I've just recently taken my '84 fiero with a 2.5L ironduke out for a quick spin. I maybe traveled half a mile before I decided to return home. That's when is notice a little bit of smoke escaping from the rear vent. It's normal for the motor to smoke a little bit. Not safe, but normal for my specific fiero. After this small cruise, however, there was a lot of smoke. I've replaced the gasket for the valve cover a while back, so why is this happening? Thanks in advance.
What kind of valve cover gasket do you have on it, I was having trouble with mine leaking until I got the most expensive fel pro reinforced rubber gasket rubber gasket. That stopped my leaks.
What does that image show? If you have located the drip, then you know where the oil is. Over tightening the valve cover bolts will sometimes cause a leak.
I have battled this... I finally used a rubberized cork with metal insert as the gasket (Victor) and added high-tack sealant from permatex (if I remember correctly). That worked the best (and longest).
What kind of valve cover gasket do you have on it, I was having trouble with mine leaking until I got the most expensive fel pro reinforced rubber gasket rubber gasket. That stopped my leaks.
The gasket I used is part #52776 on the fierostore. It's made of cork.
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What does that image show? If you have located the drip, then you know where the oil is. Over tightening the valve cover bolts will sometimes cause a leak.
That image shows the valve cover as well as where the exhaust manifold attaches to the motor. The side of the engine closest to the cabin. Also, how tight should the bolts be on the valve cover?
Oh, I used metal spacers on top to spread the load. Now that I think of it... I also used studs instead of bolts and used loc-tite on the nuts, so I didn't have to torque them down much. Check the valve cover flange to see if it is bent. I also let it "cure" overnight before running it.
The best gasket for stock duke valve covers is the Fel-Pro PermaDryPlus® type. It is made of blue silicone rubber molded onto a steel carrier. It works best when installed dry (surfaces cleaned of oil, and no sealer).
The best gasket for stock duke valve covers is the Fel-Pro PermaDryPlus® type. It is made of blue silicone rubber molded onto a steel carrier. It works best when installed dry (surfaces cleaned of oil, and no sealer).
Cool! I wish this was around "back in the day"... Stamped valve covers = lame
I dont use cork gaskets anymore they seem to leak most. Also pay attention as to not over torque the bolts when installing as gaskets can squish out of place and stamped cover can warp.
I dont use cork gaskets anymore they seem to leak most. Also pay attention as to not over torque the bolts when installing as gaskets can squish out of place and stamped cover can warp.
Yup, cork gaskets are the pits.... I know I tried rubber gaskets and cork and then then rubberized/cork/steel one and that worked for me. But Felpro has done a good job coming up with solution gaskets, so I don't see why it wouldn't work, if installed properly.
I had a heck of a time getting my leaks all fixed. My valve cover flange was bent on the ends, once I got that straight I used Permatex high tack w/cork too. And lots of Permatex Right Stuff Gasket maker.
------------------ Project Genisis Lo Budget 3800SC swap 12.840@104.8 MPH Intense-Racing 1.9 rockers, 3" exhaust, 3.4 pulley, ZZP tune and 18 year old tires.
The best gasket for stock duke valve covers is the Fel-Pro PermaDryPlus® type. It is made of blue silicone rubber molded onto a steel carrier. It works best when installed dry (surfaces cleaned of oil, and no sealer).
This is what I used. This mess also contained a cork gasket.
You can see the puddle of oil at the center of the manifold where it was leaking. It was smoking enough that it might have had enough oil to catch fire.
If you can find a tube of PermaTex red Gasket Maker and apply it to both engine block and valve cover and let it dry after assembly, you can often get a cork gasket to work without leaking. Use the load spreaders on the bolts, whichever gasket you use.
The pain for me was removing the EGR, that one bolt seems to only have room for something like 1/8th of a turn or less at a time, and cant get a universal joint in there.
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