235 Valve cover leaks oil. Back in the day we used to soak in warm water before using. How about now? Should I do the same ?
leak I've never soaked mine, and never had a problem. I find that the gasket surface not being flat ( from being tighened ) causes alot of problems. I put on a Fel-pro gasket when I got my truck, and have had it off twice for valve adjustment, and no leaks. Ron
Soaking old cork gaskets still works but most of the time the problem is the lack of factory gussets where the screws go through the cover's lip , causing dents . If you get a long 2X4 or have something with a long , sharp edge on it , invert the cover and lay it so the edge is *perfectly* supported then use the ball end of a ballpien hammer (32 Oz or heavier) to dress down the dimple and get new metal gussting bits from Chevy Duty . DON't dent up the little edge ! . Yes , you can use those wide gusseting bits from any old V-8 engine , they're not " correct " but they excell . It's pretty easy to bend the lip of the rocker box all to hell but if it leaks anyhow , why note give it a try ~ new ones are available cheaply . BTW : anytime you have a shrunken cork gasket (like inside the spark plug cover on 216's) go to the thrift store (or wait 'till SWMBO's out of town) and get a shallow baking pan that's _black_ ~ lay the gasket in it and fill with water , set out in the sun all day , the black pan will soak up the heat and heat the water to soften up the gasket . Sometimes this works out well with fiber typ gaskets , occasionally they'll turn to mush so be aware . I hope this helped .
Old Is Good ..Sometimes anyways I wnet to an 18 YO boy's birthday and BBQ to-day , wow that made me think of years gone past . this kid seems O.K. , is about to graduate ( only 65 % do here in La-La Land (home of fruits & nuts) Carry on then ! .
