FE (390) Oil Leak

[t-waits]

Is there any fool proof way to stop leaking valve covers on a FE (390) engine? I have spent countless $$$ trying to do so with little luck. They seem to last for a year or so and start backing seeping. I have original "Powered By Ford" covers and I am at the point now where I am starting to consider going with an afertmarket set such as cast aluminum from Ford Motorsports.

Any ideas on a fix or any do's and dont's with aftermarket parts?

Travis

[convincor]

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... er+gaskets

[fordman]

a couple of different things can happen to a valve cover intsallation. 1 is the gasket. cork gaskets can seep through them. using a different type of gasket other than cork can help stop that seeping you can get with cork. 2 is that when a valve cover or oil pan gets tightened. it can be overtightened and dent the hole where the bolt goes through it at and there by warp the cover. the cover must be flat all the way around to work properly. only torque down the cover as tight as it is suppose to be torqued. if the cover if warped you can unwarp it by denting the holes back up to make them flat with the rest of the cover. turn it upside down with the lip on a piece of wood and take a small hammer and tap the hole back flat using the wood as the back up piece to keep from denting the hole back the wrong way. 3 you can also try a sealer onto the cover before you put the gasket on. a sealer may not do much good between the head and gasket though. its just not a good surface to stick a sealer to.