Valve cover Gasket

I'm running out of Patience with this car.

Finally got my new headgasket in and part of my exhaust because I can't get the tailpipes to fit right. I drove it today for a total of 10 miles, came to work and she was smoking, lifted up the hood and my header was on fire! Doesn't look like it did much damage, but after looking at it I realized that the cause was the felpro valvecover gasket. The thing keeps leaking above the header, and this time it looks like the whole thing blew out and leaked oil on my header. Is there some sort of secret to installing these? I think I'm done with the felpro gasket, need a ford one.

Are you sure the valve cover itself is not warped. It can happen and if it's bad enough, no gasket will seal it. Put it on a known flat surface and see if it rocks or there are any gaps. I use the work surface on my table saw to check.

I use the blue Felpro high temp valve cover gasket and it seals very well.

Make sure your PCV valve is not leaking boost. If you are blowing boost into the crank case you will never get it to seal. The Motorcraft PCV valves are the only ones I know that don't leak.

I went with the gasket from ford that has the metal inside and have never had any problems...and it is reusable.Only thing it is a little pricey,but it gets the job done.I wouldn't use anything else.

Originally posted by mr.gofast:
I went with the gasket from ford that has the metal inside and have never had any problems...and it is reusable.Only thing it is a little pricey,but it gets the job done.I wouldn't use anything else.

+1
I use the one from Ford that is for the 95 ranger. Its black and is the easiest one to align, and the added plus is its reusable. If you have a JY local to you, you can get one for less than $3.

I got a felpro on mine its had 300 miles put on it so far with 0 problems or leaks all i did was did very good job of cleaning the VC and the head where they mount together then finger tightened the bolts down then tightened the bolts in a criss cross pattern just cause ive always done that for VC's on all cars.
+1 on wat pete d says make sure your VC isnt warped the one on my bobcat was waped when i got it and used a big piece of glass with 1000 grit taped on it to get it sanded off enough so it was flat. But if its too warped that wont work.

I went through 2 blue felpros until I got the Ford one (like $40-45 for Ford compared to about $20 for felpro). I've never used the goop on it and the Ford has held up well. The felpros split at the front cam seal. The big thing I think was using an inch-pound torque wrench on the VC bolts/studs. There are no leaks now whatsoever. good luck.

I've gone through 2 or 3 of those blue felpros, they seem to tear pretty easy if you don't line up the vc right, especially after it's been on and off a few times. I ordered the Ford one today for $33 and a new PCV valve. I'll let you guys know if it works. Thanks for the advice.

Hopefully this solves the problem of it stalling after getting on it and pushing in the clutch b/c of the vacuum leak on the cover.

my only regret with the black ford gasket is that I didn't start using it earlier.

I think the next time I have my valve cover off I am going with that black Ford gasket.