Re: [ihc] Valve Cover Gaskets - What Else?

[Steven Stegmann <steve.stegmann@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

That start up puff of smoke is not a problem.  IH
didn't use valve stem seals that would completely
prevent oil from running down through the valve
guides.  They wanted that oil on the valve guides. 
Chevy & Ford of the same time period used different
valve stem seals that prevented this.  But IH chose
not to use them.  I'd leave that alone.  

If you look the IH stem seals appear to just be an
O-ring around the valve stem.  It's an O-ring with
with a square cross section.  If they're missing you
can replace them with new IH seals if you want.  If
you fill each cylinder with compressed air through the
spark plug hole, you can replace the seals without
dropping the valve into the cylinder and having to
remove the heads.

I seal my valve covers with permatex red and no
gasket.  Works great if you're anal enough about
cleaning the sealing surfaces.  Final cleaning is with
acetone.  I torque the cover bolts to about 10 ft-lbs
and then never touch them again.  If you every
retorque them they will leak.

Steve

--- Paul <paulr@domain.elided> wrote:

> Hi:
> 
> After my long trip with the Travelall, I have
> noticed a few leaks around the
> valve covers.  My questions is this - what else
> should I do while I have the
> covers off?  It is a '72 392 with around 137,000
> miles.  It has the usual
> smoke when started - big puff when started, then
> steady for 20-30 seconds, but
> otherwise runs fine.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> PaulR
> 
> p.s. For those of you that remember, we didn't get
> any peasants, but a few
> pHeasants made their way into our bag!