Review on Fel Pro VS50493R Valve Cover Set by Cody Howard

Valve Cover Gasket - Quite a difficult and rewarding task. It was harder than it seemed. I will share the problems with you here and hope it will help you avoid the difficult problems that I found the hard way. Bottom line, this is a good product and it has worked well for me. Kit includes gasket, screw bushings and spark plug tube gaskets. A couple of issues: After 15 years and 220,000 miles, the old gasket "welded" into the groove, hardened into a plastic substance, and wouldn't come off. Please be careful not to pry it open with sharp tools. You want the edge of the valve cover to be smooth to keep the oil in the crankcase. I used carburetor cleaner to soften hardened rubber. It took two full hours, inch by inch, to carefully remove the old gasket. The groove must be free of old gasket or oily dirt for the new gasket to work well. If you think you can't do it you can hire someone else to do it because once you start you have to finish it or oil will spill all over the engine and you can start a fire while driving. With butter. The second problem for this particular car was that the old bushings had to be cut out and the new ones slipped through a locking flange built into the bolts. Again, after cutting out the old socket, the new socket must be pushed through the plug. This was very difficult and if you don't want to risk ruining the screw you can reuse the old bushings in the screws. I reused my original bushings with no problems. The third problem was the spark plug tube seals. They fit into the holes in the valve cover so well that you run the risk of damaging the valve cover or the new gasket or both. After studying the way the seal was made, I realized that the seal was actually a thin ring of metal covered in rubber for sealing but retained its rigidity. Knowing this (after removing the cover and placing it in a stable place) I confidently knocked out the gasket from top to bottom with a flat head screwdriver without damaging the holes in the cover. To install the new gaskets, I placed a piece of wood on top of the gasket and a rubber mallet to hammer the gasket evenly into the hole. The key was to push *evenly* through the entire gasket. It's very tight and doesn't go far, even if it's not level. Do not press on the gasket with a sharp screwdriver or tool or you will tear the new gasket. They only have 4 gaskets for 4 holes (for a 4 cylinder car). The seal has extra clearance at the bent end near the manifold. Do not worry. This is intentional and provides more compaction when pressed. Although the instructions say not to use RTV sealant, I wrapped a thin line of "Permatex 82180 Ultra Black Maximum Oil Resistance RTV Silicone Gasket Maker" along the gasket groove (prior to installing the gasket) with additional sealant around the corners where the Gasket strongly bent for better sealing. The sealant is there to hold the gasket in place so you can take your time installing the valve cover right side up (with the gasket upside down in the groove) into the body. You have to go very slowly, looking for seals at every spark. plug pipe. They fit snugly to prevent oil from entering the spark plug tubes. I put a light coat of new engine oil around the edge of the new gasket as a lubricant to help with installation. (Don't forget to wipe off the "lube" after you put the cap back on.) I used my fingertip to find the gasket so it would fit as far down the tube as possible. Do not use force on the seal, otherwise it may break. Tighten the screw with the correct torque. You'll have to google your vehicle specs to find out the tightening order and torque of the bolts. The rule is: Tighten opposing screws one at a time, gradually working from the center of the cover outward to both ends. And you don't have to overtighten, otherwise you will tear off the screw. Start the car and check for leaks. If you are careful, it will work great the first time. If all of this scares you, you better hire someone to do it. That's a lot of work for a simple task. If you feel the satisfaction of doing difficult work yourself, you can do it. Much luck.