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Old 12-20-2019, 03:36 PM
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92GTA 92GTA is offline
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Default What size valve cover spacers?

I need to swap out my current valve covers which have no drippers to clear the roller rockers, to ones that do. I just get a crazy amount of oil most out of the breather and up to now have just been using a vented remote breather tank to compensate.

I have 670 heads, COMP 995 springs, and COMP Magnum 1.5 roller tip rockers.

I see the metal valve cover spacers being sold by a couple of vendors in different sizes. Does anyone know at a minimum, what thickness I need?

Also, do I just use 2 sets of cork gaskets? Like one on the top and bottom of the spacer?

I have considered going with fabbed solid aluminum valve covers but these have no oil drippers either and it would just put me back at square one, unfortunately.

Thanks!

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Old 12-20-2019, 04:00 PM
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I use 3/8" spacers under my Cal Customs finned covers. I've found that the rubber gaskets work well for me and are reusable. I run Harland Sharp 1.5 aluminum full roller rockers

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frittering and wasting the hours in an off hand way....



1969 GTO, 455ci, 230/236 Pontiac Dude's "Butcher Special" Comp hyd roller cam with Crower HIPPO solid roller lifters, Q-jet, Edelbrock P4B-QJ, Doug's headers, ported 6X-8 (97cc) heads, TKO600, 3.73 geared Eaton Tru-Trac 8.5", hydroboost, rear disc brakes......and my greatest mechanical feat....a new heater core.
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Old 12-20-2019, 04:05 PM
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Thanks.

I run the rubber gaskets with the steel inside and I'm also using gasket maker and valve cover bolt spreaders. But no matter what, I always seem to get oil seep. That's why I just wanted to go back to old school cork ones.

I planned on glueing the bottom cork gasket to the head, glueing the spacer to the top of that, then glueing the top cork gasket to the bottom of the valve cover. No glue from the top cork gasket to the top of the spacer. That way it will be reusable a few times for me as well and will be well sealed on the bottom under the spacer where the leaks are prone.

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Old 12-20-2019, 04:13 PM
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I'm not sure they still make the gaskets I have. They are simply plain rubber. FelPro if I remember correctly. Never a leak and given that two sets are needed there is plenty of opportunity for a gusher. Installed dry. I bought 4 sets over 10 years ago when I went with the spacers and still have the 2 extra.

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frittering and wasting the hours in an off hand way....



1969 GTO, 455ci, 230/236 Pontiac Dude's "Butcher Special" Comp hyd roller cam with Crower HIPPO solid roller lifters, Q-jet, Edelbrock P4B-QJ, Doug's headers, ported 6X-8 (97cc) heads, TKO600, 3.73 geared Eaton Tru-Trac 8.5", hydroboost, rear disc brakes......and my greatest mechanical feat....a new heater core.

Last edited by David Jones; 12-20-2019 at 04:18 PM.
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Old 12-20-2019, 04:17 PM
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Yeah I've looked for FelPro rubber valve cover gaskets and never could find them for Pontiac. They must be discontinued.

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Old 12-20-2019, 04:20 PM
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I generally post part numbers when I do something but in looking back in the archives I find that I simply said I used FelPro plain rubber. As you said, a Google search came up with nothing.

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frittering and wasting the hours in an off hand way....



1969 GTO, 455ci, 230/236 Pontiac Dude's "Butcher Special" Comp hyd roller cam with Crower HIPPO solid roller lifters, Q-jet, Edelbrock P4B-QJ, Doug's headers, ported 6X-8 (97cc) heads, TKO600, 3.73 geared Eaton Tru-Trac 8.5", hydroboost, rear disc brakes......and my greatest mechanical feat....a new heater core.
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Old 12-20-2019, 04:22 PM
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Hard to beat the 5/16 Butler gaskets.Im having a hard time trying to understand the oiling problem?Im running 3 diff engines right now with a factory PCV and stock covers with no issue.2 of them have 1.65 H&S roller rockers under stock covers with the Butler gaskets.Tom

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Old 12-20-2019, 04:24 PM
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Rock Auto on the plain rubber gaskets. A bit less than $8 a set. They call them "old design". https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t1Sm0cqw%3D%3D

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frittering and wasting the hours in an off hand way....



1969 GTO, 455ci, 230/236 Pontiac Dude's "Butcher Special" Comp hyd roller cam with Crower HIPPO solid roller lifters, Q-jet, Edelbrock P4B-QJ, Doug's headers, ported 6X-8 (97cc) heads, TKO600, 3.73 geared Eaton Tru-Trac 8.5", hydroboost, rear disc brakes......and my greatest mechanical feat....a new heater core.
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Old 12-20-2019, 05:53 PM
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I think you may have been typing your original post up on a phone. Just to be clear, you want valve covers with drippers so that you don't get oil mist out of the vented caps? Am I reading that right?

If that's correct, I don't know that going to a valve cover with drippers is going to solve that issue. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, especially considering you are running a rocker with a ball trunion, but I don't know if those things will condense the oil and keep it from misting onto the top of your valve covers.

Instead I'd look at doing something like what Nick Lingua here has on his GTO.

https://www.mightymousesolutions.com...t-page/pcv-can

He clued me in to this and it's the system I'm going to be running. While I don't get a lot of mist from my valve cover breathers, what I do get is a lot of blow by gasses in the engine compartment under heavy throttle application. Considering you are wanting to track this car and will see extended high rpm use as well as oil slosh, I think this will be better.

Replace the open breather valve cover caps with a vented cap on each valve cover. Run hoses from each to the PCV/Catch Can and then a hose from the can to the back of the carb or plenum. Then seal the factory PCV.

You'll stop the misting on your valve covers, and provide a high hp PCV system that also captures most of the aerated oil before it makes it back into your intake, while also keeping the blow by gasses from gassing you and your passengers out if you're having a bit of fun on the street.

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Old 12-20-2019, 06:02 PM
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That's similar to this one I am running on my PCV line: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mio-mmbcc-uni-bk

...and I'm running this one from the driver's side valve cover breather: https://www.ebay.com/itm/173299265444

I don't intend to stop running that vented breather tank, only minimize the amount of oil that goes into it by adding the valve covers with drippers.

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Old 12-20-2019, 07:10 PM
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Using the edelbrock 7590 gasgets. Composite with metal center and extra thick. Have had no problems

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Old 12-21-2019, 04:09 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 92GTA View Post
Yeah I've looked for FelPro rubber valve cover gaskets and never could find them for Pontiac. They must be discontinued.
RockAuto still has them I just got a set

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Old 12-21-2019, 03:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 92GTA View Post
...I planned on glueing the bottom cork gasket to the head...
Valve cover gaskets have a finite life and all eventually need to be replaced, and when that time comes it will be a miserable job scrapping gasket material glued down to the head. really no fun trying to catch all the chunks while scraping it off the heads. Best to glue the gaskets to the cover and/or the spacers, and at least then you can simply take it over to the workbench to clean off.

I personally have not had good luck with the black metal-reinforced gaskets and they seem to all weep and seep on me despite being nicely snugged down. When I've removed them they are oil soaked and it's pretty obvious the oil is migrating through the gasket material.

With my current Harland Sharp rocker arms I need two of the 5/16" gaskets with my stock chrome covers and I use 3M weather stripping adhesive to glue the two gaskets to the valve covers. I plan on eventually going to the Crower stainless rockers and hoping to get by with one 5/16" cork gasket at that point. The 3M stuff holds really well and it's a good idea to have 3M's weather strip adhesive remover on hand when taking things back apart. Surprising how well the remover works when nothing else will touch that dried adhesive.

Except for the slight oil weeping through the current black gaskets, I don't have any problem with excess oil vapor through vents or the PCV system.

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Old 12-21-2019, 05:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Jones View Post
I generally post part numbers when I do something but in looking back in the archives I find that I simply said I used FelPro plain rubber. As you said, a Google search came up with nothing.
Same part number with a different suffix on the end. C for cork and R for rubber. Felpro Number VS50005C or VS50005R.

Clay

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Old 12-22-2019, 02:33 PM
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Fill your breather with copper wool and your oil issue should decrease dramatically.

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