Mc.Queen 964

Hi guys,

I remove the down engine cover about 2 month ago.. And my car (I use it on weekends only) leave 3-4 drops of oil in the left and another 3-4 in the right side..

I have a brand new set of valve cover gasket, but I don't know if I have to change them for only some drops of oil.., What do you think guys?

Another thing guys.. what do you feel when you've got a bad rotor/cap rotor or a bad coil?

Regards.

newsboy

Are you sure it's coming from the valve covers? You could do it at your next oil change, so you wouldn't have to deal with oil leaking while you do the change.
You should be able to tell if the rotor/cap is bad by looking at them. Bad Coils are a different story, and can result in many different electrical gremlins. If they never have been changed, I would change them.

Mc.Queen 964

Yes, I'm sure.

boxsey911

If your valve covers are leaking, changing the gaskets might help. However, it's more likely that the covers themselves have warped and therefore they won't seal on the gaskets properly. It's quite a common problem.

Mc.Queen 964

So.. I leave it?

crg53

If you are sure it IS the valve covers, take one of them off, clean it up and then lay it on a FLAT surface; if you have access to a surface table, that would be good, if not you can use a thick piece of glass and a set of feeler gauges to check for flatness. If the cover is warped, you can lap it on the surface/glass with 400 grit lapping compound using figure 8 movements over the whole area of the flat surface, keep doing this until 0.001" (0.025 m/m) will not slide under the cover in any place. Now you know the cover is flat, install new gasket and reinstall, torque to 7 ft/lbs.

DWS964

I also suggest doing a Proper torqueing of the valve cover nuts. Buy a 1/4" torque wrench, and torque them evenly, in small increments, in an even pattern, working up to the final torque value (which is not much! - much less than most Gorillas in the shop will torque them to!) I am convinced this is the secret to having dry valve covers.

Mc.Queen 964

And should I put any glue in the gasket? I have heard something to put a hightemp glue..

crg53

You should not have to use any gasket sealant, but if you want, there is a product called "CURIL T", comes highly recommended, also used in other areas on the engine.

tbennett017

No sealant...

I got a set of billet covers from Steve W at Rennsport. They are perfectly flat and don't leak a drop. Also DO follow tightening instructions. 7 Ft/lbs. is not much at all, just wrist tight with a 1/4 inch drive.

DWS964

Get and Use a 1/4" torque wrench - I was amazed at how "light" the torque is, and how precisely you can tighten something so "delicate". I bought one from Harbor Freight, not too pricey, and probably not the most accurate, but better than a calibrated gorilla wrist.

DWS964

And no, Tom, I was not comparing your wrist to that of a gorilla. Well, perhaps a limp-wristed gorilla?
:-)