so i started on my valve cover gaskets today, i only did one because of time, i have to sleep so i don't fall asleep at work tonight. anyway, i found out exactly why they were leaking oil. 4 of the five bolts on the bottom were loose (not even touching the cover) and one of the top bolts was also.

hmm... kinda dirty. looks like it won't be too long before i'll have to spring for the ceramic coated gibson headers. thats what i get for getting 150$ ebay headers, they have been holding up pretty good though. it was a little alarming the day i got them on, after i started it i revved it a couple times and my dad said "are they supposed to glow?" it only did that on the initial start up though when i was revving the hell out of it and listening to the tailpipes sing my kinda song.


nice, i think i can see where it was leaking.


cool, done with the easy side, now i'm gonna have to hit the hard side when i get off work thursday. i'm glad i have two vehicles and i can leave one sitting when i'm doing something to it and not have to get in a hurry. everyone ought to have a truck and a car, use the car for work (mpgs) and the truck for the days off.

 

Out of curiosity, did you recently switch to synthetic? 4 months after I switched to royal purple, the oil started to wick my engine and loosed my valve cover bolts.

 

been running synthetic for 52000 miles. and the covers have always had a little grime on them, i just finally got around to changing the gaskets. since i only lose about 3/4 of a quart between oil changes i never thought to take the time to do it. i believe switching back now wouldn't have any benefit either since people say that conventional oil swells the seals over time and synthetic doesn't hold that swelling and makes the vehicle develop leaks. it would take a long time to swell the seals back up if it even would. plus synthetic lubes better at high temps and retains viscosity longer.

 

i would go with the felpro valve cover gaskets. they're the blue rubber/aluminum sturdy ones. i had to do them a long time ago when i first got my truck, and it was indeed a PITA. regardless, i just switched to synthetic oil yesterday, hopefully i won't develop any horrible leaks. we'll see.

 

Never heard of oil loosening valve cover bolts in all of my 73 years!

 

i did get thoe exact gaskets, i've heard a few people on here talk about felpro being good so thats what i got. you can see the tabs where they were cut off the mold a little bit in the last pic. and i don't think the synthetic oil caused them to get loose, i think a more logical reason is that the oil pushing under the original gasket wore it out and reduced the space between the head and the cover. with less space, all it takes is the vibration from the engine running and oil coating the threads to loosen them over time. it was 4 bolts on the bottom and one on top that were loose, and they were the ones that were coated in oil.

 

my bolts were loose as well when i did mine a long time ago. so i know what you're talking about. that reminds me, i want to go retorque them now lol

 

Loosening valve cover bolts is a common problem on these trucks regardless of engine. It's a good idea to retorque them at every oil change.

 

ok, i popped the hood on my dads 98 5.9l and sure enough, he had 5 loose bolts on each of his covers. just like mine he only had 1 tight one on the bottom of the cover, and had 1 loose one on the top. his gasket must be stuck to the mating surfaces though, because his aren't leaking. it seems like the re-torque at every oil change doesn't sound like a bad idea. i'm just glad that these covers aren't like the ones on my camaro, you have to take the intake manifold off to get to them on that car.

 

Same as my V10 on the passenger side.