Leaking valve cover gasket?

[bucksatan]

I used Ultra Grey sealant. As for how much, when you pull the cover you will see how much was originally used. Use about that much. I put it in each of the 4 spots it is required.

 

[meGrimlock]

ah thanks for your reply, but i went and bought the sealant before i got a chance to read it (i was a bit anxious to get the gasket replaced as oil has been leaking out the spark plug chamber). i got the High Temp RTV sealant from permatex, its the smelly orange colored stuff, but i did see the previous sealant was greyish in color. i hope it'll hold up. and thanks for the tip on how much to put!

btw, the old gasket was in exactly the same condition as the new gasket, albeit there was oily crud surrounding the #4 spark plug seal. but even the spark plug seals were in good condition. do these gaskets age and dry out dramatically (mine is o.g. 83,300 miles) or do they stay in flexible condition?
-meGrimlock

 

[pureform]

does replacing the valve cover/gasket require any special tools...is a torque wrench neccessary? I'll be doing this soon as mine has developed a small leak, pointed out during my last oil change..they were trying to charge $120+ to do the job, screw that..thanks for all the great info y'all!!

 

[meGrimlock]

a torque wrench that can read as low as 5-10 pound-inches is recommended. however that amount of torque is so low it hardly seems worth it to go out and buy a new torque wrench. you can hand tighten them just dont go over board because i've heard of stories of cracked valve covers due to that.

my grommets didn't come out easily so im saving them for a later date because i was short on time. a handy pair of pliers would help with that. if you are replacing the PCV grommet i hear thats a pain as well.

 

[slavrenz]

I've used the red hi-temp rtv stuff before with no problems. And I ended up just using my $20 cheap-o torque wrench. It says it's not rated below 10 ft-lb, but I set it at 6, and just stopped tightening when it clicked.

No leaks for 11,000 miles now...

 

[mikeross]

I happen to crack it because I tightened it.. Geesh.. Now I need to buy another valve cover gasket. So be careful in using the torque wrench.