Small block valve cover gasket

[73chalngr]

 Looking for recommendations on the best small block valve cover gaskets  .

[Dakota]

 

[JS29]

I think it's felpro that makes a silicone gasket with steel inserts for the bolts to go true, and are re-usable, but i an not sure if they have them for your application. 

[PatO]

Not sure about felpro but moroso makes this one that has a steel core. Pretty thick and will seal some irregularities in on the portion of the head where the gasket seats.

[PatO]

A really good idea, if your heads are ever off is to have the top sealing surface / valve cover seat, machined flat. This will help immensely with leaks at the base of the valve cover.

[Chryco Psycho]

What are you trying to seal up ?
Factory heads are far from flat unfortunately but steel covers will flex & conform to the surface
Alum covers are the worst & can easily be broken when tightening them onto a factory head as they will not conform , generally a soft thick gasket will work better in this case .
The aftermarket heads usually have milled rails & are easy to to seal with any covers .
I have used the Blue gaskets with steel inserts with godd success in some cases , sometimes & double thick cork will work well also .

[73chalngr]

My mopar performance chrome valve covers are leaking . My motor was built about 30 years ago . Not sure if I used rubber reusable ones or not .

[73chalngr]

Covers are on j heads

[MOPAR MITCH]

I onu use and highly recommend the Fel-Pro CORK-LAM SET #1646.  These are hj-grade cork rubber with a steel center core... total thickness .313".    The cork rubber is conformable to irregularities of the cylinder head's valve cover rails, as well as conformable to the flange of nearly every different kind of valve cover.

I'm a former Fel-Pro engineer... these are the best for our engines.... they are the only valve cover gaskets that I ever use... never leaks and easy to align.... lasts many long years.   

Problems with molded silicone with steel center core is that they are not very forgiving to flange/mating surface distortion or irregularities.

[73chalngr]

 Thanks Mitch   .   I have seen some Fel-Pro gaskets requiring a special sealant do these gaskets require the special sealant  ?

[boydsdodge]

The best gaskets I have found are the P5249581, original used on the late 80s cop small blocks.
I stocked up on them years ago, not sure if Mopar is still stocking. Have a look, great gasket, reusable for most of the cars life.

[RUNCHARGER]

The steel core ones really work well by not squirming around.

[MOPAR MITCH]

Sealants?... best installed dry, especially rubber to be installed dry!  The gasket does the sealing... not the chemical.   

The steel cored gaskets are stable and align easily.

Non-steel-cored gaskets are a bit flexible and ... for alignment purposes only... can use a quick-drying contact cement to attach it to thew valve cover.

I prefer to use studs in the cylinder heads.. helps with aligning the gaskets.

Some gaskets (non-steel-cored) will have little outside tabs that are intended to fit inside the factory stamped steel covers... for attachment and alignment purposes.

[nsmall]

Sealants?... best installed dry, especially rubber to be installed dry!  The gasket does the sealing... not the chemical.   

The steel cored gaskets are stable and align easily.

Non-steel-cored gaskets are a bit flexible and ... for alignment purposes only... can use a quick-drying contact cement to attach it to thew valve cover.

I prefer to use studs in the cylinder heads.. helps with aligning the gaskets.

Some gaskets (non-steel-cored) will have little outside tabs that are intended to fit inside the factory stamped steel covers... for attachment and alignment purposes.

@MOPAR MITCH   Sorry, just to confirm, you dont have to use a sealant for these covers to seal properly?  I have the mopar performance aluminum valve cover and I have read good things based on your tip in this thread to use these felpro 1646 gaskets.  I have a small leak on my passenger side near the firewall on my stock 340.  Thank you.

Neil

[jimynick]

"The best gaskets I have found are the P5249581" I took your advice and called my local Mopar dealer. The part# was B/O'd and I asked him to add me to it. He called the next day and said that Chrysler has cancelled my order and that there were not going to be any more available. This's in Ontario, Canada and he said there were a couple of US dealers who showed a bit of stock, so good luck.