right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
(literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I used
a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
worse!

I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time? Buy
an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
sides? What has worked for you?

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

You will get a pretty good argument on this!!

My secret recipe:
Clean the head and the valve cover completely. Drop the valve cover in a
5 gal bucket of hot water and Tide, scrub throughly. Clean the head with
solvent, followed by shots of carb cleaner. If in doubt, clean it AGAIN.

If you use the plastic cover do NOT use a gasket. Put a 5/16" bead of
Permatex BLACK (Oil resistant) RTV sealant on the head, a full tube for
the head. Set the cover down within 5 minutes of starting the bead (so
that the RTV will stick to the cover and not form a skin), start the
bolts, tighten the cover down finger tight. Let set for 24 hours, torque
to spec.

Cheers.

Rusted wrote:

> My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I used
> a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> worse!
>
> I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time? Buy
> an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> sides? What has worked for you?
>
>
>
>
>
>

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

You will get a pretty good argument on this!!

My secret recipe:
Clean the head and the valve cover completely. Drop the valve cover in a
5 gal bucket of hot water and Tide, scrub throughly. Clean the head with
solvent, followed by shots of carb cleaner. If in doubt, clean it AGAIN.

If you use the plastic cover do NOT use a gasket. Put a 5/16" bead of
Permatex BLACK (Oil resistant) RTV sealant on the head, a full tube for
the head. Set the cover down within 5 minutes of starting the bead (so
that the RTV will stick to the cover and not form a skin), start the
bolts, tighten the cover down finger tight. Let set for 24 hours, torque
to spec.

Cheers.

Rusted wrote:

> My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I used
> a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> worse!
>
> I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time? Buy
> an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> sides? What has worked for you?
>
>
>
>
>
>

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

You will get a pretty good argument on this!!

My secret recipe:
Clean the head and the valve cover completely. Drop the valve cover in a
5 gal bucket of hot water and Tide, scrub throughly. Clean the head with
solvent, followed by shots of carb cleaner. If in doubt, clean it AGAIN.

If you use the plastic cover do NOT use a gasket. Put a 5/16" bead of
Permatex BLACK (Oil resistant) RTV sealant on the head, a full tube for
the head. Set the cover down within 5 minutes of starting the bead (so
that the RTV will stick to the cover and not form a skin), start the
bolts, tighten the cover down finger tight. Let set for 24 hours, torque
to spec.

Cheers.

Rusted wrote:

> My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I used
> a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> worse!
>
> I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time? Buy
> an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> sides? What has worked for you?
>
>
>
>
>
>

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

Rusted wrote:

> My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I
> used
> a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> worse!
>
> I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time?
> Buy
> an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> sides? What has worked for you?

Rusted,

By "starting in the middle", what did you mean? I thought there were only
two bolts that hold the valve cover in place, both in the center of the
valve cover, not on the edges.

If you clean it properly and torque it to specifications (make sure you're
torque wrench measures in in-lbs), then you shouldn't have any leaks.
--
Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

Rusted wrote:

> My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I
> used
> a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> worse!
>
> I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time?
> Buy
> an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> sides? What has worked for you?

Rusted,

By "starting in the middle", what did you mean? I thought there were only
two bolts that hold the valve cover in place, both in the center of the
valve cover, not on the edges.

If you clean it properly and torque it to specifications (make sure you're
torque wrench measures in in-lbs), then you shouldn't have any leaks.
--
Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

Rusted wrote:

> My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I
> used
> a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> worse!
>
> I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time?
> Buy
> an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> sides? What has worked for you?

Rusted,

By "starting in the middle", what did you mean? I thought there were only
two bolts that hold the valve cover in place, both in the center of the
valve cover, not on the edges.

If you clean it properly and torque it to specifications (make sure you're
torque wrench measures in in-lbs), then you shouldn't have any leaks.
--
Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

Could it be his oil return holes are plugged up and causing
pressure to build in the top half of the engine... Could this
be blowing out the gasket?

Brian Moga
Waxhaw.Net

On Thu, 10 Nov 2005, Michael White wrote:

> Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 07:02:07 GMT
> From: Michael White <michael12@mindspring.com>
> Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys
> Subject: Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
>
>
>
> Rusted wrote:
>
> > My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> > removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> > the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> > previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> > (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> > engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> > found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I
> > used
> > a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> > cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> > to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> > Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> > worse!
> >
> > I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time?
> > Buy
> > an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> > sides? What has worked for you?
>
> Rusted,
>
> By "starting in the middle", what did you mean? I thought there were only
> two bolts that hold the valve cover in place, both in the center of the
> valve cover, not on the edges.
>
> If you clean it properly and torque it to specifications (make sure you're
> torque wrench measures in in-lbs), then you shouldn't have any leaks.
> --
> Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
> fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer
>

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

Could it be his oil return holes are plugged up and causing
pressure to build in the top half of the engine... Could this
be blowing out the gasket?

Brian Moga
Waxhaw.Net

On Thu, 10 Nov 2005, Michael White wrote:

> Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 07:02:07 GMT
> From: Michael White <michael12@mindspring.com>
> Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys
> Subject: Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
>
>
>
> Rusted wrote:
>
> > My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> > removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> > the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> > previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> > (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> > engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> > found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I
> > used
> > a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> > cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> > to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> > Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> > worse!
> >
> > I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time?
> > Buy
> > an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> > sides? What has worked for you?
>
> Rusted,
>
> By "starting in the middle", what did you mean? I thought there were only
> two bolts that hold the valve cover in place, both in the center of the
> valve cover, not on the edges.
>
> If you clean it properly and torque it to specifications (make sure you're
> torque wrench measures in in-lbs), then you shouldn't have any leaks.
> --
> Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
> fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer
>

Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
 

Could it be his oil return holes are plugged up and causing
pressure to build in the top half of the engine... Could this
be blowing out the gasket?

Brian Moga
Waxhaw.Net

On Thu, 10 Nov 2005, Michael White wrote:

> Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 07:02:07 GMT
> From: Michael White <michael12@mindspring.com>
> Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys
> Subject: Re: right way to do a CJ valve cover
>
>
>
> Rusted wrote:
>
> > My original valve cover on my 83 CJ7 with 258 engine had been leaking. I
> > removed it to find that it was pretty hammered, kind of looked warped and
> > the holes in the top were cracked, and it had several RTV patches from a
> > previous owner, and was missing a few bolts. So I replaced it with a new
> > (literally never used) plastic cover that I had laying around from a spare
> > engine I have. The new cover did not have the same holes in the top, but
> > found bolts to replace the missing ones and it seemed to fit right. I
> > used
> > a cork felpro gasket, cleaned up the engine extremely well, used gasket
> > cement to hold it to the engine block, then a thin coat of silver/gray RTV
> > to hold the cover on. Torqued it down gently, starting in the middle.
> > Then let it set for 24 hours before I started it. Well now it leaks much
> > worse!
> >
> > I need to do the job again, but what should I do different this time?
> > Buy
> > an aluminum cover? A different gasket? Not use RTV at all? RTV both
> > sides? What has worked for you?
>
> Rusted,
>
> By "starting in the middle", what did you mean? I thought there were only
> two bolts that hold the valve cover in place, both in the center of the
> valve cover, not on the edges.
>
> If you clean it properly and torque it to specifications (make sure you're
> torque wrench measures in in-lbs), then you shouldn't have any leaks.
> --
> Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
> fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer
>