Hi guys,
Noticed my valve covers look like they're leaking a little oil. So rockauto.com has rubber and cork valve covers for the same price. Which are better? Or does it depend on climate, driving conditions, etc?
Thanks
Alex

 

I personally prefer the cork hands down.

 

I like the Fel-Pro rubber gaskets I have. I use silicone sealer to sorta glue the rubber to the valvecover lip, and then I just place em on the car and tighten em down. But I've got centerbolt heads. Never dealt with perimeter bolt heads.

 

either one is good if installed properly. i run cork now and no leaks.

 

I vote for rubber. When I see rubber after taking covers off it gives me relief that its one less thing I may need to buy. The cork is most likely to get brittle and break. Rubber can compress too much though, making it useless as well, but at least in my exp its better to have a chance then not.

Just changed some for a friend a while back. The cork stuck to the head and the cover. It broke apart like I thought it would. I put some rubber on it. If anything its better to use rubber for the clean up. No fishing for cork all over the motor.

 

+1 for rubber. IMO they seal much better and last longer.

 

The centerbolt heads use silicone rubber type gaskets. Theyre much different than the rubber impregnated, fiber composite, or straight cork perimeter bolt gaskets (and much better IMO). Theyre fully reusable. But, they require reinforced valve covers and machined sealing surfaces, so they are not available for standard perimeter bolt heads AFAIK.

Ive used the rubber impregnated (which is probably what rockauto has), and theyre better than cork IMHO. But, they crush down after a while like cork and may leak in the long run.

 

mr gasket makes a cork gasket that has a silicone skin for centerbolt heads now for those that hate fighting the silicone rubber, most stock valve covers hold them well enough but i have seen several aftermarket sets that were impossible to install the silicone rubber gasket on

mr gasket 5867 is the part number

 

It appears that they are: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FP...n/?prefilter=1

 

I have a set of valve covers like that. Temporarily taping the corners of the gasket in place with electrical tape helps to install them. Once the valve covers are snug you just pull the tape out.

 

They probably only work with reinforcement or aftermarket VCs, but still worth it IMO given corkes tendancy to leak in the long term. I wonder if they have enough give to conform to rough surfaces?

 

I'll be ordering a set in a few days, and they will be going on 60's heads, so in a couple months, (when the engine is finally started) I guess I'll find out how well they seal on rough surfaces.

 

we tried tape and glue and anything we could think of and we never got them to stay in that particular set at the time we hadnt found the
mr gasket 5867 and used a perimeter bolt gasket trimmed and siliconed to fit and try to seal and it worked sorta but eventually leaked

i have 2 sets of the 5867s in service with no leaks so far

 

Wow, thanks for all the tips. Lots to think about, Alex

 

Get rubber. Cork is a thing of the past. It falls apart and is a bitch to remove. It came with rubber, so put rubber back on it. It's a no brainer. I'm taking college automotive classes. Teacher says cork is usually only good for factory replacement.