands on. So, when you looked under my hood, you'd see Ultra Blue Silicone used to seal like half the stuff on the engine. It was crazy...but heck, it worked great! So, I use it a lot. This, however, was the first thing I've used it on in this car, so let's hope I was successful. If not...no big deal. It happens. If it doesn't work, I can do it again and put more silicone on this time, but let it sit for 24 hours and see if that takes care of it. If not, I'll break down and buy new seals, which is what I plan on doing in a few months anyway...so...no big deal, this was more of a "let's see if I can keep this oil from leaking by trying THIS!" hehehe Just an experiment, that's all. Later guys!

 

[sdpatt]

I don't recall the Ultra Blue package saying it was oil and gas resistent.

Scott

 

[Artesia]

Oh great...so you're telling me that I probably got the silicone that gets eaten up by oil and gas, and that I SHOULD have gotten the ultra grey?? Damnit! Figures....

Well, if I have to do this again, this time I'm only removing the plenum around the runners. I don't wanna' take all that crap off again...it was annoying. Eitherway, it's not a big deal. I'll probably just deal with it for now.

How much are you selling one of those sets of used seals for Scott?

 

[olympic]

There's another problem you may not have thought of. When you torque the valve covers down, all the excess silicone will squish out the sides, inside the engine and outside. Once it dries inside the engine, it will begin to peel off and get washed away by the oil flow. It ends up in the oil pan and will plug up the screen in the oil pump pickup. I had this happen on one of my cars. The previous owner used silicone on the oilpan instead of a gasket and the sump screen was plugged solid!

 

[Artesia]

I never took off the valve covers. I simply pulled the wires off the plugs and caked the seals with silicone where they were installed, that's all. Very simple.

 

[khiser0001]

Artesia,

I am glad to see you like to play with your car but after reading your posts for awhile I have got to wonder how your car still runs.

You try some crazy stuff that I can not believe that it has not broken the motor beyond repair.

Oh well if you can play and enjoy it that is all that matters.

Later

 

[SHOnuff93]

just buy a new gaket set you cheap bastard

 

[olympic]

Artesia:
I never took off the valve covers. I simply pulled the wires off the plugs and caked the seals with silicone where they were installed, that's all. Very simple.

Oh, OK...my bad. Your sump screen is safe..lol!

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

From SHOnuff93:just buy a new gaket set you cheap bastard

If you read the previous posts, you would see that he has lots of time and not much money. He just needs a quick fix. You have got to cut people some slack. squint

 

[luigisho]

Brian, if you don't have the cash for the gasket set then you should probably stop goofing around with everything, before something really expensive happens.

 

[jcostantino]

Isn't the plug well seal kit around $100? I wouldn't think he could do that on unemployment...

Anyhow.. what about soaking the rubber gaskets in brake fluid? Doesn't that make rubber bloat?

Jeff

 

[Foxwulfe]

Unless you were smoking crack or some sort of laced weed (although open flame when working near uncontroled combustable vapors is bad) when removing your valve covers (just take time and use your eyes), there should be no problem in using RTV to seal small leaks. Just make sure the surfaces are clean and relatively level. I, too, can not justify spending upwards of $120 on a valve cover gasket set, for a Ford! Just remember, no matter how much wet RTV you put on the interface of two surfaces, it will squeeze out (too much = bad) just enough to fill the small gaps. Unfortunately, new seals may be in order if expansion and contraction is too great for the RTV to withstand. For me, so far, RTV assistance has worked with no hint of oil in the plug wells or on the head deck surface, and my origional gaskets were really hard.
So, pull your covers and do it right, cheaply. You have time, and the crack pipe needs time to cool (if you are using that despite my urge not to in the beginning).
Oh, and by the way, the RX-7 TII is a totally different beast; and little of what you have learned on them carry over. You are right; I do not know, but I had an '80 and '87 TII. Six-port actuation is different than secondaries, turbochargers complecate tuning and changes, fuel and ignition stratagies are unique, ultimate purpose is different, bla bla bla...
Damn, one last thing: the world is much more complex than you think, but without people like you, it would not expand. People may hate what you say (even me sometimes), but your comment or question made them think, and in turn enriched your thought process by their comment.

Justin - in the end, it is just a freakin' Taurus!