Question

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Mazda P5
I'm about to do the valve cover swap, but Ive got mixed answers about the gasket. It's a rubber gasket someone told me not to put sealant on it just some oil. Others stated to put rtv or some sort of sealant on. Which is it? What would you guys recommend, also the inch pounds to torque the bolts down to ?
Thanks guys.
 
I've got this..








Be careful not to over tighten your valve cover bolts.

I've got one snapped off of my car and two snapped off of my parts car.


And this, you'll need this.

 
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Yes it's just a dot of silicone in those four spots.
The gasket has four "corners" (90 bends) in those spots and it's hard to get a good seal around a corner.

Your sealant is fine.
Black has better oil resistance and blue, red and copper are for higher heat ranges but may not be as oil resistant.
The black is well within it's heat range on the valve cover. (I put copper RTV on my exhaust. It's good to 700 F)

The torque specs for the valve cover bolts are all the same. It's just showing three.
There are three different lengths of bolts on the valve cover. Be careful not to mix them up.
 
Don't forget to follow the bolt tightening pattern.

Go around once and just snug them up (finger tight) then go around again and torque them to spec.

The bolt tightening torques have a "tolerance" and it gives a range where it should be.
Aim for the middle of the specs.
 
Finished it up, I don't see leaks around the valve cover. I'm hoping I put the right amount of sealant around the belts. Started right up first time. Can't wait to drive it tomorrow.
 
That's some good info...

This whole time, I thought I put black RTV on all four corners of the valve cover gasket. Definitely good to know, as I intend on painting my VC someday.

What about those weird ziptie bolts holding down the wires, though? Know where to get more of those?
 
Oh, so they can just pop out then? Didn't realize they were clips in the first place...

I'm going to get some of those before I accidentally destroy them
 
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