right way to do a CJ valve cover

You will get a pretty good argument on this!!

My secret recipe: Clean the head and the valve cover completely. Drop the valve cover in a

5 gal bucket of hot water and Tide, scrub throughly. Clean the head with solvent, followed by shots of carb cleaner. If in doubt, clean it AGAIN.

If you use the plastic cover do NOT use a gasket. Put a 5/16" bead of Permatex BLACK (Oil resistant) RTV sealant on the head, a full tube for the head. Set the cover down within 5 minutes of starting the bead (so that the RTV will stick to the cover and not form a skin), start the bolts, tighten the cover down finger tight. Let set for 24 hours, torque to spec.

Cheers.

Rusted wrote:

Rusted,

By "starting in the middle", what did you mean? I thought there were only two bolts that hold the valve cover in place, both in the center of the valve cover, not on the edges.

If you clean it properly and torque it to specifications (make sure you're torque wrench measures in in-lbs), then you shouldn't have any leaks.

Could it be his oil return holes are plugged up and causing pressure to build in the top half of the engine... Could this be blowing out the gasket?

Brian Moga Waxhaw.Net

Unlikely as oil return passageways are, comparatively speaking, great big cavernous openings, unlikely to be become plugged by anything likely to find its way into the engine oil. It has to be an incompatibility between the valve cover and the gasket, or he could have damaged the gasket during installation. I have never done one of these, and I am sure that there is an FAQ on the subject, but he needs to get exact instructions for the plastic cover from somewhere, before he tries it again.

Earle

My 'new' engine only has the two center nuts to hold the cover on, my old engine also had the bolts around the edge.

My current cover has been on since 2001 with no leaks still except some around the filler hole. The old one with all the edge bolts was the same. A new filler cap is less than $5.00.

I clean everything really well using a solvent. I have used carb cleaner or brake cleaner or on this last one I used coleman camp fuel. I clean it until the rag I am using stays clean after rubbing it along. One fingerprint or any dirt/oil will make a leak....

I then use permatex 'Ultra Black' RTV, the sensor safe type. I put a skim on the head, then put the cork gasket down and put a small bead into the valve cover channel. I make sure the cork gasket's edge stays clear of RTV, I only want it in the faces. That way oil can get into the cork and swell it tight.

I then torque it down starting in the center. Twice. I find the center has 'usually' come loose by the time the ends are torqued so I do the same pattern again. For the two top nuts, I do them in 2 or 3 stages after cracking the first try by torquing one nut down before the other...

I then don't breath on the sucker for 24 hours while keeping my fingers crossed....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

Amazing. I remember putting these things on Slant Sixes without cement, and having them last, as far as I know, forever. The only thing to worry about, was not tightening it too much, so we used a nut driver instead of a ratchet.

Earle