Cam Tower Cover gasket leaks

[michaelj]

I have had it with these things. I am afraid to tighten them too much for fear of breaking the bridge in the cambox. But i do give them a good shove with the wrench. The gaskets are newer rubber types, i dont know if there is any better. And its only the exhaust side. Does anyone have any gasket suggestions? Should i use a sealer and mummify the cams? I do not have any type of PCV in play, just the vent tube on the drivers side of the block. Thanks amigos! Mike

[SpiderParts]

The black neoprene cambox gaskets certainly are prone to leakage. The old-fashioned cork gaskets usually do the trick. Try RockAuto.

[Frog2Spider]

Like SpiderParts said. Try to find cork. But also to prepared to gently tighten as may be necessary, every couple of months, for about 3 times because the gaskets collapse. Do not use silicone!
I bought a '81 with 39,000 miles that had sat for 15 years. Every seal and gasket, fuel, oil and coolent leaked! Believe me, I feel your pain, and this worked for me.

Dave.

[aj81spider]

A good shove with the wrench is too much and will deform the cover so it leaks.

Hand tighten - then no more than a half turn more. If you have a torque wrench it's 7 ft-lbs.

I had the opposite experience with gaskets. I had cork that leaked quite a bit. Switched to rubber and the leaks were cured (after I learned not to over tighten the cover bolts).

Take the covers off and make sure they are flat before trying again. You may have bent them, or they may not have been flat to start with. If they aren't flat you'll never get them to seal.

[RRoller123]

+1. Rubber gaskets for 6 years, no leaks. Just check for flatness, and no sealant necessary at all. Be sure not to overtighten.

Another thing to consider that has not been mentioned yet is to ensure that there are no cross gouges in the mating surfaces of the covers, even flat ones, that might not seal and allow oil to leak past. I sanded everything flat with 220 grit paper on the table saw surface.

Also, clean the mating surfaces well with mineral spirits before assembly.

[MattVAS]

Leaky valve cover gaskets are the norm on Fiat 124s.
We hear about this almost every day. There are few reasons that cause this.
1. Crank Breather Can is blocked up causing a bit of excess pressure in the engine. Thus one of the weakest gaskets leaks first (valve cover being that gasket)
2. Better oil flow into the cam tower than out. Obviously you want your cam lubricated, but the way it does this they basically don't drain the oil fast enough back out.
3. Uneven surfaces.

I've personally seen leaks on all the different materials for valve cover gaskets. IMHO none truly seem any better than the other. But I do personally like the rubber/cork blend gaskets.

Usually the issue is a combination of the first 2. Removing the fully cleaning your crank breather can and replacing the hoses to it usually cuts the leak down a whole lot.

Good luck.

[michaelj]

Good stuff guys thanks! I will check the exhaust one for flatness and scoring. I tightened up the oil fill cap and i still get a big of oil there, but its quite reduced compared to what it was. Im not sold on the rubber. I have it in my big block chevy and am about done with it there too. I used it (1970 Monte Carlo) because its a beastie solid roller cam and i wanted to be able to check lash easier.

Hey Matt whats a crankcase can? Mine just dumps straight out the hose which is routed down next to the starter and dumps out under the car. I almost want to hook it up to the air cleaner intake and get some vacuum in there.

[JohnMc]

Is there a place to get cork gaskets? I remember that they worked better in the real old days.

[JohnMc]

Never mind. Saw that Fel-Pro makes a cork one.