skywalker

not sure if anyone has run across this problem before, but something everyone should check if you are running holley valve covers.
I removed my driver side cover last nite to source an annoying tick that I thought might be coming from that side. I was surprised to find that 2 of the rubber seals used on the hold down bolts had deteriorated to the point where pieces of them were missing.
these seals are obviously not resistant to the synthetic oil we are running. the covers were installed new only six months ago.
So now I am wondering about dropping the oil pan this winter. I am sure that will be fun.
THANKS HOLLEY!

User Omega

My Holley covers did not come with the rubber grommets. I used new grommets from ICT billet where I bought my bolts from.

Unreal

They reuse stock seals which do wear. Nothing about this has anything to do with the Holley covers.

skywalker

I installed a set of tall covers which came complete with hold down bolts and seals. maybe the standard covers reuse the stock parts?

realcanuk

The short covers use stock and the tall come with new. Maybe the quality of the seals provided isn’t good ? I’m going to check mine and just replace the seals with stock if they don’t look good.

Mordeth

If you over-tighten the bolts you will break off the bottom part of the seal and it will fall into the head. I have Holley tall covers and used their bolts/seals. I have my covers off every few weeks in between track events for inspection of my springs and have no issues. I do keep spare seals and bolts in my garage as the seal will wear if you keep messing with it or overtighten it. Same with the valve cover gasket. I always have a spare handy.

realcanuk

Good to know. I have the tall ones on for only a short time and haven’t had them off yet to check. I don’t expect any issues but the ops post makes me think of checking.
Agree that over tightening cause issues. Have seen that even with stock covers.

Unreal

Stock seals do same thing, they wear out, split. You can get them for $2 at autozone. It is just part of a LS motor.

realcanuk

Yeah with time. Just surprised the op said 6 months. My stock ones were fine when changed my covers after 7 years. Lol

Mordeth

All it takes is a slight overtighten and you can rip the bottom of the grommet off. They are fragile by design. Also, if you don't understand how to torque a sequence of bolts across a surface you can also damage the seal. You don't torque one bolt all the way down and then the next etc. You snug each one and then torque them evenly. The required final torque is 106 lb-in. Notice this is NOT lb-ft. A good mechanic can do this by feel. I've done it so many times that I know what 100 inch-lbs feels like. If you don't then use an inch-lb torque wrench and torque to spec using the proper procedure. This way you won't damage the grommet or over-compress the seals or strip the bolt.

Additionally, the grommet itself can tear upon removal. They are not designed to be continually removed and reinstalled (although they can be). So it might have been fine until it was removed. This is why I keep spares. If I remove the bolt and damage the grommet in the process then I simply replace it. Simple stuff. And finally, the area that usually tears on the grommet is for retention during installation. It does not serve any function once the bolt is torqued to spec.

skywalker

I do not believe this not an over tightening issue. The portion of the seal outside of the cover was fine. the part of the seal inside the cover exposed to engine oil had gone soft and mushy and was breaking apart.