I got tired of the oil leak so I pulled the valve cover to find this.. which is the source of the leak.




Any suggestions for a repair? Jb weld? Mig weld? Open to suggestions for a permanent repair, short of new heads. Thanks as always.

 

It gets better... I know the valve cover castings suck but this is ridiculous. I cant belive they left the factory like this!

 

A good gasket will take care of that tiny irregularity in the gasket surface, no problem!

 

Thanks. Are you referring to both the head and valve cover or just the valve cover?

 

I use the "Right Stuff".
First, glue the gasket to the clean VC.
After this sets for a few hours, clean the head mating surface with your favorite cleaner on a rag. Squirting carb cleaner on the surface may introduce enough chemistry to damage the o2 sensors.
Next, coat the head or VC gasket with a good bead of RightStuff.
Settle the VC down with hand pressure and torque the nuts to snug plus a bit.

Might seem archaic but my VC's dont leak anymore.
And after trying every F**king gasket in the world, this is the only combination that worked for me.

YMMV

 

-- FWIW, on my 85, I used fel-pro 1628 valve cover gaskets. these things are a bit PRICEY, but from what I understand, some of the best small block chevy VC gaskets available. they are .250 thick, blue silicone rubber (and ribbed for your pleasure - - no kidding, they are actually ribbed!). you will also be forced into slightly longer VC studs and Moroso 97020, happen to be .25 longer that stock OE. used this combo without issue, and zero leaks. no need to apply any kind of sealant or stickem - just install dry. they're metal core, so slide over the studs for a perfect alignment, and torque to spec. been on my 85 about 3K miles now - bone dry. similar gasket on my 90 - about 10K miles - bone dry! this gasket/stud combo for old iron heads - first class stuff and highly recommended!!! for all the effort involved with replacing VC gaskets on these L98's i'm more than willing to spend an extra $20 on some top shelf hardware -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fel-Pro-1628...NWrD4l&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moroso-Valve...hX3Lo2&vxp=mtr

 

Thanks for the replies guys!

 

Ditto. ^^ They really are worth the money.

The worst ones are the cork. If someone gave those to me it wouldn't be worth the trouble of installing them.

 

Ok, so I decided to go with these since they had them at the auto parts store and I had a $10 off coupon. After a week of rainy crappy days we now have a stretch of nice weather. I didn't want to order parts and have the car down while waiting for parts.




Just finished installing and waiting for the sealer to dry. If this ends up being a fail I'm getting new valve covers and going with your recommendations. Also, if it leaks again it may go on craigslist, lol.

 

i would have recommended cork with hylomar. i know....cork....crazy...but i find it works best when used with hylomar. any other sealer means you have to spend forever cleaning it off.

i really hope this works for you!!

 

Well after letting it sit for 24 hours then going for a couple hour cruise its leaking at the same spot where the head is chipped. I wish I had jb welded it or made some other repair there.

 

On the plus side it was a great day for a drive!

 

are you referring to the abnormality in your first photo as the "chip" in your (cylinder head) casting?

 

Joe that's exactly where the leak is, again.

 

For what it is worth.

I would use the factory valve cover.. The sealing surface of the one you showed is fine. but replace them if you choose to do so. I have dealt with much worse and got them to not leak.

AS for gaskets. I use CORK. YES...I know...with all the new fangled stuff...why not use the type that do not require any sealant. My feeling on that is this.

I DO use the new type of gaskets when the head surface for the gasket is a MACHINED FLAT surface. If the head is the 'old school ' cast rounded edge. I use cork...NOT rubber. AND...TO DATE....I do not get leaks.


It has a lot to do with the amount of sealer that is applied to the valve cover surface. I generally apply the sealer to the thickness of a paper match stick...and THEN the amount of sealer I use on the gasket before I set it on the head....which is slight thicker that the paper of a match stick book. I then take my finger and apply a very light film of my sealer on the head v/c gasket surface. I am not looking for any build...just want to get it 'wet' so-to-speak....so the sealer on the v/c gasket will make contact with it and join up.


I then place the v/c on the head and put the nuts or bolts in and just barely sung them....so I am not mashing out all of my sealer. Then in time...I go back and tighten them up.

DUB

 

Thank you DUB. I can see what you mean about the different head gasket surfaces. In hindsight I think the gaskets I got would be better suited on a smoother surface. I used a thin layer of sealer like you said. I just can't understand why it keeps leaking in the same exact spot, right where that chip is.

 

again, I can only speak from experience with my iron head 85 and stock valve covers - fel-pro 1628 and no sealant, and no leaks.

DUB - FYI - in the pic, the valve cover is factory OE for an iron head L98. those valve covers were originally designed for RTV sealant without gaskets. somewhere around june-july 1985, GM issued a technical service bulletin for using a gasket.

from the OP's original post/pic, the "chip" does not appear to me to be bad enough to cause issues, but, who knows....

 

Hi Dub, i like cork to, but i use "hylonar". have you heard of it? amazing stuff as a coating. zero cleanup if you ever need to take it apart, and it can be reused multiple times. highly recommend cork + hylomar. its from the uk.

 

very true about originally being designed for rtv. when i yoinked my 85's, one was oem with rtv. the other had one of those hard black plastic pos's.

the soft blue felpros i can see those being great just like they are as oil pan gaskets. but the cheap cork does great with a light coating of hylomar.

 

Going to look into that. I really want to get this thing to stop leaking.