Any tips on replacing valve cover gaskets? 1989 Grand Marquis

[bradalack]

Hello I am a novice at fixing cars but my grand marquis has a pretty bad oil leak coming from the valve cover gasket on my driver's side and I'm about to replace them are there any tips or tricks I should know about like tightening sequence or using a special kind of gasket sealer in certain spots? I haven't done this before but I have helped my father with his toyota pickup before so I'm hopeful.

[L1011tristar17]

I did mine a while ago, but here's what I remember.

-Buy good gaskets. Get rubber. Cork gaskets are cheaper and won't last as long after you replace them. I didn't need to use any sealant.
-You have to remove the upper intake to get to the valve covers. Six 1/2" bolts and two of them are hidden under the black 5.0 plaque
-My shop manual specifies a torque sequence and has you go through a second time and re-tighten everything a few minutes later. I think this is due to the oil getting into the threads. So if it starts leaking soon after you may just simply have to retighten everything again. You also have to retorque the bolts to the upper intake after the car has been running.
-Upper to lower intake gasket is reusable. Hold onto it unless it is broken.

Luckily this is a common repair for these cars, so I'm sure other members can jump in with more specific info.

[gadget73]

FelPro Permadry gaskets. Not cheap, but they work.

Change the vacuum lines while you're in there. Change the PCV parts too. Look down the back of the motor to see if the lower intake is dumping oil also.

[BuffaloRider]

I need to do this sometime this summer/fall as well so thanks for bringing the topic up so that I didn't have to.

Now do you want to completely remove the upper intake manifold or just move it enough to get clearance?

[BigT]

FelPro Permadry gaskets. Not cheap, but they work.

This!

[chitownvic]

X10000 on the good gaskets


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[gadget73]

I need to do this sometime this summer/fall as well so thanks for bringing the topic up so that I didn't have to.

Now do you want to completely remove the upper intake manifold or just move it enough to get clearance?

just remove it. You'll spend more time shuffling it around than just taking it off and putting it out of the way. More risk of breaking things too. There really isn't that much involved in taking it off. Just make sure you mark the two coolant hoses so that they don't get plugged into a vacuum port. The engine will not be happy about that.

[bradalack]

Wow, thanks guys I really appreciate all the info. I already bought some cork gaskets cause I'm tight on cash at the moment but I might see if I can afford some of the rubber ones. Might try to tackle this beast sometime next week. Also noob question, what's PCV?

[jaywish]

Positive Crankcase Ventilation. Buy a new PCV + screen + gasket. It is much easier to change when stuff is out of the way. A clogged screen can cause oil gasket leaks and a dirty engine interior.

[L1011tristar17]

One tip with the PCV grommet: Chances are the ones from the part store might be too small and not fit snug into the intake. I wrapped some electrical tape around it and it seals good.

[BuffaloRider]

Pantera posted this link to a write up he did on another forum for the pcv trio. Its a good reference.

http://crownvic.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=1587

[Deno McThrash]

+1 on the felpro permadry gaskets. I think they also have compression stops so you can't overtorque them. I think the valve cover gaskets must be a common issue with the 5.0 because I've had to do it on both my panthers.

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[gadget73]

Ford themselves eventually gave up on cork. I think around 1991 they started using this rubber over steel gasket thats similar to the FelPro design. Cork gaskets just don't last forever. You'll find all makes of vehicle with cork gaskets that piss oil.

[L1011tristar17]

I'm currently replacing the ones on my car with felpro rubber gaskets. I took one side off already and found two little washers on the ground. They're about 1/16" thick and are the size to fit around the valve cover bolts. Are those important or just extras that came with the gasket set?

[johnunit]

Also, especially if you've tried to tighten them down to top the leaking, you may have non-flat sealing surfaces on your valve covers. Lay them down on a straight/flat surface and see if you see more than the tiniest sliver of light. Mine had been pushed down around the bolt holes, and as a result of that (and perhaps the cork gaskets) they didn't seal properly. This time around it gets the permadry's and some time spent banging the bolt hole areas back up so the rail portions can seal.