Valve cover gasket seal 77 280z

[MH77280Z]

Hi Guys,

Need to make sure i do this right. Gasket was torn and i am putting a new one. So clean the valve cover side and apply high temp sealant? put the gasket on top and tighten. Nothing on the engine side.

Also, there are groves in the valve cover, do i have to apply the sealant all around the perimeter? (dumb Q i suppose!!!).

Better ask than mess up. Can you advise?

[heyitsrama]

Yeah that sounds about right. You put the RTV between the cover and the gasket so you can remove it all as one part when you need to service the valves.

Black RTV and  a black wrinkle finished cover is the correct choice. 😉

[Barefootdan]

Ooooo not to throw a wrench in the process but I’ve done the gasket dry with no sealant and haven’t had issues yet. But @heyitsramahas an EXCELLENT point about taking it off easily. Mine is a PITA to align everytime I did the valves….might need to RTV next time 🙂

 

edit: just to clarify, not saying RTV is bad. But you shouldn’t have issues if you dont use RTV too! 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Barefootdan

[SteveJ]

I'm in the NO RTV club. I worked on a guy's 280ZX turbo about a year ago. I was setting the valve lash for him. After that I was removing bits of RTV from the camshaft. Heaven knows how much got down into oil passages. Before putting on a new valve cover gasket, I thoroughly cleaned the mating surface on the head and valve cover gasket and sprayed out the valve cover to get more little bits of RTV out.

Get a Nissan valve cover gasket. Line it up carefully. Don't over-torque the bolts when you put it on. Done.

Edited April 2, 2022 by SteveJ

[Reptoid Overlords]

The key is getting the torque on the bolts correct.  I think the FSM says the torque spec is "tighten it until it doesn't leak"

[MH77280Z]

Decided to NOT use any RTV and things look very good without it.

I read a lot of threads where people broke bolt heads and some just over tightening the screw in aluminum and damaging the threads, decided to just hand tight and keep it checked. Thats the safest way i think.

[kully 560]

mine leaked and had to use rtv, the bolts would not stay tight at 84 inch pounds. I did not want to snap a bolt so if I need to go into the valve train I will replace the gasket.

[Yarb]

Did you use a factory gasket or aftermarket?

[kully 560]

aftermarket gasket I believe it was a felpro . I have a power coated valve cover with stainless steel bolts. they were about a 1/8" shorter then the factory bolts, that is why I stopped at 84" pounds on the torque. I did use black rtv gasket sealer and I only applied a very thin layer on the head and set the gasket on it with the bolts holding it in place until it got tacky. then I applied a very thin layer of the rtv on the cover and put it together . I did let it set over night before I started the motor.

[Yarb]

Powder coated should not make a difference unless the lower face was coated. The Nissan gaskets available at your local dealer don’t require any adhesive., and can be used over and over again as long as they aren’t damaged. Any reason why you did not use the factory bolts? Grab a factory gasket, clean everything and reinstall. Just my 2 cents….

[kully 560]

I was not saying anything about the power coated cover!  I meant that I wanted nice looking bolts and found allen head [stainless steel] nice looking bolts to go with the cover.  but they were about 1/8" shorter and I did not want the torque any higher than 84" pounds. I have no problem with leaks, so when it is time to adjust the valves I will change the gasket. I am sure the nissan gaskets are nice but do you think nissan really makes there own?

[Yarb]

All I can say is Nissan gaskets don’t require adhesive and are reusable.