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Posted by David Sherman on Monday, May 04, 2009 at 12:16:37 :
In Reply to: Re: V/C gasket posted by Ron in Indiana on Monday, May 04, 2009 at 11:55:53 :
One thing to remember with valve cover or oil pan gaskets, or any gasket that has sheet metal on one side is to make sure the sheet metal is flat when replacing the gasket. The metal always gets sucked in around the bolts, and the more it leaks, the more people try to fix it just by tightening the bolts, which bends the metal even more. I find the easiest way to straighten the surface is to find a piece of thick bar or plate stock that will fit the bolt "groove" on the top side of the cover, turn the cover upside down (gasket surface up) with the plate behind each bolt hole in turn, and hammer the dished part back into place. Even if the cover hasn't been abused, they just naturally take a bit of a set around the bolt holes. You'll see the same thing with carburetor and fuel pump castings if you clean up the gasket surface on a belt sander when rebuilding them.