250 Valve cover gaskett

Which is better, the cork or the rubber?

 

Came from the factory with cork, if your going to take it on and off, then rubber is better.

 

Thanks Dave. I wasn't thinking about taking it off again, but who knows.

 

I like the rubber with steel shim gaskets. They are kind of expensive, but that is what I replace everything with these days, especially on the newer stuff where a simple valve cover gasket can be such a task to replace. Even more so on the Maverick

 

Go rubber. It will last way longer than the cork ones and they will make a better seal.

 

I guess it's all personal taste, and skill. I never have any problems with cork, one of my engines has been together since the late 80's, and the gaskets are holding fine.

 

I prefer cork 'cause I never had a reason to take a valve cover back off after I put one on.

 

Cork. ive had alot of "engineered" rubber gaskets fail

 

I prefer cork too! The secret to these is don't tighten it too much! All I use is a nutdriver on mine. I don't even cram on it! After a few years,if it starts to seep,you just snug it a little more. Rubber will eventually become hard and leak and there is no retightening when that happens!

 

Hmmm.. starting to lean towards the cork. It will be my son's problem next time so... he can learn how to use a scraper

 

I guess. Theres also the cork/rubber ones. I used one of those in my 200, after a year it started to leak. So i replaced it with a full black rubber one. Ive already had the gasket off 3 times since then. Once to replace the valve cover, another time to swap to an adjustable rocker setup. And a final time to replace some pushrods. I think i saved myself at least some money over having to keep rebuying cork ones for every time i took it off. And when I get a cam next year its going to have to come out again.

 

I use the thick cork ones with the steel inserts in the holes so you don't over torque them. They are made by FelPro.

 

i use those same ones on my drag car and they work real nice no leaks at all

 

cork with lots of silicone. I have never had rubber gaskets that would seal good imo. This is kinda like the pepsi vs coke debate lol

 

I like the rubber, wipe a film of silicone on the cover and a thin film on the block and bolt together. I usually wipe the surfaces with a little cleaner or thinner before to make sure there clean. In some cases I will let them sit till the next day, then I can remove the cover and reuse it if I want to. The thing I don't like about cork is that if you have a leak and you remove it sometimes it can break or it can bake on to the block to where you have to scrap it of. When scraping I have a vacuum in one hand otherwise you can have little pieces on your heads and that ends up in your oil pick up.