'98 Valve cover won't seal. Aluminum units any better?

Y

yossarian19

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Grass Valley, CA
I've got a '98 4.0 with the stamped steel valve cover.
I replaced the gasket with a fel-pro steel cored unit. Cleaned all the surfaces, thought I was good to go. Bolted it all back together & sure enough, it still leaked.
Yesterday I tore it down, tried to straighten the cover where I detected low spots, replaced the grommets, RTV'ed both sides of the gasket, put washers on top of the grommets so the bolts wouldn't just sink right through them as happened last time, let the RTV cure and guess what?
Today, it's still showing signs of leakage.
I just re-torqued the valve cover bolts (engine hot, bolts = looser than I'd left them) but I think the cover is warped beyond my ability to straighten it, or there's some other issue I'm wholly ignorant of.
Thinking about buying one of the Crown cast aluminum units next time I get motivated. My theory goes like this : cast aluminum = stiffer / less likely to warp or leak than stamped steel.

Anyone have thoughts here?
 
IIRC there are supposed to be special washers/bushing sleeve type things inside the grommets on a 98... not sure what they're called, basically a washer with a tube built in that slots inside the grommet. Made out of steel. Do you have those, or do the bolts just ride directly on the grommets?
 
Get a can of "the right stuff" apply liberally, finger tighten the bolts, wait 4 hours and then tighten only slightly. You don't even need a gasket.
 
kastein said:
IIRC there are supposed to be special washers/bushing sleeve type things inside the grommets on a 98... not sure what they're called, basically a washer with a tube built in that slots inside the grommet. Made out of steel. Do you have those, or do the bolts just ride directly on the grommets?
Click to expand...

I don't remember what the OEM grommets were like but the ones I've gotten in two different Fel-Pro boxes have no core and are damn near worthless as far as I can tell. I thought about getting rid of them and using shorter bolts but didn't want to throw too many variables at the Jeep at once.
 
yossarian19 said:
I don't remember what the OEM grommets were like but the ones I've gotten in two different Fel-Pro boxes have no core and are damn near worthless as far as I can tell. I thought about getting rid of them and using shorter bolts but didn't want to throw too many variables at the Jeep at once.
Click to expand...

Wanted to make sure I wasn't insane or remembering something from a different vehicle so I checked the factory parts catalog. You want part number 5302 0598, there are 15 of them per engine. Little metal sleeve that goes inside the grommet, I could have sworn they had a washer/flange that went under the bolt head but I might be wrong. Washers under the bolt head probably won't hurt, too, but you need those sleeves IMO. The gasket may not even be aligning properly with the head and cover without them... but only by like 25-50 thou.
 
There are metal washers with a limiter built into them(the tube thing). They DO NOT come in the gasket kits. They give you new grommets with the gasket, but you need to reuse the limiter/sleeve deals.
Without those assembled properly, you will never get that cover to seal properly.
 
You must use the proper pieces with the factory valve cover. What generally happens to all valve cover is that the fasteners get over tightened which distorts the steel.

Now... You can lay a straight edge onto the mating surface to check for distortion. If the cover has been distorted, it is not trash as it can be easily repaired.

To repair the distortion lightly tap the steel back into place using something to back the lip whilst tapping on it. Some folk have used socket extension clamped in a vice as a back up.

Technically, it is called a "bucking bar" and toe purpose is to provide a flat surface so that you do not drive the dent past centre.

As fr getting new grommets, here is a link to an eBay sale that includes grommets:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-Wrangler-4-0L-L6-Valve-Cover-Gasket-Set-Kit-NEW-/130975895794?fits=Make%3AJeep%7CModel%3ACherokee

Note that a quality gasket is steel reinforced.
 
I went through this with a Dorman valve cover. NEVER BUY A DORMAN VALVE COVER. It was not true, not even close. Leaked like a sieve out of the back.

I had to go back to an OEM to stop it from leaking. I bought a couple of used ones off of ebay to try them out and finally go it.

I still have my OEM valve cover that never leaked too, if you want it yossarian.

Fel-pro blue is a great gasket too, but track down the OEM fasteners to use.
 
OGS, that valve cover gasket kit you linked is probably the one he is using, it doesn't appear to come with the proper sleeves that go inside the grommets because you are supposed to reuse them.
 
So what I need to do is get to a junkyard and harvest some of those OEM sleeves.
I figured there was something I was missing. Wish I hadn't tossed those grommets in the first place - I totally missed that there was anything special / to be reused there. Sigh.
Thanks for the help, gentlemen. I'll post up results when I have some.
 
yossarian19 said:
I figured there was something I was missing. Wish I hadn't tossed those grommets in the first place - I totally missed that there was anything special / to be reused there.
Click to expand...

Don't feel too bad, I threw them out while replacing a valve cover gasket several years ago. Didn't know they were important until it came time to reassemble things and the trash was long gone.
A quick search found Oldman's advice to seal the cover with Right Stuff gasket maker. It worked fine and never leaked.
I did pick up a set of seal bushings at the JY, for next time.
 
You're in luck, if you haven't already bought 15 of the stupid things from the dealer.

I just pulled an '04 WJ's TUPY 0331 head at the junkyard today for NAXJA member 90XJay and right before leaving, remembered this thread as I was putting the valve cover back under the hood for the next person. Pulled all the steel sleeves. They're really greasy, but I'm gonna dump em in the bucket of degreaser. PM me an address to mail them to and I'll toss them in a bubble mailer for you sometime this week, just pay it forward next time someone needs something small you happen to have around.
 
!
I ordered 15 of them already. Don't know if they've shipped yet. I might get back to you in a couple days, saying they didn't actually have them in stock. It's a discontinued part.
Keep them in that bucket JIC if you don't mind :)
 
Will do! I never throw usable hardware out, it goes in the "friends calling me at 11pm in a panic" bucket.

I sure hope you didn't order from factorychryslerparts.com, they're scumbags and I had to get my bank involved. Almost any other seller is preferable.
 
OK, thought I'd update with what finally worked. To summarize, if you have a PITA valve cover leak:
Remove the valve cover and make sure to keep the steel grommet inserts. Your cover won't ever seal without them.
Clean the cylinder head as well as you can, mostly to make sure no grit is on the gasket surface. oil shouldn't matter much.
Get a straight edge, a flat piece of plate (unbent) and a flashlight. Hold the valve cover to the straight (whatever) and shine light behind it. You want to see zero light in a perfect world but what you are going for, here on Earth, is to get everything as flat as possible. A brass drift, a workbench, a hammer & patience will get you there.
Don't even bother putting it back together until it's pretty damn flat.
Any minor imperfections in the valve cover should be cleaned up nicely & given some RTV sealant.
Reassemble with new gasket & grommets. RTV goes *only* on the valve cover itself & *only* where it's needed to fill in minor gaps.
Torque it all down with a torque wrench if you have one that goes below 10 ft lbs, hand tight if not. With the torque limiting sleeves in place, you really just want them all "tight" since force applied to the gasket is being limited. You just need the bolt to not back off.

The good news for me is that Kastein sent me the inserts and I got the VC to stop leaking. Bad news? Oil pan gasket & rear main appear to still be leaking.
 
I usually start from the two closest to the center and then spiral my way out. Sometimes I go in a star pattern... once it's seated I usually just do some variant of "tighten one, skip three" until they all seem tight enough.

Glad to hear the VC doesn't leak anymore, sucks about the RMS/oil pan.
 
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