Valve cover was too loose...

[53ryder]

I just bought a 1964 Valiant last Tuesday. After getting it home I noticed there was a oil leak. Today trying to detect the source of the leak I narrowed it down to the valve cover. It appears to be coming out near the back end. So I checked the nuts/bolts holding the valve cover on. They were all very loose. So I gently snugged them down.

I don't have a shop manual yet. Could someone tell me what order I should tighten these bolts in and how much torque to apply? Oh yeah...this appears to be a 225cid slant 6.

Any help would be appreciated!



Glenn

 

[memike]

Yes I can and many here could to but I am here now :thumleft:
Pick up a new cork gasket and clean the head and valve cover very good, you may/will have to use a small hammer and dolly to flatten the area's where the bolt hole are......... just look at it after a good cleaning and you will see the bolt hole areas are not flat and flush... That is what you need to flatten out slowly and most likely why it is leaking..
JMO... I glue the gasket to the valve cover and let it dry with the small bolts in each hole as it hardens a bit. :thumleft: Then when the RTV, sealant is hard and sealed to the valve cover I put a very small coat of RTV (gray) sealant on the gasket :smile:
A very small amount !! then I start in the middle and tighten by hand using just a 1/4 inch extension :thumleft:
Ok, know it is in place :thumleft:..... then use a 1/4 inch ratchet on the extension and again start in the middle top and bottom and just a small amount of snug on all valve cover bolts ( I don't know the exact Inch lbs) but it is not much, start it and let it come up to 180 degrees and do it again with just a VERY small amount of presser .............. I do this by putting my hand on the head of the ratchet and NOT on the handle and it should be good to go :thumleft:

 

[53ryder]

Thanks for the info!


Glenn

 

[BillGrissom]

Good idea to just tighten it for now. I never use a torque wrench, I just tighten what feels right with a 3/8" socket wrench - slightly more than you could do with one hand. People tend to over-tighten and warp the sheet metal cover at the bolt holes, which causes leaks as memike says.

If you later plan to replace the valve cover, you should adjust the valves at the same time, since that is a regular maintenance task on these solid lifter engines (~40K miles), but you need a manual for that. BTW, solid lifters are preferred for race engines.