Recently replaced both valve cover gaskets, since I knew I had a weep into the plug wells. Got OEM gaskets from CarQuest and replaced all gaskets & o-rings. Torqued to 11nM and all was great. After week or so, both sides began to weep at the bottom rear bolt, with the attendant aroma of well-done Pennzoil Ultra . Since the gasket is in a groove and held by the bolts and spacers, I don't think it's piched or mis-aligned, and I wouldn't have screwed up both sides....

Don't want to continue tightening the rear bolts to get rid of the leak - with my luck, at some point I'll strip the bolt and would dread the thought of putting a helicoil in, given the space restrictions.

So, before I pull it all off and get new gaskets, any thoughts?

Thanks,
Hamish
2001 MY XK8

 

Paint the head and the valve cover with high tack by permatex.
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Have you rechecked the torque? There may have been some shrinkage.

There also might have been some false torque readings due to misalignment, especially if you did not follow a bolt tightening sequence from the center towards the ends. If the latter is the case, loosen and retorque this time from the center out, alternating sides.

 

Dont get me wrong but 11nm is about finger tight, give it a little more even 20nm and that will be fine, you only get real probs when people go all 'Heman' and tighten up so much they actually crack the cover

 

Gaskets like these can be tricky to properly seal. You bought an OEM gasket set from CarQuest. There are a lot of counterfeit parts out there. The fact that CarQuest sells OEM parts causes me to wonder.
Whatever, I think you will have to do a "do-over." I prefer a good silicon sealant over Permatex. I use silicon whenever I have an "0-ring type" gasket. It just takes a little smear, enough for the gasket to stick. Of course, all surfaces must be clean and dry.

 

Just as a thought are you sure you have the right gaskets? The original gasket which was thicker than the later are one side orange and one side gray. But before the 4.2 engine came out the 4.0 cam covers changed and used a thinner black gasket which is very similar to the 4.2 gasket.

If you had the black gaskets they just might simply be too thin?

Just a thought

 

I agree, use the thicker gaskets and you should be fine.

 

Excellent point! The gaskets from CarQuest were OEM jag parts, in jag bags, marked with jag part numbers. But they were black. I didn't realize that there was a difference. I'm game for the recommendation of around 20 nM, but I'm drawing the line there.....

From a previous conversation with the parts guy at CarQuest when I was getting parts for my Saab, they can get basically any OEM part, but at a significant savings - it's just that they don't advertise that and people are not aware. That's what prompted me to go there. And I did notice they even had the Esso equivalent tranny fluid stacked on their shelves......

As far as shrinkage goes, I had thought that could be it, so I loosened and retorqued both sides, but ultimately had the same eventual outcome.

Thanks,
Hamish
2001 MY XK8

 

I used the Felpro Gasket set (FEL-PRO Part # VS50724R ) for the Lincoln LS, on my 2001 XKR from Rockauto.com. They worked perfectly and are 38.79 a set.

 

I have found that the gaskets will seal fine as long as all the mating surfaces that touch the gaskets are scrupulously clean (this means no oil or moisture at all). This also means debris removal and a very thorough scrubbing with lacquer thinner on both surfaces and no touching them with fingers or tools afterwards. This all assumes you have the correct gaskets of course. I have not had a leak using this process. The only gasket sealer I ever use on rubber cam cover gaskets is on the half-moon cam plugs in the gaskets.

 

Finally got my butt in gear and ordered a set of the Fel-Pro gaskets, thanks to Whites recommendation. I'll post again when they arrive and are installed. Hey - I had to come up with something to do over Turkey Day......

Cheers,
Hamish

 

everyone is pretty much on mark except DO NOT use sealer. If the gaskets are correct and installed correctly and you dont pull then loose putting the cam cover on it wont leak. After you clean both cam cover channels and head surface, install and I useally slightly stand on the cam cover on the floor to make sure the seals are evenly installed flat. Then lift up holding in the air to see it any of the seals hang loose. If not carefully install. I DO NOT install the VVT seal till I have the cover on loosly and a couple bolts loose started. It makes it mach easier with les chance of pulling seal loose trying to get it down. Then when you install the seal it center the cover pretty much. Just eyeball when you tighten and follow the tightening sequence which for just about everything is center rotating outward. Sealant tends to distort the gaskets and cause isssues with leaks and sealant can get down into the oil pump screen and clog it up.

 

Gasket remover in an aerosol can is great for really cleaning up the mating surfaces. The Fel-Pro gaskets worked for me on the first time.

 

Agree with both Brutal and XKRacer on these. They have to be the right seals for the circa cam covers and they are meant to be assembled dry, not with any sealant.

On the right part - I've made AJ26 seals fit an AJ27 cam cover because I was in a bind once, but it wasn't without a lot of trimming of tabs, etc. and I had to reduce the torque on the cam cover bolts to approx 7 nm. It sealed just fine, but when I was able to finally get the AJ27 seals about 6 months later, I changed them out for the customer free of charge. I wouldn't even try the smaller diameter 27s on a 26 cam cover. That would be a leaker for sure.

On sealing these - they are designed to go on dry, but the right torque is very important. I've seen these leaking and cranked down tightly enough to crack the cam covers, but the leaking occurred much sooner than that when the bolt landing was flattened out and distorted.

 

I never use sealer

 

When i replaced the Upper Tensioners, I noted that, due to the metal spacers used with the Cam Cover bolts, that the right torque was immediately obvious. The bolts got very tight at the correct point and it was obvious that additional tightening would do nothing but damage something.