On my 1985 2.8 I had a pretty bad oil leak, which I traced to the forward valve cover gasket. I took it apart and sure enough, the gasket was split all to hell. I replaced it with a good spare, and the leak slowed down but did not stop. I'm wondering if I over tightened the valve cover bolts. I know I didn't under tighten them. Any ideas?
Its pretty critical to not over or under tighten valve cover gaskets. Some people I know only put them on with a screwdriver handle so they cant overdo it. It also makes some difference if you used cork or rubber gaskets, and if you used sealant with it. I put the valve covers on my SuperBee with ONLY sealant on clean covers and heads. No leaks.
On my 1985 2.8 I had a pretty bad oil leak, which I traced to the forward valve cover gasket. I took it apart and sure enough, the gasket was split all to hell. I replaced it with a good spare, and the leak slowed down but did not stop. I'm wondering if I over tightened the valve cover bolts. I know I didn't under tighten them. Any ideas?
Steam clean the engine and subframe. Go back and re-check. That small leak may be the residual dripping out of wherever it puddled. Other than the valve covers, the next most common leak is the distributor O-ring. If I recall, the Felpro blue silicone gaskets have a sleeve that won't let you over tighten.
Fel-Pro says your not suppose to be able to over tighten their valve cover and oil pan gaskets due to the inserts they have located at the bolt holes of the gaskets. Not sure that's reality though.
As mentioned above "black"RTV works great. You might try pulling the leaky gasket, dry it off, and replace with some black RTV smeared on both sides of the gasket, reinstall. Be sure to clean the head and valve cover as well. Use brake cleaner, mineral spirits or the like to clean.
If I recall, the Felpro blue silicone gaskets have a sleeve that won't let you over tighten.
Yup. It is hard to screw up installing the 2.8 valve cover. There could be many reasons for an oil leak. I would check to make sure the bolts are tight (no need to overtighten, as it won't help).
If that is good, and the oil is still coming from that area, it is time to pull the valve cover and see what someone did. They may have used the wrong gasket, or the gasket is bad. Usually you can reuse the gasket as it is a molded silicone type, NOT cork (Do NOT use cork on the 2.8).
I would look at both mating surfaces and if they are good, buy new gaskets. You also need to put a dab of RTV where the intake and head meet.
[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 06-24-2015).]
front? check oil sender and pluming/tube, oil filter, when engine is running.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
... but perhaps mention the type of gasket used, and whether or not you used any sealer.
