My Pontiac 6000 has an oil leak. We replaced the valve cover gasket a month or so ago. A month later, the oil leak returned. My dad said that he didn't like the way that the valve cover gasket fit. He said that we could go to GM and see if they have a better valve cover gasket than the one at CarQuest. He also said that I could get a new valve cover as well as a valve cover gasket, but he said that it would be a little expensive. (His version of expensive is more than gas money to fill it up.) He also said that he can take it all off and clean it, then silicone it, but he warned me that you have to be careful when you do that if you don't want silicone in the oil, oil pump, etc. What do you think? What's the best method? What are the price estimates? *P.S. I have the 2.5L 4-cylinder engine.
Oil leak '88 Pontiac 6000
Aug 27, 2004
4 Replies
Assuming that the gasket was replaced properly (parts cleaned thoroughly, gasket installed dry, bolts torqued properly, valve cover not bent, etc), a recurring valve cover gasket failure is usually a telltale sign of a stuck PCV valve. Changed that ever? GW
Travis K> My Pontiac 6000 has an oil leak. We replaced the valve cover gasket a month
For years, this engine used silicone as the gasket anyway. If it's done right, the silicone will last much longer then the cork gaskets. The silicone will take up any imperfections and/or warps in the valve cover itself. You just need to make sure that both the valve cover surface and head surface are perfectly clean and dry. Use some sort of brake cleaner chemical to ensure that the parts have no oil/grease on them when you apply the silicone. If possible, do the job when you can let the silicone set up overnight.
Ian
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