Ok everyone I have two questions to ask but first here is what I am working on:
1983 Pontiac Firebird $600.00 cash has run so far farily decent with a little TLC.
2.8L V-6 2bbl Engine Been poorly maintained at best

Ok I am leaking oil from both valve covers. I went to Autozone like a fool and trusted them to give me the right gaskets (oops) They gave me corks and they are wrong size cause they stick out from valve cover after being placed and bolted down.

Ok First off How do i get the passenger's side valve cover off without removing the carb? It seems the throttle linkage is in the way bad.

Second. I picked up some Fel Pro Rubber gaskets should I use RTV on them or not?

Any help on this matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Well i can say much for the removal of the valve covers as i ave not owned a carbed 2.8. However for the leaking like a sieve i can help.

1. Ensure the valve covers are not damaged. Commonly what happens to them is the peal people try to tighten them, bend them, leaks worse, tighten more, more damage. If there bent they must be straitened or replaced first.

2. Spreader bars should have been equipped on the motor already to help with even torquing. If they are missing i recommend you get some.

3. Personally i like cork gaskets but rubber is fine too. The key i find to having a perfect no questions asked leak free seal is in the application of rtv sealant. First make sure all wires and hoses are out of the way so when you go to put on the valve cover nothing is in the way.

4. Clean the sealing surfaces with something like brake cleaner. Ide say you can spray down the sealing surface on the valve cover with brake cleaner (just let it dry afterwords). However for the motors sealing surface i recommend spraying some brake cleaner on a rag and wiping it over the surface to clean the oil off.

5. Lastly apply the RTV sealant to both sides of the gasket. Dont need to use to much just make sure you have covered both sides adequately. then put it all together making sure the valve cover gasket is properly line up.

6. The final and probably most important step is to toque them down evenly without over tightening. Work in like a star pattern working your way around the valve cover tightening each bolt a little as you go. If done carefully it should take about 3 times around to evenly torque all the bolts down to ensure the valve cover sits flat when your done and minimizes the chances of bending the cover.

If you follow those steps your valve cover will seal weather it wants to or not lol. However also to note i know how on 2.8s part of where the valve cover sits is on the head and the other part is the intake manifold. Check to make sure there mated together properly or else it will leak at that seam.

 

i have 3 things to add to what Rolling Thunder said:

1) i used Summit rubber steel core gaskets on my valve covers...work great. idk if they're available for your motor, but i'd look into it.

2) use the valve cover spreaders- it spreads the pressure of the valve cover bolt evenly to make a better seal.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPZ4PK

3) if you decide to use the RTV, make sure you read the packaging and get the one that says it has better oil resistance- that way you're less likely to get a leak.

 

Thank you for all of the tips and help. Now I got the leaks fixed and no oil anywhere, but a new problem has arose. I started up my bird an let it idle to check for leaks and everything after about 15 minutes or so, I began to get smoke that smells hot almost like plastic burning or melting from the rear of my engine near the distributor and below it. The smoke was coming from below my exhaust maniflds and rising through the areas around the plug wires.

 

It could be just oil still burning off. It takes a while to really get cleaned off. However i wouldnt just assume thats the case especially if it smells like plastic. Check over your wiring harnesses and plug wires to make sure nothings getting too hot on a exhaust manifold or something. Especially check the wires going to your starter motor.